Dusting off driving skills at rally experience

By Sonia Isaacs Clark


On Sunday, May 2, 44 teams from across South East Queensland put their collective pedals to the metal for the Great Endeavour Rally one-day event. This full day driving adventure took in some spectacular sights around our local region and provided some challenging terrain, including sandy forest tracks, winding national parks, gravel country roads and a few extra tough rocky and rutted roads.For some drivers, the event was a way of testing the rally experience, while for others it was a great way to dust off their driving skills ahead of the sold-out 2021 Great Endeavour Rally Simpson Desert Adventure to be held from August 5-14.
All-women team Kenny’s Angels – Sonia Heilig from Go Turf, Amanda Smyth from Wild Horse Turf and Susan Ellwood, business manager at Glenview State School and owner of Grandview at Fraser – took part in the one-day fundraising challenge that gave the team the opportunity to experience some new local sights while upskilling their driving aptitude.
Amanda said her team really enjoyed the scenery throughout the event, which kicked off at Archerfalls Airfield, Mount Archer and travelled through the region including D’Aguilar National Park, Glass House Mountains Lookout, Beerburrum State Forest, Bellthorpe National Park and Sandy Conondale National Park.
“One of our highlights was experiencing local areas that even as locals we hadn’t had access to previously, particularly around Beerburrum State Forest,” Amanda said.
“Some of the conditions were quite challenging, especially after some tracks had set dry after the rain, but we love a new driving challenge.”
Amanda likened the rally event experience to when learner drivers must do 100 hours of driving to pass their test, as she felt she was putting in her 100 hours of rally driving to become a better driver.
As well as the scenic highlights and opportunity to test their vehicle ahead of the August Simpson Desert challenge, which will mark the third time the Kenny’s Angels team will be raising “dust and dollars” for the Endeavour Foundation, the stand alone one-day rally event was also a fundraising opportunity.
Rally coordinator Nathan Woolhouse said this year’s one-day event was the first time a fundraising component had been included. While final figures were still being calculated, organisers were thrilled that more than $30,000 had been raised by the participating rally teams.
“Despite it being a long weekend and some people still having a few reservations about community events and COVID considerations, it was a great day. And that our teams were able to raise over $30,000 was just fantastic,” Nathan said.
“While it rained a bit on Saturday, conditions cleared up and by Sunday it was perfect for the event. However, there was definitely a bit of mud but that’s what brings the fun.”
Kenny’s Angels will be one of 60 participating vehicles in the Great Endeavour Rally Simpson Desert Adventure later this year so keep an eye out for local fundraising ventures.
https://fundraise.endeavour.com.au/fundraisers/kennysangels186/great-endeavour-rally-2021

Overview image of the location
Kenny’s Angels – Sonia Heilig, Amanda Smyth and Susan Ellwood