Round Australia trip the hard way
The trio started off in bin bags on the streets of Brisbane
A Gwynedd man is taking an unusual approach to travelling around Australia to raise money for charity.
Along with two friends, Gareth Owen, from Groeslon near Caernarfon, started off with nothing - not even the clothes on his back.
The trio plan to work for all the goods and services they will need on the journey as they raise funds for Bookaid International.
The 15000 km round trip will end in Brisbane on 26 January next year.
Read more on the BBC website. "We've been planning the trip, which we've called 'as cheeky as you can't', for three years and we began by giving everything we had away," Mr Owen, 31, told BBC Radio Cymru's Hywel a Nia programme.
"The rules state that no cash can be earned and we will be working for food and everything else we will need along the way," said.
We have thought hard about what the possible problems might be, and how we might overcome them
Gareth Owen, 'Cheeky' traveller
The friends - the others are Anne Race from Tyne and Wear and Phil Carr from the Isle of Man - started off by giving all their clothes away and wearing bin bags on the streets of Brisbane.
"One man took off his flip-flops and others gave us bits of clothing," said Mr Owen.
"We're trying to get as many people involved as possible, and we've already got a van, tents and all our camping equipment.
"Someone even came to the door last week with a box of 12 bottles of wine," he added.
The trio hope their trip will be sufficiently different to attract enough publicity to raise £10,000 for child literacy charity Bookaid International.
"We are hoping that by doing the trip this way (depending on other people to donate everything) we can highlight the problems faced by people who have no money," he said.
Travellers tale
As Australia is such a vast country Mr Owen said they were hoping advance publicity would mean that communities along the way would be expecting them.
There is also an online blog of the traveller's tales.
"We have thought hard about what the possible problems might be, and how we might overcome them," he said.
"But so far we're doing really well, and we've had promises of food and places to stay," he added.
At the family's home at Groeslon near Caernarfon Mr Owen's mother, Mandy, said she thought the trip was a fantastic way to raise awareness of the Bookaid charity.
"I have been out today to send a parcel, as they are leaving forwarding addressed, but I'm not sure of their route," she said.
"At some point they are bound to go into the bush though, so I am hoping for their safety.
"They are extremely good friends though, and are in this together," she added. Return to Cheeky As You Can't home
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It's a Lifestyle Choice
The Challenge
From UN World Peace Day (Sep 21st) we circumnavigate the continent of Australia. See map. We begin with NOTHING: we will have no cash, no clothes, no possessions and no vehicle at the start of our journey. We remain penniless the whole journey, not spending a cent for anything. We do any job given to us and donate all our wages to Book Aid.
At the end, we give back, donate or auction all we have been given. Attempt to reach our goal of raising £10,000 ($22500) for Book Aid We place the outcome of our journey, our lives and our adventure into the hands of others. We work in exchange for goods and services such as food and fuel.
Each and Every Person Acknowledged
How do we keep people involved?
We will be forced into a daily survival situation where we have to rely on ingenuity, audacity, exchange, dares, comedy gold and the generosity of strangers to obtain the most basic of things. We will make our way round in who knows what manner, or in what sort of state, but always with good humour and originality. We will have to be audacious and cheeky to carry this off. So, be it a simple case of picking berries for shelter, telling jokes for pies, dressing up as a chicken to get our socks washed or tightrope walking for toilet roll, we will do it in exchange for something we need to circumnavigate the continent without a penny passing into our hands for work. It will be hard, we have to keep on trying, not as hard as we 'can,' but until we 'can't'. We must continue pushing on to the finishing post back in Brisbane, no matter what difficulties we come across.
With the local and national media, radio, TV and newspapers involved, we will build a profile to generate a following that will be able to see our progress daily online.What we are collecting here is a resource for people interested in Australia and a mateship list. A list of people who share in the ideal that the world is a good place, a list of those who believe in helping others in need, and most of all, a list of Aussies who like to have a laugh, share a good time and believe a 'can’t' can become a dead set ripper of a 'CAN'! Join us on our quest to help international child literacy by lending us your support, by sending us things you think we may need along the way, by making online donations to Book Aid International and/or to our fuel fund and by telling your friends! Read a cheeky bit more, the link below, to find out how to help us achieve the impossible.
Back to Ascheekyasyoucant home Read a cheeky bit more!
- We will not fail to publicly thank everyone who enables us to do this.
- Our a ‘Good on ya! Cheers mate’ list, will contain acknowledgements of all those who have helped us, and will be updated regularly.
- Nothing is irrelevant. A handshake and a kind word will be acknowledged.
- Our blogsite will be updated, added to, made fun, informative and the only official way to follow our intrepid adventures as they unfold
- Anne takes pictures
- Phil tells a joke
- Gareth grows a beard
- People contribute opinions, stories of their own, jokes, facts, anecdotes, and give us suggestions and invitations.
Buckley’s or breeze?
We will be forced into a daily survival situation where we have to rely on ingenuity, audacity, exchange, dares, comedy gold and the generosity of strangers to obtain the most basic of things. We will make our way round in who knows what manner, or in what sort of state, but always with good humour and originality. We will have to be audacious and cheeky to carry this off. So, be it a simple case of picking berries for shelter, telling jokes for pies, dressing up as a chicken to get our socks washed or tightrope walking for toilet roll, we will do it in exchange for something we need to circumnavigate the continent without a penny passing into our hands for work. It will be hard, we have to keep on trying, not as hard as we 'can,' but until we 'can't'. We must continue pushing on to the finishing post back in Brisbane, no matter what difficulties we come across.
Along a planned route we will find as many activities as we can, visit tourist attractions and places of interest, try our hands at any and all jobs (especially those targeted to travellers who enter on working holiday visas) and we will document all our finds and experiences. Every small business or individual who helps us will have their company logo and or name printed on our weblog.
With the local and national media, radio, TV and newspapers involved, we will build a profile to generate a following that will be able to see our progress daily online.What we are collecting here is a resource for people interested in Australia and a mateship list. A list of people who share in the ideal that the world is a good place, a list of those who believe in helping others in need, and most of all, a list of Aussies who like to have a laugh, share a good time and believe a 'can’t' can become a dead set ripper of a 'CAN'! Join us on our quest to help international child literacy by lending us your support, by sending us things you think we may need along the way, by making online donations to Book Aid International and/or to our fuel fund and by telling your friends! Read a cheeky bit more, the link below, to find out how to help us achieve the impossible.
There are many ways in which our friends, family, the media, companies, and our new to be mates can help us.
Donations
Please make donations to Book Aid.
Please make donations to our fuel and emergency breakdown/car maintenance fund. We will endeavour to not have to touch this fund but we predict we will need some help making sure we are carrying enough fuel in our vehicle to get us through the long unwinding roads through the desserts. All money which we manage to not use will be added to the Book Aid donations.
Mechanic
Will we need some fine tuning? Probably. "Pass me the spanner mate, it's most likely the head gasket, or is it the sump? Kick the tyres and find out". We are engine illiterate. Help us
Wish List
Please send us some of the things on our wish list. Don’t let Anne have to go through months and months of driving with smelly boys. Send odour eater socks and car fresheners etc to our starting address or to a post office. We will be grateful to anyone who sends us anything!
Spot us on the street and give us something. See our car parked and leave us something in our donation box, anything will be gratefully received but if they are biscuit shaped, edible and crumbly, Gareth will be happy.
Burn and send us mixed Cd's of your own music. We will need to listen to something as we are passing through areas with no radio frequencies. We will put links to all the music we like on our 'Thank You, Good On Ya Mate' website.
Offer us work
If you have a business which hires contract or seasonal workers, offer us a job in exchange for goods. We want to try our hands at any jobs you have for us, the stranger the better. Any jobs which we haven't already done, we will do to the best of our abilities. And remember, all money earned will go straight to Book Aid International.
Suggest work places to us.
Suggest places which we should contact for work. If you have worked in Australia and found your job , the people or the place interesting, or if you have any contact details for unusual jobs Australia, please give us details.
Do you have a garden which needs weeding, a dog which needs brushing, laundry which needs hanging or a car that needs waxing, we will happily do it in exchange of a feed, a bed or a wash.
Suggest places for us to visit and activities for us to do. We want to hear your stories. What really impressed you when you were here? Do you love your Auzzie town, tell us why we should visit you?
Send us Off
Come down and see us off at our start in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia.
Sunday 21st September
We will be starting out in the Valley Mall, Brisbane. If you can make it, please come down and speak to us. We will be the three people striping of their work clothes and donning black bin bags waiting for some kind soul to donate us some clothing.
Swapsies
If you see us en route, please swap something you have excess of, that we could use, for something we have excess of.
Website
Do you know how to improve this website? Please help us make improvements, make it more interesting, easier to navigate, add graphics etc. We need to add an interactive map with our destinations. Can you help us with this?
Artists
Please help us develop a brand. We need an identity, a logo or maybe a caricature/cartoon of ourselves so people can easily recognise us on the road.
Develop a design for our vehicle spray work or vehicle wrapping.
Spread the Word!
Help us gain the support we need to complete our challenge. Send a link to our website to all your friends.
Ask your work/friends/family to sponsor us.
Become our Facebook friend and join the Facebook 'As Cheeky As You Can't' group. Send a Facebook friend suggestion to all your friends. Sign up to our weblog and keep a watch over how far we are getting with our cheeky trek. Become a follower. Subscribe to our feeds.
Tell your local papers about us. We could use as much publicity as possible.
Have you met 'As Cheeky As You Can't'?
Do you have a story to tell about a time you spent with us? We want your stories and pictures. Either tags us in public pictures on Facebook and write up your story in the group or our wall, write up an article and post it (tagging us in the post) or share it in the comments box on blogger at the end of one of our articles. Remember, you are an integral part of this adventure, the people we meet are the most important element of the success of our quest.
Please contact us asap or send us something we will need.
Back to Ascheekyasyoucant home Read a cheeky bit more!
Day Two
Sppag Trek -The Next Bifurcation
It is only day two of our trek and there is already $1779 which has gone directly to book aid international.
After a bit of a hungry start to the day we spoke to a few people about Book Aid, hopefully spreading the word about their worthy cause.
We are a little worried about how we are going to make sure we can get a little fuel along the way, as we are working but unable to take money, but I'm sure somehow we will find a way.
Invited to do the Story Bridge Climbing Adventure Climb during the afternoon, we were extremely fortunate to see a birds eye view of the city as the sun quickly changed the sky hues through a gamot of colours then suddenly dropped behind the skyline.
Mel, Rachel and Andrew, supporters of the great work Book Aid International do, took us for a fantastic feed in the evening. What a feast! Thank you! Although it was the only meal we had yesterday it was huge, delicious and made going without during the day worth while! How guilty we felt, as we sat there with our over filled bellies, thinking 'Hmmm surely going without is supposed to be harder than this!' We are very grateful that we have clothes on our back, and nice clothes at that too, and that we are being fed delicious food by supporters.
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it. Read a cheeky bit more!
It is only day two of our trek and there is already $1779 which has gone directly to book aid international.
After a bit of a hungry start to the day we spoke to a few people about Book Aid, hopefully spreading the word about their worthy cause.
We are a little worried about how we are going to make sure we can get a little fuel along the way, as we are working but unable to take money, but I'm sure somehow we will find a way.
Invited to do the Story Bridge Climbing Adventure Climb during the afternoon, we were extremely fortunate to see a birds eye view of the city as the sun quickly changed the sky hues through a gamot of colours then suddenly dropped behind the skyline.
Mel, Rachel and Andrew, supporters of the great work Book Aid International do, took us for a fantastic feed in the evening. What a feast! Thank you! Although it was the only meal we had yesterday it was huge, delicious and made going without during the day worth while! How guilty we felt, as we sat there with our over filled bellies, thinking 'Hmmm surely going without is supposed to be harder than this!' We are very grateful that we have clothes on our back, and nice clothes at that too, and that we are being fed delicious food by supporters.
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it. Read a cheeky bit more!
Off With Your Pants! Day 1 of the Cheeky Trip!
Day 1-What a wonderful response! We were out there in the Valley Mall yesterday wearing our bin bags. Before we got there people were waiting around to donate goods to our cause.
The Wicked Campers girls brought a custom made van door with our names sprayed on it, nice! I wonder how long it will take using this Fred Flintstone type vehicle without wheels?
We spent the day the whole day under the glaring sun in sweaty plastic (it didn't end up raining like we feared.) We endured all the laughing, pointing, gasps, looks of horror and sympathy but met some wonderful people throughout the day.
The stall holders in Valley Mall kept us in constant supply of refreshment and food and many donated items from their market shops.
People offered us places to stay, jobs to do, many donated items for us to wear and we have a hostel to stay in throughout our time in Brisbane until Wednesday.
We've a bunch of thanks to give Susie Gardiner who made a fantastic banner and some delicious home made biscuits. We'll be using this banner all around Australia Susie! Thanks, thanks and more thanks!
Anne was very surprisingly interviewed for a fashion magazine, which stated her dress sense as "interesting". She described her bin bag/garbage sack look as.... "Street skip rat," or "RUBBISH!" Gareth's mum adds.
Carlie from Nova radio came down to give us a bag of goodies! Thank you lovely.
As you can see from the video, Gareth did try to smuggle some biscuits but he was soon found out during the de-robing session. EVERYTHING was given up to the two beautiful girls at Wicked Campers. Sorry about the low quality of our video, we are waiting for the girls to send us a clearer, more professional link but until then we will have to do with the one my sister took on her little camera.
Please visit the Book Aid News page, where you can see what we are doing for them over the next four months.
Thank you so much to all those great people who have offered beds, food and jobs up the eastern coast of Australia. We will be seeing you soon. We are still looking for a few more jobs and beds between Townsville and Mt. Isa and further west. If anyone has anything to offer we would love to hear from you.
Phil would like to thank Gareth and Gareth would like to thank Phil.
We spent most of the day without footwear but by the middle of the afternoon we could walk home safely. Phil would like to thank the very giving guy who took the shoes off his own feet to give to him on the spot! Wow! That is generous!!!!!
What an inspiring day. The support and encouragement we received was phenomenal and we are so very grateful to everyone who left all the positive comments in our message book. We appreciate everything that people have done for us. We understand that there is a lot being done behind the scenes which we will never know about, such as people spreading the word about our cause and about Book Aid and we thank you all for your had work.
Wow! After a day in the sun clad in black plastic, sweaty and smelling a little stale. We feel great in the knowledge that the world is a great place full of people with a good sense of humour for a great cause.
Read a cheeky bit more!
The Wicked Campers girls brought a custom made van door with our names sprayed on it, nice! I wonder how long it will take using this Fred Flintstone type vehicle without wheels? We spent the day the whole day under the glaring sun in sweaty plastic (it didn't end up raining like we feared.) We endured all the laughing, pointing, gasps, looks of horror and sympathy but met some wonderful people throughout the day.
The stall holders in Valley Mall kept us in constant supply of refreshment and food and many donated items from their market shops.
People offered us places to stay, jobs to do, many donated items for us to wear and we have a hostel to stay in throughout our time in Brisbane until Wednesday.
We've a bunch of thanks to give Susie Gardiner who made a fantastic banner and some delicious home made biscuits. We'll be using this banner all around Australia Susie! Thanks, thanks and more thanks!
Anne was very surprisingly interviewed for a fashion magazine, which stated her dress sense as "interesting". She described her bin bag/garbage sack look as.... "Street skip rat," or "RUBBISH!" Gareth's mum adds.
Carlie from Nova radio came down to give us a bag of goodies! Thank you lovely.
As you can see from the video, Gareth did try to smuggle some biscuits but he was soon found out during the de-robing session. EVERYTHING was given up to the two beautiful girls at Wicked Campers. Sorry about the low quality of our video, we are waiting for the girls to send us a clearer, more professional link but until then we will have to do with the one my sister took on her little camera.
Please visit the Book Aid News page, where you can see what we are doing for them over the next four months.
Thank you so much to all those great people who have offered beds, food and jobs up the eastern coast of Australia. We will be seeing you soon. We are still looking for a few more jobs and beds between Townsville and Mt. Isa and further west. If anyone has anything to offer we would love to hear from you.
Phil would like to thank Gareth and Gareth would like to thank Phil.
We spent most of the day without footwear but by the middle of the afternoon we could walk home safely. Phil would like to thank the very giving guy who took the shoes off his own feet to give to him on the spot! Wow! That is generous!!!!!
What an inspiring day. The support and encouragement we received was phenomenal and we are so very grateful to everyone who left all the positive comments in our message book. We appreciate everything that people have done for us. We understand that there is a lot being done behind the scenes which we will never know about, such as people spreading the word about our cause and about Book Aid and we thank you all for your had work.
Wow! After a day in the sun clad in black plastic, sweaty and smelling a little stale. We feel great in the knowledge that the world is a great place full of people with a good sense of humour for a great cause.
Read a cheeky bit more!
Come See Us De-robe!
Sunday 21st September from 9am.
Fortitude Valley Mall sunken area.
We will have a ceremonial de-robing moment, when we don our fetching black bin bags and give up all our worldly goods. Come and see us, laugh at us, point at our limelighted goose pimples and say to yourself "Mmmm....rather you than me mate. You look like a wally!"
We need all the help we can get so please come down to show your support, leave a donation, bring us some knickers or just give us a supportive word. We are a little nervous but we have full faith in the people of Brisbane and the people of Australia. Read a cheeky bit more!
Fortitude Valley Mall sunken area.
We will have a ceremonial de-robing moment, when we don our fetching black bin bags and give up all our worldly goods. Come and see us, laugh at us, point at our limelighted goose pimples and say to yourself "Mmmm....rather you than me mate. You look like a wally!"
We need all the help we can get so please come down to show your support, leave a donation, bring us some knickers or just give us a supportive word. We are a little nervous but we have full faith in the people of Brisbane and the people of Australia. Read a cheeky bit more!
A Few Hours To Go
A concoction of adrenaline, nerves and excitement, we had little or no sleep last night.
It is now Saturday night and we are cleaning our rooms, packing our belongings and watching the amazing but ominous looking fork lightening outside. It seems there is a huge storm brewing and it looks like it may start raining. Rain....hmmm...this is a spanner in the works we haven't prepared for.
As a Brit, when Anne first landed here in the middle of Australian winter Gareth laughed at her as she adjusted to a winter where the sun shines and you get a tan! Everyday for the first week after she arrived here she took out her coat and umbrella wherever she went, just in case. She has finally gotten used to the Australian glorious winter and it looks like it may rain now of all days.
Oh no.... Wet plastic bin bags, no clothing or shoes, wet hair and no towels to dry ourselves with! It's not something we are looking forward to. Fingers crossed the storm doesn't stay around tomorrow because we have to give up everything, which means we won't be able to use umbrellas!
We have been offered a number of beds and jobs in various places around the eastern coast of Australia. Thanks for all the offers!
People have been been sending us wonderful messages of support which have been very encouraging. That people are showing their willingness to get involved in this trek is really in line with the feelings being shared around the world tomorrow on United Nations International Day of Peace. People exchanging goods for other goods or services and giving a helping hand to others for no other reason than to share a smile.
We are keeping our fingers crossed that someone will turn up tomorrow and donate a camera, some clothes and offer us a job or invite us in for a feed. Unable to predict the outcome of tomorrow, we will surely have another restless night sleep, but we do have faith in the people of Brisbane......even if it does rain......... Read a cheeky bit more!
It is now Saturday night and we are cleaning our rooms, packing our belongings and watching the amazing but ominous looking fork lightening outside. It seems there is a huge storm brewing and it looks like it may start raining. Rain....hmmm...this is a spanner in the works we haven't prepared for.
As a Brit, when Anne first landed here in the middle of Australian winter Gareth laughed at her as she adjusted to a winter where the sun shines and you get a tan! Everyday for the first week after she arrived here she took out her coat and umbrella wherever she went, just in case. She has finally gotten used to the Australian glorious winter and it looks like it may rain now of all days.
Oh no.... Wet plastic bin bags, no clothing or shoes, wet hair and no towels to dry ourselves with! It's not something we are looking forward to. Fingers crossed the storm doesn't stay around tomorrow because we have to give up everything, which means we won't be able to use umbrellas!
We have been offered a number of beds and jobs in various places around the eastern coast of Australia. Thanks for all the offers!
People have been been sending us wonderful messages of support which have been very encouraging. That people are showing their willingness to get involved in this trek is really in line with the feelings being shared around the world tomorrow on United Nations International Day of Peace. People exchanging goods for other goods or services and giving a helping hand to others for no other reason than to share a smile.
We are keeping our fingers crossed that someone will turn up tomorrow and donate a camera, some clothes and offer us a job or invite us in for a feed. Unable to predict the outcome of tomorrow, we will surely have another restless night sleep, but we do have faith in the people of Brisbane......even if it does rain......... Read a cheeky bit more!
2 Days to go!!!!!!! Eeeeep!
We have less than two days to go before we are naked in our bin bags, a quivering trio in flimsy black plastic, covering nothing but question marks and hope, in The Valley Mall on Sunday. Eeeep!
We have had a great response so far. However one of the big things we still need is a video camera so we can film our exploits. Can anyone help us with this?
Gemma Snowdon from 4zzz radio and The Wire, interviewed us today. She is the first person to witness 'The Steve'. Listen to what she had to say about it here! Listen to The Wire's MP3 'Backpackers do it With a Difference'
Toucan displays have given us the means to advertise our challenge with a panel display wherever we go. 
Nova Radio inteverviewed us, we will put a link to the interview here as soon as we get it.
Lach Stock and Barell have donated shirts and a crate of wine for us to use as bartering tools for fuel etc.
Read a cheeky bit more!
We have had a great response so far. However one of the big things we still need is a video camera so we can film our exploits. Can anyone help us with this? Gemma Snowdon from 4zzz radio and The Wire, interviewed us today. She is the first person to witness 'The Steve'. Listen to what she had to say about it here! Listen to The Wire's MP3 'Backpackers do it With a Difference' Toucan displays have given us the means to advertise our challenge with a panel display wherever we go. 
We have been offered some interesting jobs and and have been offered some beds along the way. Base Brisbane, on Edward St, have offered us bums beds on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Nova Radio inteverviewed us, we will put a link to the interview here as soon as we get it.
Lach Stock and Barell have donated shirts and a crate of wine for us to use as bartering tools for fuel etc. eprintonline.com.au printed us 500 flyers.
3 Days Til The De-robing.
Wicked Campers have very generously given us a campervan! This is a marvelously generous donation! A huge thanks to the team at Wicked Campers. Some members of their team will be coming to see us on Sunday in the Valley Mall at 9am when we de-robe! They are customising one of their vans for us. Can't wait to see the 'cheeky' design!
Three Britons are about to leave themselves at the mercy of Australian generosity as they embark on a nationwide tour using only donations.
On Sunday Anne Race, 30, and Phil Carr, 28, both from England, and Gareth Owen, 31, from Wales, will abandon their worldly possessions and - dressed only in garbage bags and carrying only the equipment needed to record their journey - begin the daunting challenge of trying to circumnavigate the continent.
read more
Read a cheeky bit more!
Simon from the Brisbane Times came to speak to us. It was lovely to meet you Simon.
Three Britons are about to leave themselves at the mercy of Australian generosity as they embark on a nationwide tour using only donations.On Sunday Anne Race, 30, and Phil Carr, 28, both from England, and Gareth Owen, 31, from Wales, will abandon their worldly possessions and - dressed only in garbage bags and carrying only the equipment needed to record their journey - begin the daunting challenge of trying to circumnavigate the continent.
read more
4 Days to go
Camping.com.au have very generously offered to provide us with all our camping equipment. This is a massive help! It means we will not go without a place to rest our heads wherever we go. Using this great site you can search for outdoor services, shop, discover Australia using the location guide, browse through the classifieds, Match/Meet an outdoor type and get Membership Shop discounts.
Our interview with ABC Brisbane was wonderful. See Here
We met the lovely Kelly Higgins-Devine who will be following our trek and catching up with us every few weeks on her Drive show.
Listen to our interview here!
We were donated these caps to keep the sunburn off during our trek and listeners are starting to email us with invites to dinner at their homes and maps among other things. Thanks a lot for your support!
Read a cheeky bit more!
Our interview with ABC Brisbane was wonderful. See Here We met the lovely Kelly Higgins-Devine who will be following our trek and catching up with us every few weeks on her Drive show.
Listen to our interview here!
We were donated these caps to keep the sunburn off during our trek and listeners are starting to email us with invites to dinner at their homes and maps among other things. Thanks a lot for your support!
Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a form of cultural exchange in which WWOOFers live and work as family with host farms, and learn about the skills of organic growing and the area they are visiting. They have given us three free memberships and some shirts! Thanks WWOOF team!
5 days to go!
We have got our license through from the council to put up a display in Fortitude Valley and sit in front of it in our bin bags. A big thank you goes out to James Dorman for giving us a prime spot in Valley Mall.
Raised £415. Great stuff everyone. Not bad for our first days.
Received money in our fuel fund and Anne has found her lost driving license.
Received T-shirts and literature from Book Aid International, Thanks to Lesley Pinder.
Manx Radio are interviewing us this week.
The Sunderland Echo are printing a story.
A huge travel book and map was given by Andrew Herbert, thanks mate.
Beds have been offered around some destinations we will be going to near the end of our journey.
A car is in Sydney waiting for any mechanic that has the time to do a little fixing, and for someone to pick it up or to drive it down to us.
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it. Read a cheeky bit more!
Raised £415. Great stuff everyone. Not bad for our first days.
Received money in our fuel fund and Anne has found her lost driving license.
Received T-shirts and literature from Book Aid International, Thanks to Lesley Pinder.
Manx Radio are interviewing us this week.
The Sunderland Echo are printing a story.
A huge travel book and map was given by Andrew Herbert, thanks mate.
Beds have been offered around some destinations we will be going to near the end of our journey.
A car is in Sydney waiting for any mechanic that has the time to do a little fixing, and for someone to pick it up or to drive it down to us.
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it. Read a cheeky bit more!
How You can Help
In order for this to work there are a few things we need.
1. Jobs we can do in return for donations to book aid international.
2. Offers of a meal, fuel or accomodation along our route.
3. Spread the word to your local, statewide or to the national media
Click below to find out more about how to help.
1. Jobs we can do in return for donations to book aid international.
2. Offers of a meal, fuel or accomodation along our route.
3. Spread the word to your local, statewide or to the national media
Click below to find out more about how to help.
As many of you know we have visited a few impoverished countries, and in meeting the children of these places, we vowed to commit ourselves to a do a good deed to help them. It was Anne's 30th birthday a weeks days ago and Gareth 31st too, so now is a good a time as any to do some good for child literacy, giving kids a chance at having a better life. We are nowhere near friends and family, but we're sure you guys would buy us a pint or take us out to dinner for our birthdays, if you had the chance, so we ask this of you instead.
- Leave a comment after one of the posts. If people can see that many others are following this blog then it encourages more interest.
- Either become a follower, by following the instructions, or subscribe to the blog.
- As a birthday treat we ask a big favour. To donate at least the price of a pint to the charity we are backing on our adventure starting Sept 21st, through our webpage, next to the total target of £10,000. It is our goal to do something for a worthy cause.
- If you are a really generous mate, then you may also want to consider donating on the other button (the one that goes to the fuel fund), the price of a chaser for after that pint, at the top of the webpage, to contribute to our fuel and emergency fund. This fund will be used should the occasion arise we need a little monetary help to get us out of any pickles we may come across, for example, to eliminate the chance of us being in the middle of nowhere without fuel, dying of scurvy and dehydration in the desert wearing nought but Hessian potato sacks (We will endeavour to not use this fund as we want to add this to the total Book Aid fund on arrival to Brisbane in January).
- Please ask the people in your office/work to take a look at our sight and maybe donate.
- Maybe you could send out an envelope round the office then use your debit card to donate the amount collected to our charity. (Please remember to donate through our web page so we get closer to our target and we know how much money our colossal event has raised for child literacy.)
- Please pass this mail or your version of it to all the people in your address book, the only way this thing is going to work is if we get as many people reading our blog as possible. Please please pass this on and add your own personal message to the top.
- If you can’t open the blog page in you work etc, then please open it at home.
- If you have any positive comments to make about our trek, then please leave them on the website for other people and the media to see.
- Help in any of the other ways stated in the full post It's a Lifestlye Choice.
This is an immense challenge. We have to convince people to give us everything we need.
But at the end of our adventure we should have tried our hands at a great number of jobs, tried many activities, written up reviews and articles for many services, places and people, collected a deal of money for charity, gotten ourselves in a great deal of newspapers, magazines and hopefully TV, and we will no doubt have learned a great deal. We must succeed in this challenge, if we don’t we starve! However, the worst case senario is that we have raised awareness and money for Book Aid and died starving, but happy in the knowledge we tried.
You can find two different donation buttons. I hope you can donate to one fund if not both. After all, to succeed in some of life’s biggest challenges you have to surpass being as cheeky as you ‘CAN’ you have to be As Cheeky As You ‘CAN’T’!
Thank you.
Our Charity- Book Aid International
Our chosen charity is Book Aid International. We believe books change lives. Books have definitely changed ours, inspiring ideas and creativity, giving us language skills, and aiding our education.
Please make a donation here to give impoverished children a chance to change their lives too.
Book Aid have said.
"Many thanks for choosing to support Book Aid International on your Australian adventure! It is very much appreciated and definietly one of the most imaginitive ways that money has been raised for us"
Book Aid International was listed as the number one way to help Make Poverty History on the channel 4 website. http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/M/makepovertyhistory/8ways/1.html
We believe that Book Aid International is doing great work indeed. Please visit their website soon to find out what they do, and to see how our adventure will support them. We hope people will think the cause is a worthy one .
We believe that Book Aid International is doing great work indeed. Please visit their website soon to find out what they do, and to see how our adventure will support them. We hope people will think the cause is a worthy one .
There are many ways to raise money for charity, we have raised money at various events in the past including: walking on hot coals, London marathons, walks, running into the painfully cold North Sea on Boxing Day, sponsored fasts, dances, costume wearing, bake sales, book sales etc. We have always had a great deal of fun and gained as much for ourselves in terms of experience from each of the events as we have in monetary value for good causes. We believe raising money for charity can incorporate a fun element and we hope to have a lot of fun along the way!
In the past, volunteering time in Indonesian schools, in special needs departments, in reading to children, in conservation and environmental work, and in orphanages, amongst other projects, we have met some wonderful people and had a great amount of fun. We feel however that the money raised from this trip will directly benefit more people and reach the places we can’t volunteer in through Book Aid International. We believe that Book Aid International is doing great work indeed. Please visit their website soon to find out what they do, and to see how our adventure will support them. We hope people will think the cause is a worthy one.
This Cheeky trip is one we will consider to be the hardest of our events to raise money and also the most enjoyable too. Travelling is easy if you have money to buy all of life’s essentials and some luxuries but we will not be able to get these things. The challenge will be 15,000km without any purchasing ability. To see how difficult it is to start from nothing. To spend four months or more without this power to buy our way out of trouble will be hard because we are doing this in a world where it’s easy to get by if you have the money to spend. Our only currency will be ourselves.
We will survive with only our ability to work for favours, talk to people and smile. Our aim is to reach £10,000 for Book Aid, so for example, we are hoping that after we have worked on a farm in exchange for a basket of food, the rest of the money we could have earned (if we were able to take it) will instead go directly to Book Aid, in order to reach our target. Yes, we are asking people to be generous, but we really hope people know exactly what it is we are doing so no one feels they have been conned into helping us.
There are many very hard-working people making a huge difference, in the front line of world poverty, which we fully commend. We are in no way to be compared to these wonderful people, we are simply trying to raise awareness and a little money for those who can put it to good use.
Read a cheeky bit more!
In the past, volunteering time in Indonesian schools, in special needs departments, in reading to children, in conservation and environmental work, and in orphanages, amongst other projects, we have met some wonderful people and had a great amount of fun. We feel however that the money raised from this trip will directly benefit more people and reach the places we can’t volunteer in through Book Aid International. We believe that Book Aid International is doing great work indeed. Please visit their website soon to find out what they do, and to see how our adventure will support them. We hope people will think the cause is a worthy one.
This Cheeky trip is one we will consider to be the hardest of our events to raise money and also the most enjoyable too. Travelling is easy if you have money to buy all of life’s essentials and some luxuries but we will not be able to get these things. The challenge will be 15,000km without any purchasing ability. To see how difficult it is to start from nothing. To spend four months or more without this power to buy our way out of trouble will be hard because we are doing this in a world where it’s easy to get by if you have the money to spend. Our only currency will be ourselves.
We will survive with only our ability to work for favours, talk to people and smile. Our aim is to reach £10,000 for Book Aid, so for example, we are hoping that after we have worked on a farm in exchange for a basket of food, the rest of the money we could have earned (if we were able to take it) will instead go directly to Book Aid, in order to reach our target. Yes, we are asking people to be generous, but we really hope people know exactly what it is we are doing so no one feels they have been conned into helping us.
There are many very hard-working people making a huge difference, in the front line of world poverty, which we fully commend. We are in no way to be compared to these wonderful people, we are simply trying to raise awareness and a little money for those who can put it to good use.
Our Wish List, What We Need.
Help us if you can!We need small and mega large donations of tangible things.
Remember we are beginning our journey with nothing at all. that means we need everything. Please donate anything you think we may need. Try and think of the things you would take if you were going on a camping holiday and see if you have anything you could let us have for a great cause.
Transportation:we are hoping for a vehicle big enough to sleep in; a van; a caravan; mobile home. This will be a great way of marketing your business!
A video camera:we need to document our progress and collect footage of us doing jobs and activities along the way.Laptop; so we can edit and upload photos, write articles, upload pictures, write articles, internet access so we can research areas to visit/get in touch with potential mates etc
Camping equipment; tents; sleeping bags; roll matts; torches.
Food: as much as possble please! We will need as much none perishable fodder as we can carry. If there is one sure fire way making this plan work is if Gareth has a good supply of biscuits and cookies.
click here to read a cheeky bit more and find out what else we need and how you can help.
A Week To Make This Work? Are You Serious?
What will happen on Sunday 14th September?
We will be pressing ‘send’ on our computers, to forward an email plea to businesses, media, radio, TV and anyone else we can think of, who could help us achieve our goal. We will have exactly one week to convince people in Australia to give us beds, jobs, a vehicle, clothing, food and everything else we will need to get around Australia without any money or possessions.
What will happen one week later on Sunday 21st September?
We will, in a grand gesture, sit on the main shopping and café mall in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia, with nothing but a black bin liner, and wait for things to happen. We are hoping people will answer our pleas positively and set us up with everything we need.
Erm…but what if they don’t? What if nobody gives you what you need?
Then you do not have as much faith in people as we do. I am sure people will want to help out a good cause and be involved in an audacious plan.
No seriously, what if you are sat there all day and no one takes a blind bit of notice of you?
Then the world has lost its sense of humour. I will wish to live no longer. I will eat last night’s kebab remains, sober.
Won’t this be really, I mean, really difficult?
Erm… yeh. Read a cheeky bit more!
We will be pressing ‘send’ on our computers, to forward an email plea to businesses, media, radio, TV and anyone else we can think of, who could help us achieve our goal. We will have exactly one week to convince people in Australia to give us beds, jobs, a vehicle, clothing, food and everything else we will need to get around Australia without any money or possessions.
What will happen one week later on Sunday 21st September?
We will, in a grand gesture, sit on the main shopping and café mall in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia, with nothing but a black bin liner, and wait for things to happen. We are hoping people will answer our pleas positively and set us up with everything we need.
Erm…but what if they don’t? What if nobody gives you what you need?
Then you do not have as much faith in people as we do. I am sure people will want to help out a good cause and be involved in an audacious plan.
No seriously, what if you are sat there all day and no one takes a blind bit of notice of you?
Then the world has lost its sense of humour. I will wish to live no longer. I will eat last night’s kebab remains, sober.
Won’t this be really, I mean, really difficult?
Erm… yeh. Read a cheeky bit more!
Your Review Here--The Golden Palace Restaurant, Brisbane
China Town, Brisbane, a relatively small pocket of red and gold running parallel to Valley Mall, opened on Chinese New Year 1987. Designed by three Chinese architects and three engineers from Guangzhou in China’s Guangdong province, Chinatown Mall is regarded as the most authentic in Australia. Walking up the mall and gazing at the shops surrounding a grand pagoda—which was rebuilt in 1996 after it exploded when a car drove through a second story window and landed on it in Jackie Chan’s film, First Strike—you will find Chinese supermarkets offering imported Asian goods, Chinese herbalists, duty free shopping, jewellers, a weekend street market and of course the plentiful, colourful restaurants. Steamy aromas escaping the many eateries and sights of the marinated birds and 
meats in the shop windows will tempt you into submission, but if you manage to make it to the top of the mall without eating yet, then you may want to visit the Golden Palace.Sat in a cheerful room, I tasted something I had neither heard nor seen before. Presented as delightfully as it smelled, and smelling as deliciously as it tasted, it was something of a creative signature of the Golden Palace. Crafted by Hong Kong trained chefs, the glistening coat from a mighty oven roasted chicken had been gracefully removed and draped over, to tailor fit, a steaming prawn meat valet. The crispy chicken skin was a fine garment for a surprisingly complementary torso.Suzanne, the daughter manager of this long established family run restaurant, proudly invites us to join her.
“We’re one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in Brisbane and the biggest in the Valley and city area.
This restaurant was opened over 20 years ago and has been under the management of my family for over 12 years.”
A multi lingual waitress, looking authentic in vivid mauve and gold, carves a juicy Peking duck by our table and places succulent slices of the offering onto home made crepes. The self rolled crispy duck pancakes left us holding back on licking our fingers for want of more, but the next dish, wagyu steak cut into bite size, melt in the mouth morsels, outdid the first. Each mouthful was a gift for the tongue, chefs Peking sauce complementing the prime beef without overpowering the palate.
With
two teams of staff, each working along side either the yum cha chef or the a la cart chef to perfect receipes and service, Suzanne proudly exclaims that the food has an ability to advertise itself once customers try it. Relying greatly on word-of-mouth marketing, she has a number of regular patrons. Her only complaint is that she sometimes finds that her frequenters tend not to be as adventurous as she would like them to be. By allowing staff to try new dishes, so they can appropriately describe all menu items, she influences some visitors and regulars to widen their knowledge and appreciation of Hong Kong cuisine. “We want to make sure every customer is satisfied every time, so the restaurant promotes itself. This is how we maintain a full house every Saturday and Sunday lunch time.”
The food presentation was outstanding, with pieces of vegetable artwork adorning each plate, carefully hand crafted to mimic flowers. The waiters and waitresses were friendly and it was very easy to find comfort in the relaxing environment. “The floor staff must speak English and Mandarin or Cantonese, and our chefs are brought here on their merits as specialist chefs in Hong Kong cuisine."
Although it isn’t exactly a first date place, for lack of privacy or romantic lighting, I would bring the family or a group of friends for any occasion to sit around one of the Golden Palace’s circular tables, which ensure a sociable, authentic eating experience coupled with a whistle wetting Australian wine list.With a 350 seat capacity, and two private dinning rooms, the Golden Palace often holds corporate events, weddings, yum cha banquets and it has convenient ATM facilities. For menu and reservations please visit the Golden Palace website here.
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