Rally team encounters wildlife, dusty roads and friendly locals on epic journey
A little bit of Aussie ingenuity comes in handy when you tear a hole in the fuel tank of your 1996 Holden Commodore as you’re driving thousands of kilometres across the outback.
Coffs Harbour mates Rod Cross and Rob Hoy decided to employ Minties lollies as a quick fix to plug at the hole as they took part in the famous Shitbox Rally last year .
The quirky choice of patch-up worked – ensuring they were able to complete the Newcastle to Townsville route, with their efforts recognised as “Repair of the Rally”.
Cross, a mortgage and finance broker who owns North Coast Lending, and Hoy, a physiotherapist and director of Hoys Allied Health + Wellness, tried using Minties again to fix the fuel tank hole while on their way to the start of the 2024 Shitbox Rally – from Melbourne to Alice Springs.
However, Cross said it didn’t work this time around, requiring an emergency callout to the rally mechanics to come and help the team out in Yass.
“They kind of patched us up and kept us going and then out the front of the iconic Birdsville Hotel, we managed to permanently repair that problem, but that mechanically that's been the only problem that we've had – it’s been a pretty dream ride in Kermit this time around.”
It’s no surprise that Kermit was the name Cross and Hoy gave to their green Berlina – it perfectly matches their team name: The Muppets.
The pair wore different Muppets-themed outfits each day, including dressing up as the Swedish chef to cook breakfast for everyone (pictured below), and as Bunsen and Beaker, Animal and Zoot, Kermit and Miss Piggy.
Cross spoke to MPA from the iconic landmark of Uluru as he and Hoy relaxed a few days after completing an epic seven-day journey across four states (Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Northern Territory) to Alice Springs, notching up 3,800 kilometres and raising more than $15,000 so far for the Cancer Council.
The rally
The annual Shitbox Rally involves teams of two driving in two-wheel drive cars worth no more than $1,500 across a pre-set route to raise funds for cancer research. Over the years the rally has raised a whopping $47.5 million.
The Muppets took part in the winter route from June 14 to 21, starting in Melbourne and travelling to Hay, Silverton, Hungerford, Windorah, Bedourie and Tobermorey Station, on the Queensland/NT border, before finishing in Alice Springs.
“We’re driving on more dirt roads than sealed roads – they try and take us on the roughest roads a two-wheel drive can handle,” said Cross.
He said mechanical breakdowns were common, including tyre blowouts, and they also encountered a number of animals on the roads, including kangaroos, camels, emus and cattle.
“We actually clipped a roo on the way through Victoria … another driver hit a roo in Longreach and had to do some emergency repairs. It’s the roos and camels are the main ones you see.
“With these rallies you’re driving in a lot of dust at night when they’re the most active and hard to see. Your co-drivers are there to spot what hazards are ahead, with potholes and water and poor road conditions, and what wildlife might be coming.”
Cross said they travelled together with a group of seven other rally teams for safety reasons, with the lead car calling out the hazards to the others. A total of 30 groups took part in the 2024 winter rally.
While Kermit clocked up the milestone of 245,000km during the rally, Cross said he and Hoy bought the car from an older couple who had owned it for 25 years and never really driven outside their home town of Macksville.
“Last year’s rally was really the first time she had hit the open road and had a go.”
While it was Cross’s second rally, it was Hoy’s fifth rally. Hoy said it had been a pleasure taking part with his friend.
“We’ve had a great time – dirt roads, sealed roads, we’ve been into some pretty iconic pubs and met some fantastic people,” said Hoy. “We’ve heard some sad and uplifting stories … but most of all it’s been fun.”
Cross said due to the popularity of the rally it wasn’t easy to get in – it usually took three or four requests – but the fact that Hoy had been a long-time participant helped him gain entry in 2023.
He said neither of the pair were real car enthusiasts: “We’re the most mechanically inept people on the planet, but we do like to go for a good, long drive and do like to meet new people.”
“We’re both pretty keen on supporting our communities and obviously this is a much larger community, being a fundraise for the Cancer Council.”
Cancer cause worth fighting for
Cross said from the start of the journey in Melbourne when people came to farewell them, he and Hoy had heard people talking about their experiences with cancer.
“Along the rally itself, you start to find out why people are involved. This particular rally the funds go to some specific cancer research that doesn’t otherwise get funded.
“We were talking to a guy who was on tour with us last year. He wasn't expected to live and he was showing us his brain scans on the last day and his tumour has been shrunk by 46% from revolutionary treatment that’s partly funded by these tours.”
Cross said this really brought home the importance of the rally.
Cancer had affected Cross, who lost his grandfather to cancer. His nephew’s fiancée is also battling thyroid cancer at the age of 23. Hoy’s father has lymphoma and his daughter has a type of blood cancer.
While the rally drivers went through some “trials and tribulations” including constant dust and sleeping in cold, sometimes icy tents, Cross said it was nothing compared to those battling cancer.
Supporting country towns
The rally is also warmly welcomed by the locals living in the small towns along the route.
Cross said in Hungerford, in south-west Queensland near the border with NSW, there are nine residents.
“Seven of them came out to help feed us dinner and the other two were operating the pub.”
In Windorah, the teacher, police officer, nurses and children served the rally teams dinner.
“The communities come out and line the streets to wave hello,” said Cross. “They really do get behind it because it's something new for them, something that they can appreciate – there’s 500 people coming through and spending a bit of money in their town.”
outsource Financial backs team
Cross is a member of aggregator outsource Financial, the principal sponsor for the team for the past two rallies.
“outsource have been incredibly supportive from day one … because we were driving down to Melbourne we called in to see [CEO Tanya Sale} and the team on the way through and they wished us well,” he said. “Quite a few of their team have donated individually to help us get on the way.”
“If there are two things that are important to Andrea and I, it’s that outsource supports its brokers and gives back to the community,” outsource Financial CEO Tanya Sale said (pictured with Rod Cross below).
“Supporting Rod Cross and his mate Rob in the Shitbox Rallies they’ve completed has been something we really didn’t have to think twice about. And although it’s a bit of a mouthful, we have all become quite attached to ‘Kermit the outsource Financial Outback Adventurer’.
“It’s a great initiative in support of Cancer Council Australia and we’re very proud of ‘The Muppets’ and our Kermit!”
Cross has been in the finance industry for 10 years and said his Coffs Harbour brokerage, North Coast Lending, was a holistic business, offering a range of services including home loans, personal loans, equipment and commercial finance.
“We’ve got a team of eight in our office – seven brokers and one support person – which really enables [us] to cover that spread of lending options for clients.”
While Cross said he had been thinking about having a rest from the Shitbox Rally for a few years, the 2025 route, from Perth to Darwin, was tempting and he had built great bonds with other team members.
“We’re pretty much all recommitting to go again.”
Donations to the rally, which support the Cancer Council, are still being accepted. If you want to donate to The Muppets’ total click here. Alternatively, you can donate to the overall event.
The sponsors of The Muppets in 2024 included: outsource Financial, MBT Lawyers, Colourworks, Coffs Harbour Hardwoods, Blue Sky IT, Dealer Direct, Geoff King Motors, Wet-Seal, The Healthy Body Co, Hoys Allied Health, Signs Express, North Coast Lending and Zevo Global.
