research, passed through Cobar last Tuesday on Day 4 of the rally from Louth to Orange.
A large group of odd looking cars passed through Cobar last week as part of the Mystery Box Car Rally raising money for the Cancer Council.
As part of the fun on this fundraising adventure, the 75 teams didn’t know from one day to the next where they would be driving, only finding out their day’s destination each morning.
Last Monday night they were camped in Louth and on Tuesday they passed through Cobar on their way to Orange.
The rally’s public relations manager Laura Heslop explained the unique concept.
“Firstly the teams bid on a mystery box car at a private auction the night before the rally began using monopoly money based on their fundraising total.
“The more they raised the more chance they had to secure their dream car!” Laura said.
“The cars are valued between $500 to $1,000, adding another mystery to the rally if the car will actually make it to the finish line.
“The cars range from small hatchbacks to large station wagons, it’s the luck of the draw.
“The next mystery is the route.”
She said while The Cobar Weekly and other media outlets were given a “heads up” on the rally passing through last week, the teams had no idea where they’d be travelling throughout the rally.
“Each morning at 8.30am on the rally, the teams get given a map of that day’s destination.”
Laura said the Mystery Box Rally isn’t a race, but more of a challenge for teams to get their ‘dream mystery box’ car across the finish line, all while experiencing parts of Australia that many have never been to.
“The teams are from all across the country, and this year they had a chance to see the beauty and vastness of NSW.”
Over the past three years, Mystery Box Rally participants have rallied together to raise a total of $798,000 for vital Cancer Council research programs.
This year the group had hoped to add another $350,000 to help with the fight against cancer however they exceeded that goal and finished with a total of $391,943.
“That brings the total raised by Mystery Box Rally over the past three years to more than $1 million, all donated directly to cancer research,” Laura said.
