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Camp Quality kicks off esCarpade 2007

Camp Quality’s longest and most successful fundraising event – esCarpade is preparing for another massive year of celebrations, get togethers and adventures. This year’s event is an esCarpade first. After 16 years we are crossing Bass Straight and touring the Apple Isle. In contrast to last year’s “outback” event, esCarpade 2007 winds its way through The Great Dividing range in NSW, hugs the coast in Victoria, before completing an anti clockwise loop around Tasmania travelling down some absolutely spectacular Australian off-the-beaten-track roads and staying overnight in some truly majestic communities.



The 16th annual esCarpade is riding high following the outstanding fundraising efforts by our entrants in 2006 who managed to surpass the $600,000 goal by a massive $112,000. That all time record will be hard to beat in 2007 but rest assured our dedicated entrants already have plans afoot.

Additionally esCarpade is always looking for new people to join the “the family” and have a week long “party with a purpose” from 27th October to 2nd November 2007. In previous years the event has raised money to send as many kids to camp as possible. This year the goal will be to HELP A CHILD AND THEIR FAMILY LIVING WITH CANCER by not only sending kids to camp but also offering financial assistance to those families finding it hard to balance the costs of cancer treatments and every day living, handing out doses of fun therapy in paediatric cancer wards in each capital city and helping the McDonalds Camp Quality Puppets visit more schools throughout Australia.

Camp Quality currently helps more than 5,000 kids living with cancer and their families.

This year starting in Bathurst, 27 October, the 2007 esCarpade winds its way south over three days through Canberra, Bombala, Orbost, Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, Sale, Morwell and Frankston where the route follows the bay all the way around to Port Melbourne and meets up with the Spirit of Tasmania.

Spirit drops the esCarpadians at Devonport the following morning allowing the course to sweep south west through Cradle Mountain, Waratah and Strahan. The route then cuts east through Queenstown, Derwent Bridge, Tarraleah and New Norfolk before dropping into the back of Hobart for a day off.

From Hobart esCarpade turns north taking in the sights of Baskerville, Bothwell, Interlaken and Longford. The final dash back to Devonport and to a ride home on the Spirit of Tasmania is via Launceston and Beaconsfield.

In 16 years esCarpade has covered approximately 48,000km and graced over 200 towns across Australia with its dusty presence. In terms of people power it translates to 2,000 entrants, 320 officials and millions of dollars raised for Camp Quality.

The 2007 Course - Bathurst to Tassie

Day 1 - Saturday 27 October (Daily estimate - 359km)
Bathurst - Laggan - Canberra.

We start in Bathurst with the obligatory Mount Panorama lap before turning south past Chifley Dam across the Abercrombie River stopping for lunch at Laggan next to Cookwell. After lunch we continue south west through Yass and enter Canberra over the Brindabella Ranges and via Mount Stromlo.

Day 2 - Sunday 28 October (Daily estimate - 477km)
Canberra - Bombala - Lakes Entrance. 

From Canberra we continue south along the top of the Great Dividing Range to Bombala - our lunch destination. From there we loop south of Mount Delegate and take an extremely winding 90km logging trail to Orbost and then onto Lakes Entrance.

Day 3 - Monday 29 October (Daily estimate - 440km)
Lakes Entrance - Morwell - Spirit of Tasmania.

From Lakes Entrance we cruise through Bairnsdale and Sale before cutting west along Merriman Creek and climb out of the Callignee Gorge to Morwell for lunch. Following lunch we make the dash to the Spirit of Tasmania climbing over Mount Wellington on the way to Port Melbourne.

Day 4 - Tuesday 30 October (Daily estimate - 310km)
Davenport - Waratah - Strahan.

Our first day in Tassie takes us past Cradle Mountain Lodge before stopping in the tin mine townships of Waratah for lunch. After lunch we weave down to the west coast via Savage River and Corinna where we cross the Pieman River on a small barge before continuing through Zeehan into Strahan on the unspoiled Macquarie Habour.

Day 5 - Wednesday 31 October (Daily estimate - 345km)
Strahan - Tarraleah – Hobart.

From Strahan we wind our way north east through Queenstown and into the jagged reaches of the Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Lunch is a Tarraleah overlooking the Power Station below. From here we take in State Forests, National Parks and sneak into the back of Hobart over the Wellington Ranges.

Day 6 - Thursday 1 November
Hobart.

Hey! Take the day off. There's plenty to see and do around Hobart.

Day 7 - Friday 2 November (Daily estimate - 369km)
Hobart - Longford - Davenport.

We depart Hobart via Baskerville, Bothwell, Interlaken and the Great Western Tiers. We stop for lunch at the historical Motorsport pub at Longford before driving through Launceston, along the banks of the River Tamar. We then cruise through Beaconsfield and Andersons Creek Forest Reserve before pulling up in East Devonport.