It is 2 months to the day when we gathered on the Gold Coast to start the 30th NSW B to B Bash. We finished in Sydney on August 17th at Busby’s Bore, Centennial Park Sydney with approximately 600 cars at a rain ‘blessed’ event. Unfortunately the predicted crowds to watch us where scared away by the rain and mud, but the Bashers did celebrate a fabulous trip. Some States finished at the same time as us in Sydney, others were in the middle of their Bashes and WA and NT started the next day to Bash back to Darwin and Perth.

NSW B to B Bash raised $2.2 million net for the special needs children of Australia and we for that we are very proud.

The children and people we meet are the hightlights of the trip and here are few pictures of some of them. Ella and Elizabeth kindly adopted a ‘pig’ for us and the children of Mt Eugene Station and surrounds greeted us with joy on Day 2 after a mechanical breakdown kinda day. More on that below…

It was 4.45 pm when we arrived for ‘lunch’ at Mt Eugene due to getting rocks in the engine bay and breaking the fan – the broken blades then destroyed the radiator. Luckily we noticed the temp on HIGH and stopped very quickly. Enter Brendon and Ian from the Angels car who diagnosed the problem, pulled out the radiator, enter the Bash Busters who lent us a soldering kit, enter the Airforce MWs who worked their magic on the radiator and repaired it and put it back IN. Off we go…

But 200 kms later the fan decided to explode again, so out it comes and some more repairs – this time with 3 x MWs, Coota in the flat top truck and Sweep. We are officially LAST at that point. We did manage to pass two others who mechanicals before we made it to lunch.

We found a new fan the next day and the Bash continued for the 3 Little Pigs without any other mechanical issues. Lucky us!

We had some very colourful and fun days and special events. See in further posts.

Hula Hooping and Triple Fouring – a fun activity at the famous Camerons Corner run by the Triple Cars on the Bash – 111, 333, 444, 555, 999a and KKK9.

This includes some great inside footage of Car 333 with Sallymae in the driver seat.

http://www.yourepeat.com/watch/?v=Z71yXaHsixE

Monday, August 4 – Kiwi Pig Brendon arrived and I met him with a boot full of things to load at the Buggage Truck. All good….

BT1 – the bdouble donated to Variety by Doherty Trucks from Wollongong. How glad are we to be able to put our camping gear, giveaways and extra items on that truck. Our boot is full with our two tyres,110 litre fuel tank and spares. No room for luggage.

Saturday was the day to do a final check over and sort the boot. More pink…

Then the Shoo Roos which hopefully will keep the skippys and emus away from us on the road. And a touch of Purple Polish to shine up the bumper.

Then a revamp of the tool kit – 100 mph tape, WD40, champagne, cider and gummy gears. All set!

Finally wig balancing…. before Meet and Greet at St Marys RSL – a great sponsor of the Variety Bash.

At ChequePoint day last Sunday, July 26 at Hunter Holden Hamlet got fitted with new flags.

The old ones had been ‘flapped off’ to the second pig! They usually last 3-4 years, and being the 30th Anniversary of the NSW Bash – we needed new colour.

Thanks to John Vaughan from Australiana Flags – dont they look great! Also thanks to Arthur Duffield and Kevin from Car 1905 and Max Squires from the Dick Smith car who helped me engineer them onto the car.

The last stages of Bash prep are coming along. Most importantly is the explosion of Pink gear which the Little Pigs need to make a good impact on the road.

A few things to go and then bags packed and ready for the baggage truck loading on August 4.

Pigs are almost ready to fly!!!

The generous $2,610 contribution from Variety, the Children’s Charity towards a walker has given four-year-old Harry Davenport the priceless gift of hope.

Harry has the developmental age of a six-month old, cannot walk or speak, is severely vision impaired and needs help for all of his self-care requirements. He attends The Infants’ Home school at Ashfield five days a week, where he regularly accesses specialised teaching from occupational and play therapists, and a speech therapist is slowly showing him some sign language to enable him to communicate with others.

Harry’s walker has made an unbelievable difference to his quality of life. His mother Emma explains, “During the week the walker stays at school, and Harry spends most of his time in it. He adores being around his school friends, loving nothing more than being immersed in all of the noise and activities, such as music and painting. He’s a very popular boy, and in his walker he is at eye level with his peers, which is vital for meaningful interaction with them, and he, most amazingly, he can now even propel himself for short distances, giving Harry his first taste of independence.
“The walker is extraordinary. It’s sturdy and large, and encourages him to stand and move. It has a dynamic movement on a suspension system, to mimic a walking movement, and he sits in a little saddle. The walker enables him to put weight on his legs, which will make them stronger, and there is now a good chance that in the future he may be able to actually stand, unaided, and there is a possibility that he could eventually be able to walk.”

As Harry’s only options for communicating are crying, laughing and yelling, he can have quite challenging behaviour issues, but is slowly and surely achieving new milestones. He can now feed himself, and while he’s been assessed as being legally blind, his vision does seem to be improving, in fact this year, for the first time, he made and held direct eye contact with his Mum.

Emma says, “We wish to express our gratitude to Variety for the enormously positive impact the walker has made to our family’s life. You’ve made such a difference to a little boy’s life. Everything we invest in now is to help make Harry’s future the best it can be. Even though Andy and I both work full-time, the money we earn is not enough to buy all of the special equipment, therapy and schooling that Harry requires, and we’re so thankful to Variety for helping us to help Harry.

During 2013 and again in 2014 Woolworths has nominated Variety as their charity of choice. Many Fresh Food Days have been held and Little Pigs have been lucky to go to three Woolworths and help raise over $2,500 for our special needs kids. Thanks to Marsfield, Mt Annan and Brookvale.

Ok so I know it is now only just over 5 weeks until 2014 Bash and this report should have been posted in September 2013. Better late than never.

Car 333 had a very successful 2013 Bash Bankstown to Ballarat trip and finished ‘strong’ at Ballarat. We only had two crew – myself and Brendon Morron completing his 3rd year as trusty crew. Very handy with the spanners, excellent driver and wonderful crew member.

Spirit of the Bash was won by B1 and B2 our famous Bananas – lucky I got such a good picture of them at the start. Good job guys!

Here is a selection of photo highlights:

Today I took out Hamlet, the bash car for a run since the major repairs after our big trip to Cape York and back. I was joined by my neice Michelle and great neice Keira and her friend Amy. Pigs in trainings…

It was a glorious day and we had lunch at the Galley Cafe, at the Marina. The girls enjoyed feeding the fish that swam in swarms in the water near the cafe wharf.

A good spin, lots of windy bits, steep climbs out from the Hawksberry. All systems go.