DAY 1  

Mackay to St Lawrence

It was a phenomenal send off for the, 339 colourfully costumed Bashers who were in high spirits as they rolled out to begin their epic 10 day, 3539km journey across Queensland. A crowd of locals and curious onlookers turned out to cheer on the wacky road trippers as they set off from Mackay Breakwater, waved off by Variety grant recipients Emily and Brayden. 

The first stop of the day was Swayneville Primary School where a group of energetic students eagerly welcomed the cars and their crew. There was plenty of excitement as the kids spotted some familiar characters in the convoy like Dr Suess, Toy Story, The Simpsons and Cookie Monster just to name a few!

After waving goodbye to their new friends, the Bashers made their way through the Sarina Range, taking in some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. The morning took us a little longer but we had some fun getting some of our Bash cars up the range, so we arrived for a late lunch at Clarke Creek State School.

Having covered over 385km on their first day, the Bashers were happy to arrive in St Lawrence to set up camp for the night and present a special grant to the kids of St Lawrence State School worth $1,958.

The school has just 8 students with 2 students on an individual curriculum plan. These kids face challenges that make it difficult to produce work in written format. Thanks to the big hearted Bashers, they were presented with new iPads and an iTunes gift card to purchase specialised apps. The apps will enable the students to demonstrate their learning and understanding in a variety of ways outside of written format to meet the individual needs of each student.

Check out the highlights below!