Rough roads but big $36,250 result for Team Santa

Rod and Lyndell Cope have crossed the finish line in Darwin, completing their Team Santa adventure in a $1500 Santa-inspired Commodore.

The Leongatha couple took part in the Shitbox Rally’s “Last Cab to Darwin” event together, raising money for the Cancer Council while driving from Adelaide to Darwin with hundreds of other rally teams.

The journey hasn’t been completely smooth since leaving Adelaide, as Rod and Lyndell have faced days of tough outback driving, with the route throwing just about everything it possibly could at them.

From bitumen to dust, mud, water, rocks and bull dust, Team Santa’s Commodore has been tested constantly, in a range of different ways.

“Since leaving Adelaide, we have survived seven days of some of the most treacherous roads we have ever seen,” they said.

Just in case you were wondering exactly how punishing the road has been, 35 out of the 250 cars failed to make it to Darwin.

Rod and Lyndell said they were extremely lucky to have only suffered a broken fuel line, which turned out to be an easy fix.

Their fundraising effort has been just as impressive as the journey itself, with Team Santa’s final fundraising amount sitting at $36,250, placing them fifth overall for the amount raised.

The overall rally has raised $2.25 million for Cancer Council.

Rod and Lyndell had initially hoped to raise $30,000, but the community’s support helped them push beyond that original target.

A charity dinner at Koonwarra Hall gave the campaign a major boost, while people from Leongatha, Meeniyan, and surrounding towns also donated money.

The cause is a personal one for Rod, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018 at the age of 51.

He previously told the Sentinel-Times that he wanted to use the rally as an opportunity to raise funds for cancer research, but also to encourage more men to get checked for prostate cancer.

Rod and Lyndell thanked everyone who had supported Team Santa throughout their journey.

“We can’t thank the local community enough for supporting us and Cancer Council in raising awareness and much-needed funds for cancer research,” they said.

“If you see us in town anytime, please feel free to come and have a chat to us about our adventure.

“Thanks again everyone for your support.”