Ride the Gunbarrel

Thanks For Your Support

2008-08-05T10:31:00.002+10:00

Well, we made it! There were times when we didn't know if we'd get there, but we did. 1500km across the Gunbarrel Highway in 16 days. It was an incredibly difficult journey in which the challenges were many and varied. But we persevered and completed what we set out to do. The feeling of pride that comes from overcoming adversity is enormous.

Thank you very much to all of the companies, schools and individuals who sponsored us. You're all listed either to the right of this post or below the movies. As a result of your generosity, we now have the funds to implement our 1 to 1 laptop program, and soon each of our students will be given their very own MacBook computer to use at school and at home. Everyone's excited about what lies ahead and the opportunities that our students will be provided with.

Thank you also to everybody who followed our story and especially those who published comments on the site. Your words of encouragement mean a lot.

Each of the Gunbarrellers will forever treasure the memories of their monumental feat and the wonderful experiences they endured. To everyone who made this event possible, thank you.

The Gunbarrel was a journey of self discovery, finding out just how much tenacity we all possess and what we're capable of achieving. The Gibson Desert is a beautiful place, but extremely unforgiving and relentless in the challenges it throws up. We've each found bits of ourselves that perhaps we didn't know existed and returned home stronger, both as individuals and as a group.

Of course, the Gunbarrel was only the start of our journey. It has allowed us to take education at Otford into the 21st century by providing our students with laptop computers. So now, the second stage of our journey begins; the education of young Australians in the best possible way.

Peter Holmes

Principal

Monday 28th July 2008

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Sunday 27th July 2008

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Saturday 26th July 2008

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Wednesday 23rd July 2008

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Wednesday 23rd July 2008

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Tuesday 22nd July 2008

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Monday 21st July 2008

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Sunday 20th July 2008

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Sunday 20th July

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Sunday 20th July part II

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Saturday 19th July 2008

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Saturday 19th July 2008

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Friday 18th July 2008

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Friday 18th July

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Wednesday 16th

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Tuesday 15th July

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Monday 14th July

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Saturday 12th July

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Getting Ready

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Here we are at Bald Hill, Stanwell Tops

How exciting! It's only one day until we depart for Western Australia. In a week's time we'll begin our crazy dream of riding pushbikes across the Gunbarrel Highway. We're all feeling excited and nervous, and very anxious to get going. There's been a lot of training over many months but we have absolutely no idea of what's ahead, as the desert is so unpredictable. Hopefully, we'll all make it safely and get back home in one piece in a month's time.
We've geared up four 4WDs that will be our support vehicles. They'll carry our supplies like tents, food and sleeping bags, but most importantly, lots of water.
The Lloyd family, Tim, Donna and James, just picked up their camper trailer. Jasper and Michelle Gilding went shopping for warmer gear and better sleeping bags because it gets really cold in the desert at night. The cars are almost packed and ready to roll.
How about we introduce you to our team. You'll get to know each of us as the trip goes on and we'll keep you updated on our progress. There's the Lloyds and the Gildings, Shane, Rosie and Tom O'Brien, Helen Jeffs, Kerry and Steve Nicholls, John Merriment, Peter Holmes, Jimmy Snelling and Stuart Prosser.
We'd love to hear from anyone who'd like to leave a comment and please make sure you let us know where you're from. See you on the Gunbarrel!

Gunbarrel Video

2008-02-13T13:52:00.003+11:00