So people may think that trying to complete the rally in a 1971 Ford LTD Galaxy would be utter madness. Not so Pybar’s Paul Rouse and his crew, they’re confident their bright red vehicle, dubbed Pybash, can go the distance.

“We’re always confident it will make it, probably a bit too confident,” Mr Rouse said with a grin. “The car is a work in progress - there’s always something that can go wrong.”

All vehicles that participate in the rally must be pre-1974 vehicles, and that just adds to the fun according to Mr Rouse, with this run to be his fifth behind the wheel.

“It’s my seventh time on the bash and fifth as driver. I really love the friendship and the good times you have out there with good people,” he said.

“Plus, unlike many others this Variety bash is a great fundraiser. More than 90 cents in every dollar raised goes straight to the people that need it most because they [organisers] only have three full-time employees and the rest is done by volunteers.”

Mr Rouse and his team set a fundraising target of $33,000 for this year’s bash and amazingly, have already blown that figure out of the water.

“We were aiming for $33,000, but at last count we’d cracked more than $45,000 because people and businesses have been great and got right behind us,” Mr Rouse said.

All money raised from the bash will go to children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs through a range of programs.

Mr Rouse said this year’s bash will leave from Brisbane on August 8, travelling over 10 days and 4500 kilometres, before arriving at their final destination on August 18 at NSW’s Busby Bore.

For more information about the bash, or to donate to this wonderful cause, simply visit www.variety.org.au/nsw