Day 7 afternoon Inglewood > Goondiwindi (that's pronounced Gun-de-windy, not Goon-de-windy, thanks)

Arguably the muddiest, most boggy, most chocolatey and delicious course of esCarpade 2010, today's road, or lack thereof, proved to be some pretty exciting driving.

And here is where the mud got really, really sticky.

Some fared better than others...

And some were just a little bit clever and went around it all.. 

The late afternoon went back to dust and then we found mud again.

Then the home stretch. 

Shame about the front windshield fellas... 

And onto Goondiwindi RSL for the awards, announcements and final tally! 

Good Carma through to Inglewood (Queensland, not South Central L.A.)

Sunshine today. Glorious sunshine. And a cracker of a start to the morning courtesy of a superb location and the good folks at Carma Coffee.

Then to Inglewood School for lunch. A real highlight for this year's esCarpade, the school has a serious vegetable growing program going on. The kids grow all manner of food stuff and have been schooled in how to harvest, clean and prepare the produce. 

 And of course this means they also to help make lunch. Today many of the mums from the school were out and about, some with questionable fashion sense... but feeding our hungry esCarpade hordes. 

As an aside, the kids have been known to prepare lunch for each other and teachers and on certain days they all sit down together and shared tables to eat. Everything from our lunch today was grown, cooked or produced from within the community. Bloody awesome. 

Thursday-itis. Hervey Bay > Goomeri > Dalby

After some good times in Hervey Bay, the morning kicked off with some genuine wet 'n' wild action at Hervey Bay Water Park. Our CEO Simon Rowntree joined us for the festivities, and lent some wise words to the esCarpade 2010 field. 

The course then headed back inland, through some very remote dirt roads. We love dirt. Filth is good. Dust is good. Mud is good. 

And of course some enthusiasm from the irrepressible Johnny. The most enthusiastic man in the Universe, he practically climbs out car windows to let you know how much fun he is having...

And some more demure times with our country princesses...

Back to the bitumen for a spell...

Then there was a great lunch in Goomeri (that's Goo-mary, not Gom-mere-eye, according to some eager locals). What a town. Plus, the puppets were on fire again, as was Fred. 

Of course there was some obligatory gift giving and hanging out with the kids... Check out Team 222/224 with a few happy young 'uns.  

Then the afternoon took us over the Great Dividing Range and a traverse of the Bunya Mountains, and again, of course, through some full sick, totally awesome, ballistic water crossings... 

The Kidsfix crew chew up and spit out water crossings like this.

I think I can, I think I can... 

 A new take on Archimedes bath...

...and a new take on having a bath. Feel that minty freshness. Make sure you scrub your under carriage...

... and back to the dust...skirting the forest again and into the pretty township of Dalby (that's pronounced Doll-by, not Dalby, as some eager locals pointed out). 

Car 269 - Cruising 4 Kids

Known for arguing and verbally abusing each other constantly, Cruising For Kids (car 269) are one of the more popular teams for their AMAZING good looks and fashion sense. (They are standing over my shoulder forcing me to type this). So says Ray 'we are lovable, and for every interview we charge, for a good cause of course - we came here in 2006 and welcomed us as a family, we returned three years and they welcomed us back like we never left - it's rare to find something like this'. Great bunch of fellas in 269. Ray #2 says 'esCarpade is one of the best organised car adventures you would ever enter, it's one happy family, and it's all about the kids, we wish there was more people in the world like the people who come to esCarpade'. Good work fellas. Ray #1, Ray #2, Joe. 

Celebrity entrants - Boogermobile

Newbie entrants, Boogermobile, have gained notoriety for being media darlings. From front covers of regional news papers to shaking the foundations of community radio, Boogermobile's omnipresence is notable. So says chief of Booger 'we are famous in our own right, there is nothing else to say but check out our blog' - see it at boogermobile.blogspot.com

Car 222 and 224 - The Yellow Flames from DeiCorp

Four big years for esCarpade and Camp Quality, the boys from Team DeiCorp have shot into the top list of fundraisers with big support from their loyal contributors. Bringing a second car to the 2010 esCarpade has been a master stroke. Jason, second from left, says 'for the undying love we have for our wives and children, we strive for more and more, God bless them all'.

Here are the boys with some kids from one of the school visits.

And one of their cars in action...

Two Dogs - The Legend of C21

Tony and Brian are Two Dogs. The two oldest esCarpade entrants, with a combined age of 320, yet they still manage to out drive many of the cars in the convoy. Tony's philosophy is to stick to a solid 2000 RPM at all times, only occasionally deviating if the mood or gradient of the road takes him. His '61 Holden purrs like a kitten and laps up the water hazards. True legends of esCarpade... if only they didn't drive off the road into ditches quite so often...

Health in no hurry...

Car 112 is also known as Health In A Hurry or in popular circles, Health In No Hurry. Widely known as the 'steady-as-she-goes-mobile' or likened to Driving Miss Daisy, Health In No Hurry has so far overtaken no one on esCarpade and hangs out with the Ambos at the back of the pack. Bless 'em.

Adelle says of this pic "It's the first time ive ever done anything like that, it was awesome, just great, good to have guidance telling me where to drive too. If I had tried to do it without the guidance I would probably still be in there…'. Meanwhile, Jill says 'it was an enormous buzz, it was just unreal. We've never done anything like that before. We did what we were told to do.' Rumour has it that normally she doesn’t do what she’s told to do… 

Tamworth is home to more than country and western music...

Car 410 is a first time entrant to esCarpade in 2010 and powered by family Hannaford. In this pic Greg Hannaford says ‘make it deeper’… ‘I don’t think, I just do it!’ – 'it was hardly a challenge'… very quotable Greg! 

Charlie from 1089 loves covering Mike in mud and water

Charlie from Car 1089 drives his car like he hates it, according to Charlie 'the gear box is half broken, and the car has a bad rattle in it, but that doesn't appear to be affecting anything'... and Charlie takes a great thrill in covering Mike in mud and water whenever he is nearby taking photos. Onya Charlie. Thanks for scaring the life out of most of your passengers when they strap into your fancy new bucket seats... allegedly Saffi had 'the time of her life' in his car the other day...

Norm the Ambulator speaks out against Tony 'Law Abiding' Mechanic as Tony bogs his vehicle

Norm growls in his booming, deep voice 'We're here to support everybody, and even although the mechanics think they are the gods on this trip, they still rely on the Ambos on mechanicals... pulling them out of the sh*t...' 

Maroochydore > Rainbow Beach > Hervey Bay - School visit MADNESS

Bit of a special start today with 'B-Man' Jason Bargwana attending our breakfast at Fresh On Cafe in Maroochydore. The B-Dawg Bargwana was on had for signing his autograph and generally raising spirits, and perhaps the odd RPM on the esCarpade cars...

'Bargs' also turned up to our first primary school visit, lending a hand with the excited kids at Maroochydore State School before we headed off to Tewantin State School for fun n games and puppet show action. 

Watch out for the water pistol commando unit. Dude in hat is the scout, other two are the grunts doing the hard yards for the Alpha Beta unit.

Then it was time to head back onto the road. Our fearless photographer Saffi struggled a bit with the concept of a T-intersection, but luckily we had some experts on hand to reveal the intricacies of turning left or right on the road... 

And back to the roads. A little water got in the way again... 

A few of the esCarpadians struggled a little. Ironic that they are both from the VW family of vehicles. Watch those rocks Combi dudes, watch that deep bit Beetle. 

Oh, and here are some gratuitous pics of two thirds of the intrepid photography crew. Far out they look professional. Mike is carrying the camera with the MASSIVE lens which means he is either overcompesating or is TOTALLY AMAZING with a camera. Waiting for cars to look amazingly wet and all covered with plumes of water can drive us mortals a little stir crazy. Check how Mike is standing all weird and awkward and reckons he walks on water...

Saffi is just stone, cold chillin', waiting for that ultimate pic. What a professional.

Finally we left the water logged bits of the course and hit the dust... 

No, someone didn't have a little accident after getting all excited about driving the dusty roads, that's just manure. Prime, fine, A-Grade Queensland manure.

And onto Hervey Bay!