And headed down to breakfast... 808 parked beside him!!
Damian also applied his newly acquired Team Queensland sticker...
Breakfast was supplied by the local Rotary Club... it was yummy!!
Damian had a chat to his good mate Deano... Seems Damian has a bit of an issue, although he says that it's snot a problem!!
Day 1 driver briefing... look at all those eager people!!
Car 112 in their newly painted Disney Princess car... They will make another appearance later in the blog!!
Lining up to check out of Bundaberg!!
Onto the open road went Booger Mobile...
Of course, being esCarpade, it wasn't long before the boys found themselves on the dirt, with dust flying everywhere... boy was it dry!!
Bit of a hold up here at the sharp left hander!!
Deep ruts were the cause of the hold up... Damian straddled them nicely without much difficulty!!
Not too much further, there was a large hold up... who could it be?
Car 112... having some fuel issues - they needed towing up a couple of hills...
Booger Mobile made it up no worries!!
Some nasty ruts on these tracks though!!
And back onto the winding bitumen roads...
The one bit of water Damian got to play in... a causeway with water covering the left hand side of the road!!
Of course, what trip would be complete without a gratuitous selfie???
A long, winding bridge with a bunch of sticks nearby...
Apparently it's Gin Gin Creek!!
Heading towards Gayndah...
Team 1100 seemed to have a few issues of their own...
Motoring along...
Gayndah - home of the big orange!!
There was actually a BP at Gayndah that had Ultimate fuel - good times!! Damian was able to fill up Booger Mobile en-route without having to use the jerry can!!
Turning towards Hivesville...
Nice scenery...
Parked at the puppets fun stop...
Egg decorating... Damian christened this one Angus Junior!!
The fun stop that was...
Back on the dirt, heading towards lunch!!
Across a rickety old bridge...
And into Hivesville!!
To the Hivesville Hotel for lunch!!
Hardy-har-har... someone stuck this awesome sticker on Booger Mobile (it's a reference to Damian complaining about people with non-automotive stickers that are difficult to remove).
The entertainment at Hivesville...
Before going any further, it must be pointed out that shortly before arriving in Hivesville, Booger Mobile was coughing and spluttering a bit when under heavy load (such as driving up a steep hill or pulling out onto the highway).
Damian thought that maybe the fuel from Gayndah had a bit of crap in it, or maybe Booger Mobile had sucked in a bit of dust.
At lunch, Damian checked for anything obvious (not finding anything) and cleaned the pre-charger for the air cleaner...
After lunch, it was Angus' turn to have a crack at the driver's side of the car!!
Through Proston...
Onto some more scenic roads...
Damian told Angus all about the Booger Angel - a gift from Damian's friend Elli to keep them safe while driving Booger Mobile.
Angus got to drive through more water than Damian did!!
This one was wide and a little slippery, but still firm on the base...
More dirt...
Someone left their rocks lying around!!
Selfie from the other side of the car!! Angus is a picture of concentration!!
Wait... why are the boys heading towards Kingaroy??? Aren't they going to Dalby? Yes, but this is esCarpade... straight lines are unheard of!!
Cruising through the countryside... Booger Mobile had begun to cough and splutter a little under load...
Past a nice old farmhouse...
High Rollers on the side of the road again...
Angus got the first deep water crossing of the esCarpade for 2013 - about 50cm deep.
Booger Mobile made it through that one with no problems... further up the track were another bunch of crossings...
Here's another one...
This crossing had quite a steep exit, and when they went to exit, Booger Mobile had other plans... stalling and refusing to start again!!
Car 73 was just behind Booger Mobile and offered to use their V8 power to get Booger Mobile away from the crossing and into a safer location...
In that location (no pics for this section - Damian was too busy working), Damian put out the safety triangles (first time ever), and he and Angus began to diagnose the issue. It would seem that the fuel pump had gone - there was no fuel coming through at all.
MW1 (Dennis Trigg) turned up and hooked up an electric pump - however it wasn't strong enough when the engine was under load - it was time for Booger Mobile to be towed for the first time ever.
MW1 towed Booger Mobile up 8 kilometres of steep, winding roads in the Bunya Mountains...
Arriving at the top, Dennis rejiggered the fuel pump to bypass the old one (rather than sucking the fuel through it), and this seemed to do the trick. The stage was over for Booger Mobile, and the boys decided to drive to Dalby on the bitumen.
MW1 having a rest after skull-dragging the surprisingly heavy Booger Mobile up the hill...
The temporary electric fuel pump...
62 kilometres to Dalby, and dusk was coming...
Booger Mobile was going well as the boys headed down the hill towards Dalby...
This shot blurred a bit as Damian took it, but it makes for a cool hyperspace type effect!!
And driving along behind the cool bus... not the school bus!!
Booger Mobile lit up on the side of the highway - 10 kilometres from Dalby the fuel pump finally decided that it had worked enough for one day...
MW1 had been sent out into the early evening darkness to look for Booger Mobile, who had failed to check in at Dalby (clearly because they HADN'T checked in at Dalby!!)
Dennis attempted to follow Booger Mobile, but after the engine stalling every 30-50 metres or so, decided towing Booger Mobile the last 9 kilometres or so was the best option...
Making it to Dalby around 7pm, Damian was stoked to find that they hadn't missed dinner!!
Angus and Damian having a well-earned scotch - still smiling after the days events...
Damian was getting good mileage from regaling his tale of woe, and saying he "gave Angus just ONE drive... and he broke Booger Mobile!!" This was met with plenty of laughter, which as everyone knows, is the best medicine!!
Billy sang a couple of songs he had written, one that was inspired by esCarpade...
And Andrew from Team Ryan inspired everyone with his heartfelt story about his family's journey with Camp Quality...
So where to from here? Damian and Angus will miss the morning stage on Monday morning, as they will need to get a new fuel pump to fit to Booger Mobile. The local auto parts store opens at 7:30am, so hopefully they will have the required part. This would give Damian and Angus enough time to quickly replace the fuel pump, then drive the bitumen to the school visit in Grafton, which is visiting the school that Andrew's wife teaches at, and daughter attends... Team Booger Mobile don't want to miss that!!
Other happenings during the day included several cars that had big issues... one with an engine replacement, 808 being stuck in Childers and needing a new distributor, some with fuel issues, overheating... Ben (the boss of esCarpade) said it was the worst first day in his ten years of doing esCarpade!!
I think people just like to keep Ben on his toes!!
Hot off the press - Day 1 Team Booger Mobile video highlights!! (Ignore the date on the video, it decided to reset itself.)
Great pics mate and sorry to read that you had to be towed. Take it easy. #47 over
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good night's sleep is needed by all. Tomorrow is another day........full of more adventure.
ReplyDeleteNow the adventure has begun and it looks like a lot of fun being had,till sadly Booger coughed and choked and then she was towed for the first time oh no poor Booger, lucky it is only a minor problem,Which I sure Damian will easily solve as he has always done in the past no matter how big or small the problem was.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures love your work well done Team Booger Mobile.