This Saturday, Sue Anne Nicol of Brogo and her 23 year old daughter Darcie Nicol will set off on a 2,500km off-road journey through Western NSW in a decades old little red Toyota Celica Coupe.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
They’re one of 150 teams competing in the Mystery Box Rally this year, a major fundraiser for Cancer Council research.
With over $6,600 raised between them, the mother and daughter team have smashed the $3000 minimum fundraising amount to participate, and are now preparing, as much as they can, to hit the road.
“The rally starts and ends in Dubbo, but the whole point of the Mystery Box Rally is that we don’t actually know where we’re going,” Sue Anne said.
“They only give us our directions or destinations at the beginning of each day, so it’s all a total surprise.”
Cars the compete in the Mystery Box Rally must be at least 25 years old and two wheel drive only. the Nicols’ racing red coupe comes with two doors, sunroof and pop-up headlights, complete with fluttering eyelashes.
“But it doesn’t have air conditioning, so driving around in hot dusty outback NSW could be interesting,” Sue Anne said.
It’s the Toyota’s second Mystery Box Rally, and the team are hoping it will survive another round. When the previous owner found out the Nicols were buying it for the rally, he sold it to them for just $500.
“That really helped us put more of our money toward the fundraising,” Sue Anne said.
The teams will travel around 500-600km each day, and camp with the other teams along the way.
“We will be sleeping in swags for the trip, there’s about 300 people on the journey in total, so it’s a big cash injection for the towns we stop in,” Sue Anne said.
“It puts you out of your comfort zone and you meet new people you’d never normally cross paths with, you really form a family with each other.”
The mother and daughter team are planning to bring a little extra fun to each day by dressing up in different themes.
“Mum loves a costume,” Darcie said.
“We’re dressing up as witch doctors, thing one and thing two, Sesame Street characters and warrior princesses.”
The last costume is a tribute to their friend Liz Clark, who registered for the rally a year ago, but lost her battle to cancer in August. One of her last requests was that her daughter Kelsey take her place alongside original team member Olivia Forge of Cobargo.
“The rally is a chance for us to raise some money for cancer research and take some time to reflect on and celebrate the lives of friends and family we’ve lost,” Sue Anne said.
“Cancer touches everyone, and that’s something that really unites the teams in the rally, so it’s the least we can do.”
So far, the fundraising total of the Mystery Box Rally sits just under $630,000.
