Peg the Pug

Why We're Doing It... Again!

For reasons our friends and family still can't quite explain, this year marks our fifth Shitbox Rally. Apparently, spending a week driving a 40+ year old French car across some of the roughest roads in Australia is our idea of a holiday!

Our trusty steed is a 1983 Peugeot 505 that has now travelled well over 600,000 kilometres. We rescued it from a farmer's shed in Millmerran, Queensland, where it had spent its retirement years as a paddock basher and, judging by what we found inside it, a luxury apartment complex for several generations of rodents.

After a lot of work (and probably a little bit of luck), we brought it back to life. This year's rally will be its fourth with us. Together we've already driven:

• Port Douglas to Adelaide
• Bendigo to Townsville
• Alice Springs to the Gold Coast

...and this year we're pointing the old Peugeot from Adelaide to Darwin and hoping it decides to come with us.The Peugeot is especially meaningful to me.

My dad completed his motor mechanic apprenticeship working on Peugeots, so every year we take this old car on another adventure, it feels like we're carrying a little piece of him along for the ride.As much fun as the rally is, we're there for a much bigger reason.

The Shitbox Rally has become one of Australia's most successful grassroots fundraising events, raising tens of millions of dollars for the Cancer Council to fund life-saving cancer research and support services. It's proof that a bunch of ordinary people driving extraordinary heaps of rubbish can make a real difference.Cancer has touched our family far too many times.

I lost my dad to cancer when he was just 55. I was only 19 years old. More recently, we lost a close mate in his 40s. My sister is currently fighting breast cancer, and 14 years ago I was incredibly fortunate to catch and survive a melanoma.Sadly, our story isn't unique.

Almost everyone knows someone whose life has been changed forever by cancer.That's why we keep coming back.We'll happily put up with breakdowns, dust, questionable roadside repairs, French engineering, and far more hours in an old Peugeot than anyone should reasonably endure if it helps raise money to support the incredible work of the Cancer Council.

If you can spare a few dollars, we'd be incredibly grateful. Every donation goes directly to the Cancer Council to fund research, prevention and support programs that give hope to people and families facing cancer every day.

Thank you for helping us keep this old Peugeot rolling and, more importantly, helping us get one step closer to a future where fewer families have to hear the words, "It's cancer."

Now... let's see if the old girl can survive another rally!