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Trekkers raise funds

Twenty years ago a couple of Dubbo rotarians took some mates on an adventure into the outback. Instead of just a holiday they turned their epic trip into a fundraising drive for the community. Two decades on, Destination Outback- a Rotary Club of South Dubbo initiative - has raised more than $lmillion for a number of charities and this year's adventure was no exception.

The 155 intrepid explorers have returned from their 10-day expedition that covered about 2500km, and they raised almost $230,000 for a range of charities across Dubbo. Event organiser Brett McCarthy from the Rotary Club of South Dubbo said the highlight of the trip for him was meeting Glenn McGrath and making a donation to the McGrath foundation.

Mr McCarthy said a cheque for $10,000 was presented to Glen at his family's property near Nyngan. "It was fantastic. Glen McGrath is such a genuine and nice fellow, he greeted us all when we arrived at his property and had lunch with us. I'm sure the donation meant a lot to him," Mr McCarthy said. A $5000 donation will be made to AngelFlight, and further donations will be made to the Birdsville clinic and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Mr McCarthy said his Rotary Club would identify local organisations in Dubbo that are looking for funding and make a donation to them from the money raised.

The trip started from Nyngan on Friday August 8 and the trekkers toured to the far west of the State and had a two-night stay at Birdsville in Queensland. Fifty-five vehicles, a truck and a helicopter were involved in the fundraising convoy. The travellers were from Dubbo as well as Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and even some from South Africa. "The trip was justfantastic, its a chance for people to camp out under the stars, drink billy tea, tell stories around the camp fire, and at the same time raise money, it was a real outback experience," Mr McCarthy said.

Date:

08 Aug 2008 - 10 Aug 2008

Venue:

NSW -

Address:

NSW,

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