Let’s think about dates for a minute. Dates that are important to us and signify usually something positive – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or the birth of your children. The date that is cemented in my mind is 31^st January 1999. This was the day, after 12 months of pins and needles in my hand and feet, lack of co-ordination, falling over and off stools, that I finally had a for it. Multiple Sclerosis. The only time I’d heard of MS was the readathon in Primary School!

And so began a very funny, slightly sad, but overall utterly inspiring speech by Gerard Chalmers.  A speech that touched the hearts and minds of 540 people. A speech that set the tone for an amazing evening.  A speech that in years to come will be talked about by many and forgotten by very few…

The Youngcare Walk Gala dinner was by all accounts a smashing success.

It kicked off with a massive bang as Brazilian drummers and dancers entered the Hilton Ballroom. To check them out click here.

Karl Stefanovic, who kindly MC’d the evening, and who has been a great ambassador and supporter of the cause and walk, was a true star. Despite his bad jokes (I do have weight issues) he entertained the crowd, posed for hundreds of photo’s, danced for $100 bucks (he did ask for $200 but was refused so with ego crushed he powered on) and even bought an auction item – Mundine’s gloves. I don’t think they will help in his upcoming bout with Wendell Sailor.

Karl also kicked the night off with heaps of lucky door prizes.

Mike Lorge from Sage Software Australia (our wonderful major sponsor) spoke about Sage’s on-going commitment to the cause which is great news. We could not have had such a successful event without them.

Dee Uluweira and Lalita Ari, two awesome individual singers, then rocked the house as a duo.

Dee, an accomplished Soloist & Background vocalist was born to sing! Dee has extensively toured the world for the last 3 years and has worked alongside the world's finest, including Australia's own Guy Sebastian, Deni Hines, Paulini and Venetta Fields.

For the past ten years Lalita has been working professionally as a session singer, and also keeps busy with numerous singing/acting performances including sports events, media commercials and television appearances including Good Morning Australia and The Denise show on the Seven Network.

The three very ordinary blokes who walked 300k’s then shared a few stories about the adventure. A video was played to the potbellies soundtrack and you can check it on out the home page of the website or click here.

David Conry gave a powerful and very moving speech about what Youngcare means, what the walk has achieved and what needs to be done.

Bruce Connors from Pickles auction led a wild 20 minutes of keen bidding unfold for all of our auction items which raised $23,700.

Bidding for the silent auction was just as ferocious with jerseys, holidays, electronic equipment, Home and Away scripts and dresses just to name things all under the hammer. In total, we made $21,000 from the silent auction.

Following all the formalities Boogie Fever took the stage and set the night alight with hundreds of people crashing the dance floor to boogie!!!

The night would not have been the success it was without the support of quite a few people. A huge thank you to Vanessa, Katrina, Rachael, Annick, Brooke, Sonya and Tim for the past 9 months of planning & hard work culminating in such a wonderful night.

Keith and his team at Event Sound did an amazing job. The Hilton were awesome and to all the other companies and supporters who helped make this happen with products and services, another heart felt thank you.

Without the support of family, friends, business and Government, the walk and the Gala dinner just would not have happened and would not have been the tremendous success it was. Without the support of family, friends, business and Government the dream of opening a Youngcare apartment here in Sydney will not happen. This is the start, not the end.  Let’s not forget that only weeks ago not many people in NSW knew about this issue or even knew about Youngcare. Now we have raised $155,000 and more than 6.6 million people across the country now know about the issue and know about Youngcare….

Giddyup

Hi one and all - and yes it is finally here, the blog that is, not the end. Thanks for all the text messages and emails today "encouraging" us to pen the final chapter of this epic 'Lord of the Rings' slash 'Holy Grail' come 'Star Wars' with a touch of 'Forest Gump' style journey.

Well first things first, this ain't the last blog. We still have a week to go before the Gala dinner that is shaping up to be one of THE nights of 2008 - but more of that in later blogs.

This photo captures the moment when Parramatta Stadium (minus Shannon and a few Knight supporters) erupted for the second time that night...

90 minutes before that golden point golden moment was the first stadium eruption as the mighty, mighty three musketeers who walked 300ks strolled into the stadium carried, just like the last 10 days, by the support crew of Ja'mie Jamie, Big bear Trevor Kenny Rodney, Shannon 'nice tights' Ping, Jeff 'just tell me where are we going' Cameron, and SOC 'careful not to slip' SOC. Also joining us was David Conry - Executive Chairman of Youngcare, and a very special and inspiration friend of mine (Andy) Gerard Chalmers.

Here are a couple of photos of that moment but we are on the hunt for more as most of our photographers were to busy clapping and cheering.

What an experience. To walk around the stadium, to see people who now know about this serious issue, stand, clap and say well done was amazing. We had kids leaning over the fence wanting to shake hands and blokes wanting to share their beer.

But nothing beat the moment when 200 of our family and friends - our greatest supporters - stood as one, cheered us on and celebrated. Through watery eyes we gazed upon the smiles of the people we care for and love and have missed terribly over the past two weeks. It was an honour to represent you all and the people we walked for. Your hats looked awesome!

David 'sexman with massive calves' Sexton gave an inspiring interview at half way and Troy 'thumbs up' McPhee tried keeping his trademark 'just got out of prison face' but did manage to crack a few massive smiles.

11 days ago we left Parliament house half 'n hour late and yesterday we arrived at Parramatta Stadium half 'n hour early - talk about precision planning and execution.

We hugged, cheered and let out a sigh of relief to know we had made it.

We also posed for silly photo's as we tried to punch the air... try and pick the tired ones.

From that point on family and friends began to arrive and the realisation that it was complete started to sink in.

The kids grabbed handfuls of Youngcare flyers and began thrusting them into the hands of every person walking to the stadium. Some of the less receptive game goers were chased 20 or 30 metres until they finally agreed to take the flyer. Alex Hawke, Federal Member for Mitchell commented it was the best display he has ever seen and wondered if they could be available next election :)

We walkers began re-telling war stories and explaining to everyone we could find just how tough we really were.

The final 4k walk was great. We were joined by David Conry, who is a top bloke...

and Gerard Chalmers - friend of mine who suffers from MS and is part of my inspiration for doing this crazy thing. Kristina Kineally - Minister for Disability Services, Belinda Comninos - policy advisor, Phill McCall - Media advisor, Alex Hawke - Member for Mitchell, David Borger - Member for Granville, Louise Marcus - Member for Greenway and Paul Barber - Parramatta Lord Mayor. 

It was a large group and we must have looked like a motley crew hanging around traffice lights and posing for photos along the way.

It was great to talk with them all and see their real interest in the issue. If this facility is to be built and run we need community, business and of course Government support.

Just before we set off we did another cross with the James Valentine program on ABC 702. David Conry also had a word with him on-air. We have been on each afternoon since Wednesday and James has been a great supporter and his listeners have always sought us out.

If you would like to watch the Today show interview in which sexman shows off his wing dings click here Killer Calves.

Again - thank you to all who have helped and supported us and we can't wait to celebrate properly next Saturday night at the Gala dinner. Only a few tables left so get in now!

Last night we collected $558.15 with family and friends shaking  buckets outside the game and our little donation tin we carried along our journey was cracked open today...

$510 was raised by "beside the road" donations... now that deserves a massive 'Giddyup'

Giddyup

We promise to write more and share the amazing and emotional evening with all you avid blog readers but alas it is too late at night and the three of us are all very, very exhausted and thankfully ion the loving arms of our families.

Let us just say that the walk into and around the stadium is something we will remember for ever.

Thank you for the 200 that turned up to support us and the standing ovation - it brought tears to our very weary eyes...

The game was awesome and it could not have been a better way to end this little adventure.

See you all tomorrow... ;)

Giddyup

Due to popular demand we are trying to pump out a blog while we sit here at Granville Park only kilometres from our final steps, waiting for all the pollies to join us for the glory mile.

Ja'mie has made us sandwiches and we are fueling up for the final four ks.

After a late night staying up for the footy show piece... (how good was that!!!!) we were up, doing our hair, Troy had to borrow my hair glue, I had to use my nivea revitalise cream and David polished his calves.

After a drenching overnight another glorious morning greeted us...

We all squeezed into the Tarago and headed off to Cabramatta for our live cross with the Today show. We were all excited knowing that we were only 20ks to our final destination.

We were again on Goulburn Radio 2GN talking with Craig who has been a tremendous supporter and then spent 20 minutes walking back and forth, being filmed for overlay. We were then mic'd up ready to cross to Karl and Lisa. The camo, Dale, thought that David's physique was phenomenal. Troy agreed as he commented that Colonel Sanders could only fit four of the 11 secret herbs and spices on his legs.

We crossed to the studio and closed the interview with a very, very, very tight shot of David's calves. The studio was in stitches and so were his kids...

Guessing game for all the punters... Pick the Calves...

We then jumped back into the trusty Tarago and headed back to camp and prepare for the final slog.

A quick interview with Jason Morrison on 2GB giving him stick about the fact he has not been able to walk with us. Karl also had a late call to host ACA so also couldn't make the walk.

We started at Peter Warren Ford at Warwick Farm and walked the 10ks to Granville Park. Joining us was Graham Lance and Paul Calvert.

It was a great stroll, enjoying the experience and reminiscing about some of the great moments of the journey.

Like the entire walk, today's little stroll was full of its own little adventures. We pushed a car off the road, grabbed a coffee and were cheered on by a great couple in a car all at the one set of lights.

Dave Conry, the man behind Youngcare met us at the park and it was hugs all round.

We are now preparing for the final four ks and tonight. We are expecting to reach Parramatta Stadium at 5 to great our families and media. At 7.10 we will walk into the stadium, celebrating the end of this great adventure. We will have 200 family and friends joining us at the game.

This afternoon we have walking with us:

Gerard Chalmers - friend of mine (Andy) who suffers from MS

Dave Conry - Youngcare

Kristina Kineally - Minister for Disability Services

Alex Hawke - Member for Mitchell

David Borger - MP

Louise Marcus - Member for Greenway

Paul Barber - Parramatta Lord Mayor

Thanks for all your support and don't forget to check out the video blogs... should give you a giggle.

Giddyup

A stunning evening closed an amazing day...

And a beautiful morning greeted us as we awoke at Nepean Dam.  It was a big morning to pack up everything we had and move on down the road even closer to our final destination – Parramatta Stadium.

We’ve had such great support from the media we decided to give Kyle & Jackie O at 2Day FM a call and got through at around 6:50am.  The guys were really interested in our story and helped by promoting our website.  They even agreed to play our tour anthem “Don’t Hold Back” by the Potbelleez which gave us real kick.

Andy did another interview with Jason Morrison from 2GB.  The only downside of this was that Jason was meant to be hitting the pavement with us but unfortunately had to fill in again for Alan Jones.

We made our way to Denham Court Caravan Park before we started walking for today which will be our base tonight.  Margaret, the lovely lady who manages the park, greeted us very warmly and has gave us prime position with great access to all the facilities.

Andy had lined up a mate and his colleague to take some professional footage to show at the Gala Dinner.  These guys were awesome and spent over an hour taking various shots from all sorts of angles, so we’re hopeful he can get some decent footage of three very ordinary blokes.

We were met by a champion Australian, champion netballer and champion lady – Liz Ellis.  Liz had just arrived back in Sydney from shooting a pilot for Channel 9 in Melbourne and walked the walk with us for a few hours and was fantastic company.  She endured the stench of 9-day old sweat and continued on to help with some media commitments in Campbelltown. 

Nova 96.9 sent their CassaNova vehicle to Campbelltown Stadium where we met with the Macarthur Advertiser and Pat Farmer. 

More photos and another great opportunity to tell even more Australians about the walk and the issue of YPINH.  Also joining us was Debra Stevens, a long term advocate of the cause in the local Macarthur area.

Shannon posed for star photo number 17.

Liz and Andy couldn't resist posing with Amazon from Gladiators...

A quick photograph of the hallowed turf of the mighty mighty 2005 Premiers - The West Tigers.

Not convinced we had done enough walking for the day, we headed back to the Hume Highway at Liverpool for a quick hour or so to see us finish the day at Warwick Farm.  We were joined by some family of my (Dave’s) wife Katrina – Kathy, Michael, Kerry & Seren - giving us great words of encouragement and a couple of bottles of bubbly to celebrate the impending completion of project Youngcare Walk.

Other media coverage for the day included ABC Local Radio with James Valentine and 2GN Goulburn radio.  We’ve also secured a live cross in the morning to The Today Show and Karl Stefanovic will be with us from 1pm.

Much time was spent teeing up all the final details with the Eels for the walk in to Parra Stadium.  Fingers crossed, we’re set to mark the end of what has has been such a remarkable experience and has achieved more than we could have ever hoped for.

Troy had another massive fix-up job from Soc and was looking for inspiration to carry on...

We’ve enjoyed dinner out as a team at the Outback Steakhouse in Leumeah sharing stories of the past 9 days and our hopes for tomorrow.  Troy, Andy & I have sorted out the all important issue of colour coordinating our shirts for the day, pedicure done and eyebrows waxed!!

A late night donation from a caravan park colleague Adam and a quick photo...

There’s so much that could be said on the eve of our finish but it’s so hard to put this in to words.  To all the team on the road, to our loved ones at home, to the YC walk committee, our family & friends and to everyone who has donated, sent messages of support or tooted their horns along the 300km of this amazing trek, we simply say a hearfelt and sincere thank you.

As we look to the future we know our journey has reached many people and our story has been heard. Celebration of our steps is firmly in our sights with our Gala Dinner being held at the Sydney Hilton on Sat 5th April, a mere eight days away - a night certain of great joy and laughter.

A huge day tomorrow and we can’t wait!!

p.s. a quick late edit to the blog thanking The Ch9 Footy Show, the NRL One Community Team and those of our friends and family who stayed up until 11:15pm to watch our coverage.

“It is much better to light a match than to curse the darkness” Eleanor Roosevelt (thanks mum)

“I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination.” Keats

Wonderful, wonderful words… and the words of support from all of you have kept us going, kept us smiling and often bought a small tear to our eyes. You have all played a special role in this journey and we thank you for that.

Tonight we are sitting under the stars in a beautiful place called Nepean Dam. It is just us and us alone… except for Woofy but more on him later in tomorrow’s blog. We have to thank the great people at the Sydney Catchment Authority who have allowed us to stay here for two nights, a slice of heaven that is closed to the public after five. We are taking the opportunity to reflect and enjoying this tremendous experience.

We have eaten like kings tonight (Sweet Chilli beef) thanks to Ja’mie and Rob Turner-Jensen from Chiro for Kids at Concord has worked wonders on us. We are having warm showers, as the sweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee from the trusty Krups machine is made by chief barista Ja’mie.

Ah... life is hard for elite athletes :)

Yesterday was a massive high. "We lit a match", we smashed 40ks – almost a marathon. We could not believe what we can achieve – "with heart affections and imagination". But with every high must come a low. While today was an amazing day for the profile of the YC walk and to connect and spend time with the NRL, who have been a truly amazing supporter since day one. But as far as walking goes – it felt at times like we were ice skating up hill.

We started late.

Ja’mie let us sleep in until 7.29.

We rose at 7.30 and were met by bacon and eggs.

Our sign writing guru Paul Calvert from Admark arrived to re-do our new KEA camper. We served him coffee, feed him breaky and let him work his sign magic. Oh the KEA looks so good again!

We then cleaned up and prepared to meet with NRL CEO David Gallop, former test footballer and all round funny guy Jason Stevens and the team from One Community, Caroline, Julia, Erica and Andy.

The NRL and the One Community team have been with us from day one and helped organised so much – the walk into the game, our relationship with Toyota, the Footy show, introducing us to the Eels community relations team and walking with us today.

The SS Stevens aka The Pirate ship (big cannons on either side - and loves them) set sail.

We jumped on the Hume, just after Bargo and punched out quick 4ks. It was great to spend some time with the NRL team and talk about the NRL’s great support of Youngcare. The two David’s (Gallop & Sexton) had a great yarn talking about the NRL, life as a CEO, One Community, families and the personal side of why the walk was born in the first place.  On the road we all talked a lot and Jason left a special message for someone special… unfortunately it wasn't for Shannon.

Of course there was a “that’s gold” moment.

We then came back to camp, gave Jason Steven’s a box of Musashi protein bars to help him with his canons and sent them on there way.

We then went back to yesterday’s marker and continued our march towards Sydney. Mark Tamhane, Executive Producer of ABC Newsradio chased us up and down the highway looking for us and finally caught up with the walking wounded. He brought with him Snakes, which Rod devoured, and many other glucose filled treats. Mark has been a great support of ours and has helped tremendously with media. Thanks mate!

My (Andy here) Uncle and Aunty, Mike and Janice (Kerri’s parents) travelled down today to meet up with us. They too spent half the morning travelling up and down Picton Road looking for us – pity we were on the Hume Highway. Jeff Cameron took great pleasure in explaining where we were. It was great to walk and talk with Uncle Mike and chat about what we have and are trying to achieve. He made it look easy as the rest of us started to struggle. Aunty Janice was our saviour as she stopped her Flower Power shopping and grabbed lunch.

Serendipitous moment no.7…

Jeff, our designated driver, heard an opportunity for us to call in to the James Valentine program in ABC 702. They were asking the question “in a sport or a game what would you make better to make it easier for you to win i.e. the new self swimming swimsuits, a tennis racket with a full sweet spot, a non-slice or hook golf club.” We rang in and were put to air asking for self walking shoes. James was great and we spent 30 secs talking about the shoes and 10 minutes talking about the walk. He gave us full marks for hijacking his show for our own cause. He wished us the best and was impressed with our efforts. Minutes later a lady called into ABC and said she had just passed us and we looked fit (she was driving from a distance) and gave us a toot. James then called for all ABC listeners to toot twice as they see us…

Seconds later…

The whole Hume Highway started to blare with double toots. We were again amazed by the power of radio. The hoots and toots continued all afternoon. We reckon we broke the record tonight and got more than 150 blasts. James will have us on-air now for the next couple of afternoons.

Soon after our lunch stop, Troy’s parents and sister joined us for a couple of km’s of walking. Keith and Justine took on the challenge while Troy’s mum Jan gave a donation and picked up the duo a little while longer up the road, leaving us to finish the day’s trek.

Finally we reached the outskirts Sydney... we were too tired to celebrate but never to tired to pose...

Our media star David “sexman" Sexton nailed another interview with the local Campbelltown radio station and will be on Power FM tomorrow. 

And tomorrow is a big day. Jason Morrison of 2GB fame joins us from the start, Liz Ellis will be with us from around 10.30 (she is flying up from Melbourne just to be with us) and Karl Stefanovic may make an appearance. In the afternoon we catch up with Pat Farmer, the Nova 96.9 Cassanova team and NRL referee Ben Cummins. We may also be making our debut on the Footy Show.

The stars are shining bright tonight… the wind has died down… we are excited about the days ahead and the last kilometers of our journey…

We started with powerful words and thought I would end today’s blog with some more…

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town

You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere

You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace

It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
Was a beautiful day

Ps It was a Beautiful day for Troy’s wife Sonya – Happy Birthday from all the YC walk team.

And congrats to the sexman and the sexman’s missus – happy wedding anniversary for tomorrow… oopps I mean today.

Thunder, lightening and rain all night. They’re the kind of words that normally cruel a camping trek, but not this time. The YC-walk team (sans TMc) were all happily tucked away nice and snug in the communal hall at the Fitzroy Falls Conference Centre, who so graciously gave us each a bed and dry surrounds to enjoy each others company.  So what did we do? We downloaded our tour video footage and shared a few laughs at the footage that now seemed as though it was shot months ago, as opposed to just days back when our journey began.

Our prayers (when in Rome) from the night before were answered, as Tuesday 25^th March started with a glorious pink sunrise despite the early start.  We were a lot more organised than in previous days due to our more salubrious quarters. Jamie and Rod had the enviable task of heading into Allan Reekie Ford in Bowral to get our camper back on the road.

We all packed the camper with our gear, not knowing which of the two we had on-site would eventually come back to us. The bets were favouring the new one, but we all held our own hopes that we would once again see our old favourite return later in the day.

We left at 7.30am and headed back to the Sydney 115km kilometre marker (just remember that starting point) and we were pushing out 10min km’s for the first few hours.  Today’s crew consisted of David, Andy, Shannon, Troy and Matt (Andy’s brother) who stepped up to walk a few kms with us despite some recent poor form on a trail bike (just check out his left leg).

Andy was back at work charming the local airwaves of 2GN and 2ST, whilst also trying to negotiate on-air with Jason Morrison from 2GB when he would be joining us. He was supposed to walk to day but Morrison had earlier offered up the excuse that he had to fill in for the Australia’s No.1 breaky host (Alan Jones) so had to reschedule for Thurs.  The YC-walk team all hope that Alan gets better soon.

Soon after, Andy was back on-air with ABC 666 Canberra, which obviously worked a treat because within minutes we were joined by Bob Medley, with a truckload of 4 calves, who pulled over and yes…gave us a donation.  Can you start to see the pattern?

Moments later, Jacqui a journo from the Southern Highlands Post stopped and interviewed us. We reluctantly posed for photos and spoke to her while others re-adjusted their tights (skins) - video to come.

Meanwhile 50 kilometres away the issue with our KEA Campervan was still unresolved.  Rod and Jamie trekked into Bowral to meet with the service staff at Allan Reekie Ford, who could not do enough for us. They started work straight away, even putting other client work aside and after over 4 hours of work delivered the news that we expected but didn’t want to hear…Ole faithful had to have a major overhaul.  The old girl would eventually see her way back to the roads, but we will be finished our journey by the time she would roll out of the workshop again.

The boys left in the new van, and set themselves the task of having to decamp at Fitzroy Falls pack everything and set up camp (yet again) at our new campsite at the Nepean Dam Picnic Area.

Meanwhile back on the highway, the walkers had pumped out 23.6km’s at the Bargo turnoff and decided that was as good a place as any to sample the local fare. After a quick 40 minutes spent repairing our feet (re-applying blisters packs and retaping etc) and scoffing down chicken burgers we were back on the road. Although we were discouraged... luckily none of us can read.

Soon after rejoining the Hume we were stopped by Fiona followed by Elizabeth Franklin only a further kilometre or so up the road – both of whom had heard us on the radio and were only too happy to hand over some coin.

Jeff Cameron tag-teamed with Shannon earlier in the day and as a result had done most of the day on the bitumen with us.  Now this will not be a surprise for any of our regular readers, except today Shannon decided to wear his black and fluoro yellow SKINS (straight from the 80’s).  In the interests of building suspense we won’t post a picture in tonight’s blog, but stay tuned for another update soon.

The day finished soon after the Picton Rd turnoff which for any one who knows the Hume, will recognise that as the Sydney 75km mile marker.  At the top of this blog, you will recall that we started at the 115km marker, so unless my numbers are out, that makes it 40km’s for the day – our biggest yet.

It seems the longer we go the stronger we become, not just physically, but also mentally.  The pain which was felt on Day 1, is probably the same level as it is on Day 7, but the way in which we manage it is better and no doubt our physical conditioning has improved.

We jumped back in the Tarago and headed to camp where we were soon joined by Ja'mie and Rod.  With our camp now established and SOC en-route we knew that we are in good hands and look forward to our late start of 9:30am tomorrow morning, at which time we will be joined by head of the NRL, David Gallop.  That’s my team!

Tonight, the sexman was interviewed on 2UE's Sports Today with Gibbsy and Brandy. He rocked - as he does!

Here is the artistic shot of the day...

Day 6 was an opportunity to give our aches & pains a well deserved rest and to catch up with our families.

Andy, Troy & I (Dave) had the opportunity to spend the night with our families and in comfy beds.  The real “workers” (Jamie, Rodney & Shannon) stayed at our base camp at Fitzroy Falls Conference Centre and we all caught up this morning.  Well almost… 

Troy had decided to head home last night which ended up being very fortunate.  KEA Campers had been able to arrange to provide a replacement vehicle which was on it’s way back to their depot from a couple heading home from Byron Bay.  So Troy (in the best interests of the team) stayed in Sydney until the vehicle was ready and made his way to Fitzroy Falls leaving at 6:45pm.  What a legend!!

For the rest of us, the day was filled with rest, cricket, rest, swimming, rest, eating, and did I mention….rest.

Late afternoon, a brief storm hit the area and the Luke & Amanda Reuich (managers of the Conference Centre) offered us a great indoor area for us to use & sleep in tonight.  This will give us scope to organise ourselves and prepare for the final 4 days. 

We’re so excited about what lies ahead.  Joining us to walk will be Matt Kirk (Andy’s brother), David Gallop (NRL), Penrith Panthers players, Jason Morrison (2GB), Karl Stefanovic (Today Show), Liz Ellis (Australian Champion) and Kristina Kineally (NSW Disability Services Minister).  Media lined up includes 2GB again tomorrow, hopefully a follow up plug from The Today Show, ABC Local Radio, The Footy Show and more.

But most importantly, we have not lost sight of the finish line – Parra Stadium next Friday night when we will complete was has so far been the most amazing adventure of our lives.

Once again, to all our families & friends who have called/emailed/texted your support, we are truly grateful and helps beyond words to keep us going when we’re doing the hard yards.

Bring on Day 7!!

Hump day. Day 5. The pivot. The fulcrum. The perfect balance of beginning and end. It was unspoken but we always knew as a team that today would be a significant day. It would probably be one of the toughest, yet probably one of the most fulfilling. Our bodies are racked with stiffness and soreness (what is pain?), our minds are asking questions but our hearts are pumping stronger and faster driving us on… we have a choice to do this – many others don’t.

And today did not disappoint. It had everything a journey of heart, mind and body should have. Like the road we travelled today there were high peaks of joy mixed with deep valleys of dark light. But as a team we succeeded. As a team we reached the target we set and exceeded it, as a team we bathed in ice baths with the warm glow of family and friends around us.

This morning was spectacular. We were woken at 6.30 by the sweet, clipped tones of Jamie and we rolled out of our bunks to face an absolutely stunning Easter Morning.

(All these photos were taken with my Sony Ericson mobile. How good are they!)

We were quiet this morning. All of us silently refecting on the significance of the day. A day that represents a new beginning and the new beginning we are trying to create for thousands of young Australians.

Darren (Todd’s brother) and his family joined us at 7.30 as we stretched and SOC tried to tape us all together. Darren (in the blue shirt) wanted to walk all day with us, a big commitment and we were excited and proud that he wanted to join the walking caravan. He is a Manly supporter, Shannon is a Knights supporter – need I say more.

We left camp at 8.30 to travel back to our starting point – Canberra side of the 150K marker to Sydney. Today we planned to reach the 120K marker – a mere 30ks away over a road that seemed to go up a lot more than down.

Again we were struck by a moment of serendipity. While the morning started very quickly with 7 toots in a couple minutes (Darren was our good luck charm and also became designated toot tallier). The toots had started to slow down – then all of a sudden as a massive hill was starting to get the better of us we got a big blast from a blue Ute with wood beams hanging out the back. We waved and smiled and continued to walk up a very long and winding hill. A couple of minutes later the same car drove past again and this time stopped. Out jumped Craig, on his way to see his mum. He is a dead set top bloke. He had heard us on radio and was happy to see us. He donated and posed for the now obligatory blog photo. He promised to bring back his mum to meet us as well. That moment would help us through the rest of the day. He even promised to contact the local radio stations for us (which he did – so welcome to the YCW media team Craig!)

On we walked and walked and walked. The weather was much kinder and even allowed us to wear shorts, although I (Andy) and David’s family will miss the joy David’s asic’s long tights sneaking out under his shorts – as Jamie described them “they look like he has been through a bush fire and only charred bones are left”.

We knocked over an interview with 2GB. Jamie was listening as 2GB was talking about issues with aged care, spotted the opportunity and we called up and were put straight to air. 2GB have been great supporters and were to play an even more important role later in the day.

Friends of Katrina and David had heard about our walk through Facebook – we are so, so social media gurus. Julie, Paul and the kids Megan and Charlotte and the one on the way pulled over and gave us a warm welcome and inspired us. The people we meet and the friends we have made on this journey has been just amazing.

There were silly moments too with this photo at ‘Hanging Rock’ with a… um… er… well, a hanging rock.

Andrew’s family had decided to spend the weekend in the lovely towns of Berrima and Bowral and meet up with the walk team. It was a really powerful experience being able to walk with your sons and daughter. Davis, Bronte and Austin got a real kick out of being part of the team and sharing a couple of hundred metres of the 300k journey. Charlie slept while Andrew’s beautiful wife became tour photographer. A few more chockies were handed over which Troy happily accepted to put in the medicine cabinet J

A short while later David’s family tracked us down en-route and provided us with a very timely boost of enthusiasm to go with our Powerade energy drinks. They had to wait to hug daddy and get the blog photo as he was doing an interview with ABC 702, as you do. Top job David. The girls, Tahlia, Kiara, Briony, were so excited to be in a blog photo and the beautiful Katrina smiled on and clicked away. It was a quick stop then back on the road to keep clocking up the km’s.

David’s brother Phil joined the walk and it was great to have more and more family sharing our journey. Again a serendipitous moment. We just had no idea how much we would need him later. We thank god he joined our little tour team.

With 2kms to go before lunch we were joined by the Kirk and the Ping families waving banners of encouragement for the machine that is the ‘Youngcare walk team’. For Shannon, seeing his two beautiful girls (Caitlin & Ellie) and equally beautiful wife (Lisa) spurring him on, propelled him to a higher level. The 2kms before lunch seemed to fly as the boys walked on with renewed vigour. To hear his eldest girl Caitlin, mention that she was proud of her daddy for walking so far took all the pain out of the feet and put a spring in the step. 

Gary Kirk, Andr