5 minute read • Car News, Social & Fun, Mater Lotteries, Cars For Cancer, Mater Cars For Cancer, Car Lottery
Built to Stay Awhile—Where Would You Go?
Written by Dave Carey
Built to stay a while—Mater Cars for Cancer is giving you the chance to win a customised 70-series LandCruiser, an Austrack Talawana hybrid camper and $100K of cashable gold bullion. And if you win it, where would you go?
Australia is full of the greatest, seldom-seen nooks and crannies on God’s green earth and winning the current Mater Cars for Cancer lottery No. 123 will furnish you with all the equipment you need to see them. From toe to tip, we’ve got it all, so if you win the draw, why not start with just the Tip?
Cape York Peninsula is remote, rugged and remains largely untouched, despite its popularity. Conquering it—with plenty of free camping ops along the way—in the prize LandCruiser 70-series Military GXL fitted with $180K worth of camping and off-road mods by Outback Customs seems a no-brainer, but what about the hybrid camper? Will it tow to the Tip? Find out by reading on… or learn for yourself if you win.
I’ve not undertaken the journey personally—I’m not sure my 30-year-old Jackaroo and 48-year-old pop-top camper trailer would appreciate it—but the Austrack Talawana X15 won’t bat an eyelid. The Mulligan Highway to Lakeland is sealed these days, as is a portion of the Peninsula Development Road heading west out of town.
Once you hit Laura, you’re on the dirt and all bets are off with anything from freshly graded gravel to jaw-jarring corrugations, ruts, and washouts. This means nothing to the heavy-duty suspension under the LandCruiser and camper’s fully independent trailing arms, and this $450,000 prize combo is built to get there and with solar, potable water, kitchen facilities and sleeping for four, it’s built to stay awhile, wherever you want to stop.
But what if you want a real challenge?
The Old Telegraph Track pretty much parallels the Peninsula Development Road, wending through the Cape York wilderness for several hundred kilometres. It’s not for the faint-hearted and traversing it with a trailer is not recommended unless you’re supremely skilled and are prepared to put a lot of time into recoveries; a complex process with an articulated set up. But it’s off-road, off-grid and off-the-charts in terms of Aussie adventure. I know which one I’d tackle, and I’d leave the van home. Having been a vanner since I could drive, I love nothing more than pulling over and having a snooze, but sleeping on the roof with all the power, water and amenities you can chock into a car truly is next level.
I was driving a 1978 Holden Gemini panelvan when I first met the woman who would become my wife. It had a mural on the side, a mattress in the back and literally nothing else of comfort. Twenty years later, Sarah passed from breast cancer, and it was during that time that I first became professionally involved with Mater Cars for Cancer, having learned of the lifesaving, journey-enhancing work done by Mater Foundation—work which is only possible through your generosity. Sarah was a lot of things: my soulmate since we were teenagers, the mother to our kids, organised, hard-working, practical, and brave. One thing she was not, however, was co-ordinated. So much so in fact, that I dedicated part of her eulogy to the many times, places and circumstances that lead to her falling into, onto or over objects and surfaces that wouldn’t faze a normal person.
Strangely though, she nailed stand-up paddleboarding, and really got into it on the glassy surface of SA’s Gulf St Vincent. If she could do it, then chances are that you could too. And if you win Mater Cars for Cancer lottery No. 123, you’ll end up with a pair of AusTuff inflatable stand-up paddle boards. So… where to use them? And where to use them without inadvertently feeding a saltwater crocodile for a few months?
Australia is an ancient land, with a history longer than humankind itself, so it’s kinda crazy to think that Lake Argyle, in WA’s Kimberley region, is only a few years older than I am. Formed in 1971 by damming the Ord River, the 67km-long, 10km-wide freshwater reservoir not only irrigates the surrounding farmland but is a tourist hotspot and a literal oasis.
Whether you’re free camping or powered at the Lake Argyle Holiday Park, the Austrack Talawana X15 hybrid camper will be especially nice lodgings thanks to its included $7,260 MeanderWild luxury package. Built to stay a while, the customised LandCruiser and camper set up is your abode for adventures around the water.
Adventures can be had on the water too, with the pair of AusTuff inflatable paddle boards giving unlimited access to the 70-ish islands strewn throughout Argyle Lake. Once hilltops and peaks, they rise from the crystalline surface, offering hiking and photography opportunities, with unparalleled views of the surrounds; it’s all pretty idyllic, and it’s right there for the taking. A ticket could be all you need to experience it yourself.
Every Mater Cars for Cancer lottery in recent history seems to sell out and draw 123 is looking no different. The prize pool never disappoints, and your contributions allow Mater to help fund vital research that benefit those whose lives are impacted by cancer. Winning a modified 70-series LandCruiser Military GXL, an Austrack Talawana X15 hybrid camper and $100K of cashable gold bullion might just fund your initiative to get away, and because it's built to stay a while, stay away as long as you need.
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