​Well, that’s certainly one way to kick start a rally.  Last night we had our grand Welcome Function to open up the show, and what a show it was.  Two hundred very jovial people bursting with excitement and anticipation.  In true RBR style, it was fun, informative and even a little emotional as we got to hand deliver and present some items that we have purchased for a few local families doing it tough.  One donation was a wheelchair for a young girl.  Safe to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
 
From tears of generous pride to tears rolling down faces from side splitting laughter. It really was a hilarious night. Especially when RB pulled off a very funny stitch up with a make believe Surfboard raffle.  Long story, but trust us when we say it was a scream.
 
From a night of glitz and glamour to the colour and noise of the start line this morning.  With the sparkling water of the Gladstone Harbour in the background and the weather perfectly warm, it was a fantastic way to start the day and get our show on the road.
 
The guys at GIVIT (Kayla and Ash) have done an amazing job with the media this year and it all showed through this morning with radio, television, newspaper and magazine journalists, photographers and camera crews buzzing around and thriving off the spectacle and excitement.  We certainly went off with a BIG BANG, that’s for sure.
 
The region had quite a bit of rain during the night and although we very nearly had to revert to our Plan B for the day, we made a few finely tuned adjustments and managed to save everything and keep our plan on track, literally.  We have an amazing group of volunteer officials that always shine through when the going gets tough.  Just like our entrants, they too Never Say Never and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
 
Not long after leaving the start line we had cars in the bush and tackling their first taste of the RBR.  Although only six kilometres long, the first little wacko section proved quite a challenge to get everyone into the groove.  There were many roads and tracks to navigate around and we are sure that some cars did thirty kilometres by the time they found their way out.  Talk about wacky races, it was quite a humorous sight with navigators laughing and drivers pulling out their hair.
 
The rest of the day was given the big thumbs up by everyone.  Fantastic drive up through the mountains and ranges with spectacular views, very tricky and challenging terrain to negotiate and a sensational lunch stop at Cania Gorge with real wood fire pizzas.  All up, a ten out of ten for day one.
 
Cars are now rolling into our first night’s camp at the Baralaba Showgrounds.  This morning they were shining and brilliantly clean, this afternoon they are now starting to look like rally cars. 
 
Great day tomorrow and with a nice seven hundred kilometre course, we will certainly have everyone knuckled down and into our daily rally routine by the time we get to Aramac tomorrow night.
 
All cars and crews went well today with the only notable happenings being:
 
Car 62 drove to the start line, but then would not start again.  Our second highest fundraiser from Goondiwindi sat flooded and cranking before eventually firing up. Off to a flying start!
 
Car 012 the Odd Couple had battery problems before making it outside of the Gladstone CBD. Quick trip to a local business solved that dilemma and they are wired for sounds once again.
 
Car 82, the Lyre Bird Rally team got 500m into the first bush track only to break a front suspension part.  Towed backward to the start check point, the workshop boys got in and fixed it in no time flat. 
 
Car 18, Jurassic Park all the way from Roxby Downs in South Australia rode around the whole day with wet squishy seats.  They have a soft top Suzuki 4WD and with all the heavy rain last night, discovered it is not quite waterproof.  We guess it’s not dust proof either, which they will probably find out in the next few days as we get further west.
 
That’s our quick report and update from day one, Gladstone to Baralaba.
 
Our update might be a little later to deliver tomorrow night, depending on how our day goes.  Long tough day ahead, just the way we like it.

Well here we go, our first “official” post.  The start of the rally is a pretty crazy, chaotic and very exciting time. Lots to do in a such a short period of time. 
Sunday, the day before our rally registration day saw a lot of cars and crews converge on Gladstone.  Although not part of official proceedings, we arranged for a harbour cruise (on the deck of barge) to see the spectacular lights and sights of the Gladstone port and to get our merry mob together.  Oh what a night!  If this was an “unofficial” night, we can’t wait for the real thing to begin.
Big big day today as we checked in our 55 cars, 160 participants, our amazing volunteer officials and all the other bits and pieces that make up the 2017 Road Boss Rally entourage.  Tomorrow morning we get to see the entire fleet together in the one spot. The day we have all been working so hard and eagerly waiting for.   Can’t wait to see and hear that spectacle.
This is just a quick short update to keep everyone informed and to let the world know that the fun has begun. Tonight we have our big welcome function and officially open up the show. Let the games begin!
Enjoy a few pictures we took last night on the barge and around the registration do today at the Gladstone Yacht Club.
Tomorrow we hit the road to Baralaba. Right, “She’s On”!

Oh, and by the way. Tonight we announce our top twenty highest fundraisers who get to choose their starting position for the next ten days.  As of this afternoon, our 2017 Rally Tally has hit $214'000.00. O...M...G!!!!!

Hello once more from Perth.  After a very exhausting month we finally got to a day that wasn’t go, go, go.  Although we still had lots of work to do, we could enjoy doing it at our own pace.
Still very tired and weary, so only a short update/wrap up for today and we will do a final and more in depth wrap up in the next day or so when our minds come back down to earth.
Last night our 2016 Road Boss Rally Super Addition came to an end and what a fitting end it was.  Feed back from the 200 people in the room, THE BEST EVER!  It was a lot of fun and a memorable occasion for a very special group that participated in a very special event.
At the end of the RBR and beginning of the Super we announced that we had raised $219 000 for GIVIT.  Well that has now grown just a little over the past fifteen days and through everyone’s amazing generosity our final Rally Tally came in at $250 000. Yes, you are reading that correctly, a quarter of a million dollars!
All the winners and grinners received their hard earned awards for their efforts but the feeling was unanimous, everyone was a winner and most importantly, our charity GIVIT and the thousands of charities and communities they help and assist.
Our panicle award is our Supreme ‘GIVIT’ Everything award.  This award can’t be won, only earned and it was with great pride that we presented this to everyone’s friend, John “Jumbo” Schefe.  Jumbo represents who we are, what we are and is the back bone of our rally. He is the epitome of our core entrant and as we often say, we are all just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.  Jumbo has done over twenty of our rallies and he is a real ‘under the radar’ sort of bloke.  But what he does quietly behind the scenes is extremely generous and benefits so many people and communities.  Well done Jumbo, you have joined a very prestigious group of people and have your name proudly displayed among our finest.  You can also proudly bare the badge of being the first name on the brand new era of the Road Boss Rally.
Today another migration started with everyone beginning their journeys back home. It truly is trains, planes and automobiles.  Cars are on transport, some have started driving back and quite a few are continuing their holiday and heading in varying directions.  Our American friends also board a long flight home tonight as well.
Thanks again everyone and we look forward to giving you a final wrap up in the next few days.

Well, what have we done!  This has been a catch phrase I have used over the past month or so.  As I was slogging through the mountain of work piecing all this together, I kept taking deep breaths and saying to myself “what HAVE I done”.  It gave me a grin and kept me heading in the right direction, of which I had choice but to do, as I was well and truly passed the point of no return.
What we have done is achieved something that is simply incredible.  Driven 75 motor vehicles and taken 155 people from the Eastern side of the country right to the very Western edge via a course that would test and challenge the most hardened adventurer.  What an amazing group of people. Tough, resilient, generous and truly are the salt of the earth.  When you take on something that probably shouldn’t be done, these are the guys you want and need around you. Everyone who participated in this event should be very proud of themselves and what we have all achieved together.  We also send a heartfelt thankyou out to all their family, friends, sponsors and supporters, it has been amazing ride and we hope you felt part of this group and adventure.
We also managed to raise $230 000 for GIVIT which will in turn continue on to benefit and help hundreds, potentially thousands of charities throughout Australia. More detail on this later, but wow, who would have thought.  From little things, big things grow.
It has been an incredibly busy day and I only have about twenty minutes between jobs to get this update done, so will keep it short.  All cars and crews are safely across the finish line and in Perth ready for the final night’s farewell presentation function.
Once again, thanks for your interest and………………………….WE MADE IT!
I would like to send a shout out to my three fantastic and amazing kids, Jordo, Mitch and Anna.  I have borrowed a lot of their time over the past year or so and I am pleased that this job is now done and we can look forward to getting back to a bit of normality.  I also need to write some special words for my wife Michelle. What an amazing women and steadfast pillar of support not only to me, but the entire rally community.  I’m the idea’s man, but we all have a lot to thank my family for, they are amazing. Thank you.
Cheers everyone, where ever you may be reading this from.
Road Boss – Jamie Lawson

Once again it was a terrific night, this time in Hyden.  When you have an event on the road for so many days, it is usually inevitable that we would strike at least one that was not up to scarcth.  So far and since we left Toowoomba almost twenty days ago, every town, every caterer and every meal has been up to our expectations or over and above.  A tremendous amount of time, effort and planning goes into coordinating all the catering, overnights stops and functions.  To have these delivered as planned and see the end product meet our wants and needs is fantastic.  When dealing with so many, you can handle one here and there that misses the mark, but to have a 100% strike rate is pretty impressive. 
Last night finished off with a small group of rallies sitting around a fire inside the pub with Roo Arcus giving us a one on one show.  He is a man of many talents and has won a few more lifelong  fans.
From Hyden we hit the road and wound our way to York for lunch via some of the best scenery and sites this part of W.A has to offer.  The season has been very generous with rain fall and the country is looking spectacular. 
Todays course was all built around our visit to York, a very characteristic and historic town with loads of charm.  It also has a renown motor museum which is yet another highlight and talking point of our journey.
An afternoon then spent zigging and zagging through the back tracks and forests enroute to Chidlow.  Once again, a stark change and contrast in country and scenery, making it the fourteenth straight day of something completely different.
Tomorrow brings the big bang, the Indian Ocean and the finish line.  It is certainly going to be a day with the full spectrum and roller coaster of emotions.
All cars and crews are now in Chidlow for out last stop of the 2016 Super.  Chidlow is known as “The Last Stop” due to its location on an old railway line, so it is a fitting place for our Last Stop before we get to the end of our line. 
I would like to give a special shout out to all our friends who travelled with us on the first weeks RBR from Toowoomba to Port Macquarie.  It was a special group with wonderful bonds and friendships formed. It also set the scene for the Super ‘mob’ to fall into and take it on from there. I can safely say, the people we have had on the road since starting in Toowoomba has been an absolutely amazing bunch of people.  I have had the pleasure of moving many groups and events around over the past twenty years, and these have shone through and bonded like no other. 
Although we don’t get any time to stop and check on how things are going out in the outside world, we are quite confident that we are creating quite a wave of interest and excitement.  Plenty of feedback is filtering through, our web site and face book are cracking along and each day we are receiving brand new expressions of interest and enquiries to enter the 2017 RBR.  From the feedback and vibrations we are feeling from the ground swell, I suspect 2017 is going to be……..BIG!
Thanks for watching and we trust you have enjoyed travelling along with us on our journey across Australia.  We will do an update tomorrow just to let you know we have all arrived safely in Perth.  Then in the next few days we will do a big final wrap up and post up a bunch of photos since leaving Kalgoorlie.
Regards – Road Boss

Wonderful visit and great community spirit at Hopetoun. Like all the towns and communities we have been to this year, the locals were very welcoming to us all on the RBR Super Addition and put on a terrific show. The brand new community hall was decked out in footy fever with plenty of Maroon & Blue around to help us celebrate our big game. There were some pretty dedicated and loyal fans in amongst our crews. Great to see our State’s and teams supported so well, even when we are on the other side of the country.
State of Origin over and it poured rain in Hopetoun, and blew a gale. The church hall was the place to be as they opened the doors for people with swags to camp in. One lucky photographer even got to sleep in the big man’s bed. (The Priest was not there, by the way.)
Today’s tracks were mostly too wet to use today, so we chopped and changes and even got to Plan D. We did salvage some of the better bits and the changes also ended up giving us an early mark and plenty of spare time to spend at Wave Rock which is a spectacle in itself. Amazing! This country never ceases to amaze me with the scenery and natural wonders which are right on our doorstep… almost… within a 5000km radius anyway.
We are beginning to see the finish line in Perth with only a day and a half to go.  It is also pretty exciting to see a new migration has begun with family members and loved ones boarding flights and have started to arrive over there getting ready to see the weary crews cross the finish line about lunch time on Saturday.
Weather is cold and wet, spirits are high and jovial. As RB mentioned the other day, this is quite a special (Super) group of people and have banded together as one.  I am not sure if everyone is looking forward to the finish line or hoping it was still another week away.  Either way, the end is in sight and what a sight it will be. The Indian Ocean!
Cheers - Michelle

Before we get into today’s news and happenings, I’ll give a rundown of last night’s events.
Last night the RBR Super had a pub booked out just for our group. Pubs are pretty important in Kalgoorlie, so to have one all to ourselves was pretty exciting. The pub itself was not shabby either, rather quite the opposite. Meals were fantastic! Drinks were fantastic! Company was fantastic! Then there was the entertainment…
Anna from GIVIT WA came along for the night and presented a local charity, “Life Without Barriers” a stack of urgently needed items by their clients. These items were purchased with funds raised by the RBR Super entrants. Two people from this charity turned up to accept the donation and were very, very grateful, thankful and appreciative. After the presentation we had an auction of miscellaneous items which had been donated from businesses around Kalgoorlie and a collectable knife which had been hand made through a connection of Pearcy’s out of car 82. Well our auctions went exceptionally well and raised almost $10 000. The knife alone sold for $7000. Anna from GIVIT and the representatives from Life Without Barriers were ‘floored’. I must say that I too was having a few heart palpitations. As RB says, this is what we do and love – turning fun into fundraising. Well done to everyone.
What a night! One for the history books.
This morning we had breakfast at the Kalgoorlie Museum. What a great museum. After checking out the town yesterday and having travelled where we have since the WA boarder a couple of days ago, we all had a bit of knowledge which was a good base for museum visit. Not to mention the gift shop. That was fantastic too. And breakfast… croissants… muffins… yum!
Straight up after breakfast we had a straight 242km of highway travel. It was pretty cool though as there is always something different to look at. The colours of the trees, dirt and scrub are very different to the colours which we see closer to home.
The weather today started off beautiful and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. By early afternoon there was no blue sky to be seen. Not raining, just cloudy and a bit cold. Apparently this is the time of year which it rains in this part of the country. No worries on the RBR Super, we still have plan B, plan C, plan D… Today was mostly plan A, with only 5 percent plan B.
State of Origin tonight. Oh, I’m sure we are going to have some very healthy rivalry in amongst our crew with plenty of Qlders and NSWers.
5pm local time and it has just started to rain as we are about to pull up for the night in Hopetoun.
Cheers,
Michelle

As we start to get a very long way across the country and in a position to breathe a sigh of relief knowing the hardest part is now done, our minds can begin to reflect on the incredible and diverse country and landscape that we have travelled through and seen over the past ten days.  Words cannot describe the experiences, the sights, the adventures, the hardships and the amazing tribulations we have had so far. I (RB) have been doing these events for a very long time and this floats straight to the top.  The country is great and delivered everything we expected and more.  The communities have been wonderful hosts and have delivered everything we expected and more and most importantly, this group of 155 people that we have on this event have stepped up to the plate, dug deep and shone through in the toughest of conditions and environments.  Not one, and I mean not one bad egg or annoying person in amongst us all.  Each and every person is a unique character and brings an individual contribution to the event and together we are achieving things that have never been done and are over and above all expectations and forecast.  I am very proud to move these people around our great country and I consider myself very fortunate to be their leader.  I most certainly would not have taken this on if I didn’t have these people right behind me.  I know them, I trust them and together we have kicked one very big goal.
Last night in Laverton was a real hoot. It is an amazing community and their spirit and passion for their town shines through in every local.  We always engage our event with the communities and everything is built on a labour of love.  Meaning we get the best hospitality in the Australian bush and everywhere we go, we give a healthy boost to local communities and their fundraising projects.  Lots of fun, lots of laughs, lots of memories and lots of new stories that will no doubt spin around the camp fire for many years to come.
The run through to Kalgoorlie was purpose made to be not too hard, but still provide plenty of excitement and scenery to take in.  It was a great route as we wound our way down through the remote gold fields and into Kalgoorlie.  Heads were spinning from left to right, cameras being held out windows and the radio full of excited chatter of all the coloured and ever-changing landscape.  Once again, words cannot describe the experience. Breathtaking.
Cars are now all in Kalgoorlie and we have our entire band back together.  (Well all except the boys from car 307 ‘Cane Toad’ who we miss and look forward to catching up with again soon – “G’day Boys”).  Over the past few days we have had our mob stretched over hundreds of kilometres and from the first car right back to our last sweep along with a limping rally car.  We never leave anyone behind and we never give up.  We will do whatever it takes to keep people moving and get to the finish line.  We are geared and equipped to deal with any situation, no matter how dire or hopeless it may be or appear at the time. Improvise, adapt and overcome and above all else, never say never!
Cars are filthy, battered, battle scarred and people can hear us coming from miles away.  We have a lay day tomorrow and although considered a ‘day off’, every hour will be jammed full of fixing cars, cleaning gear, repairing busted bits, washing well-worn clothes and of course, looog hot showers all round.
I have now had a rally on the road for fifteen days, with five to go.  Between the first week’s RBR and now the Super, it is the longest event we have ever had on the road. Twenty straight days. Loving every minute of it and these guys (every one of them) are the best of the best. Love them all and of course, everyone back home who support them. Family, friends, loved ones and significant others.
Cheers from Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Road Boss.

 Mission accomplished! 3 days, 1350km across the Great Victoria Desert and the entire length of the Anne Beadell Highway, Coober Pedy to Laverton. Now, when we say highway, don’t be misled by the word highway. It is a rutted out, corrugated, sandy two-wheeled track.
The following recollection is from my (Michelle’s) point of view and my experiences. Please be aware that there are approximately 155 other experiences had over the past 3 days. I hope both you and I get to hear a few others.
The night before we were due to leave Coober Pedy, RB sent a crew out about 100km to check the first part of the track we were to head out on. There had been rain the night before and a few locals and tourists were telling us the road was impassable. Never fear… we had a group of fearless officials take a drive out just to check we could indeed get through. They got back later that evening, covered in mud with big smiles, and a thumbs up.
So, off we headed. The first 100km consisted of lots of muddy bog holes, plenty of slipping and sliding, not to mention the very high spirits of our Super Crews. Within this first 100km’s we came across our first broken car… alas, they had to be towed back to Coober Pedy. What will happen to that crew? Stay tuned. We had also left a crew in Coober Pedy whose car had broken down and they were contemplating alternate arrangements to meeting us in Kalgoorlie. Stay tuned for what happened to that crew.
After leaving Coober Pedy and getting through that first bit, the track dried a bit and good news. It had been graded since RB did his survey a little over 12 months ago. So instead of doing an expected 20-30km per hour, we could actually get up to between 30 and 40km per hour. Although the road was a bit rough and tumble, the scenery was amazing. There has been rain this year in the desert and it is spectacularly green at the moment.
So, travelling along that first day, we came across a few broken down cars who were able to get fixed up and on the way again. Then we came across 2 cars, who couldn’t be fixed and needed towing. We were only half way through the first day… Both cars were expected to make it to the other side with no troubles. One was a backup, Toyota Landcruiser. So, we got these two vehicles hooked up to two other vehicles to begin the tow through the desert and beyond. (The Landcruiser went behind us – RB.)
Over the desert RB planned to have 2 camps. An eight hour and a 10 hour camp. The first lot of cars were to head to the 10 hour camp and pull up and camp, and the 2nd half of the field to drive 8 hours and set up. (There are no camps… no facilities such as toilets and showers… nothing. The ‘camps’ were space for us to park and set up our tents etc.) Anyway, we ended up in the second half of the field and made it to the 8 hour camp after about 10 hours. Quick check on the 2 cars in Coober Pedy and our main sweep, S1 and the news is: The car that was left behind originally and that was making alternate plans, was fixed and will travel with S1 to catch up. The car which broke down within the first 100km was getting left there and the crew were negotiating to buy another car and would travel with S1 also. Great news, great camp, lots of laughs and it rained!
Next morning, spirits still high, we loaded up and off we went. A big night was planned at Ilkurlka (nothing really there except a very basic community shop, our specially ordered fuel, 1 long-drop and 1 donkey shower). A big night was planned with a locally born and bred band which has had some success and produced a couple of albums, and our very own Roo Arcus belting out a tune, all to entertain the RBR mob and community locals which had travelled over 100km’s (3.5 hours), to come and check out the once in a lifetime show. We didn’t make it to town on time, but from what I’ve heard, it was fantastic.
Our day started at 8.30am when we hitched up our new ‘buddy’ behind us and after 14 hours, unhitched him at our camp, at Ilkurlka. We had a heap of fun along the way. We stopped every 50km for a rest and running repairs. 50km took anywhere from 1.5 hrs to 3 hrs. We had a long day.
About 100 kms from Ilkurlka we came across another broken car. One which we expected to break very early in the RBR, however, they didn’t. We left them with a couple of willing helpers to try and fix them.
We managed to get almost everyone through to Ilkurlka on the planned itinerary. Keeping in mind that RB was very open to the possibility that our planned itinerary could have been extended by a number of days. As of last night we had 6 cars and their crews approximately 100km (approx. 4 hours) from Ilkurlka. They set up camp and stayed together. I’m sure they had a few laughs of their own and a great camp fire.
This morning, RB gave his briefing and sent everyone on their way to Laverton.
We are now about 20km out from town and reflecting on the last few days. It has been a truly amazing experience. The place, the people… WOW.
The desert was nothing like I expected. It was very green. This was also a surprise to RB as it was not green when he was out here.
We run into a 4x4 Club in Coober Pedy who had been watching the RBR and was interested in our plans, as they too were heading over the Anne Beadell just a couple of days after us. I don’t know if they were interested or just thought we were entertaining, as they didn’t think we could make it.
Well… we did! Every single one of us. Sure we had to tow a couple of cars a bit of the way, weld a few cars, push and pull a few cars, and we haven’t yet seen the 6 cars who were in the desert last night, however we are in touch with them and they will catch up tomorrow.
Congratulations to all of those who came across the Anne Beadell and the Great Victoria Desert. You will have amazing stories to tell and memories which will last a lifetime.
Now… let’s get ready for the next few days. It’s not over yet…
Cheers,
Michelle
NOTE FROM ROAD BOSS:  To all the pessimistic critics and nay sayer’s that said we’d never make it and it couldn’t be done, well I say…………………. You do not know me or my 'mob' very well. Anyone can do easy.