The Great Escape Oz Car Rally Team Ella

10/10/2026

I still can’t believe this… and no, I’m not talking about how terrible the AI image is! 🤣 I’m talking about our GRAND TOTAL!

An incredible $37,608 raised through sponsorships, donations and the amazing support we received through our raffles and events.

PLUS another $1,200 or so from items auctioned during the rally, bringing Team Ella’s grand total to OVER $38,800 ❤️❤️

That’s all thanks to every single sponsor, every donation, every raffle ticket purchased, every pair of socks bought and everyone who supported an event we ran.

We even had fellow rally competitors who were so generous they donated to Team Ella after we returned home. How amazing is that?! 😍

So a MASSIVE thank you to each and every one of you.

I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve achieved!

And to top it all off, together with all the other incredible teams, the Great Escape Oz Rally raised a combined whopping $170,653 for Cure4CF! ❤️

What an incredible result 🌹🌹

03/10/2026

Hmmmmm I have a dream. A dream we get more participants for next years rally. 🤔😄
Might just be the best thing you’ve ever done 💙

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EdcS43pfC/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/10/2026

A big thank you again to DF Fitness for supporting Team Ella and having our donation tin at the gym. 💜

I picked it up today after its short stay — thank you to everyone who popped a donation in. Every bit adds up and we appreciate it all! 🌹 So lucky to be supported by so many great local businesses and people.

🧡 MEET ELLA 🧡

We were lucky enough to meet beautiful Ella on Christmas Eve during our DF Christmas Lights Run around town.

Dressed as possibly the cutest Santa’s elf you’ve ever seen, Ella greeted our entire run group with lollipops, a photo opportunity with Santa, and the kind of pure joy and excitement that stuck with all of us long after we’d finished our run. 🎅🏼🍭

What we didn’t know at the time was a little more about Ella’s story.

Eight-year-old Ella lives with cystic fibrosis (CF), facing daily treatments and challenges that most children her age never have to think about.

This year, Ella’s mum Michelle and a group of friends have created The Great Escape Oz Car Rally – Team Ella, travelling from New South Wales to South Australia and raising vital funds for Cure4CF’s research program.

For Michelle, every dollar raised is about doing everything she can to help create a better future for Ella — and for everyone living with CF.

As Michelle says:

“As a parent, you’d do anything to help find a cure.”

And we’d love the DF community to get behind them. 🧡

If you’d like to support Team Ella, you can donate online through the link below, or you’ll find a Team Ella donation tin at DF reception. Every little bit helps.

Donate and read Ella’s story here:
www.cure4cf.org/team-ella

We feel pretty lucky that our Christmas run brought this gorgeous little elf across our path. Now it’s our turn to show her a little of that same joy and generosity she showed us. 🧡

24/09/2026

🍀🌹 I KEEP THINKING I’VE BEEN HIT WITH A LUCKY STICK!!! 🍀🌹
I have MORE exciting news to share!!!

I don't know how I got so lucky. Not only have I found the most incredible group of people through this rally, but the generosity just keeps coming!
You may have seen me mention Touch N Go Motorsport and ask everyone to give their page a follow. Well, here's why!
Let's go back to our second last night of the rally. We had an auction after dinner with some fantastic items up for grabs. One of those was a voucher for a paint product.
The bidding started, the bids kept coming and eventually a mystery phone bidder won! Yay, congratulations to the winning bidder! 👏
BUT WAIT… the mystery bidder was actually bidding for TEAM ELLA!!! 🤯 we had no idea.

It turns out the bidder was a representative from Touch N Go Motorsport, and they'd just won a WHOLE NEW PAINT JOB FOR DOROTHY!!!
So not only is Dorothy getting that magnificent giant rose for her roof, she's now getting a whole new paint job too! 🌹🚗

BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE!!! 😂
Fast-forward to our final night dinner and a few last auction items. One of the prizes was $1,000 worth of graphics.
Well, Touch N Go Motorsport were at it AGAIN!!! They bid on the graphics package but unfortunately missed out.
Did that stop them? OF COURSE NOT!!!
They turned around and donated ANOTHER $1,000 WORTH OF GRAPHICS TO TEAM ELLA ANYWAY!!! 🤯❤️

So now we need to come up with something pretty bloody spectacular for Dorothy's new look!

BUT WAIT… THERE'S STILL MORE!!! 🤣
Touch N Go Motorsport had also pledged $1,000 towards our fundraising and, true to their word, donated it on our final night, helping take Team Ella's total to over $36,000!!! 💰❤️
Now, surely that's enough excitement for one rally?
APPARENTLY NOT!!!
Touch N Go Motorsport have been following Team Ella in the lead-up to the rally and apparently we've got a little something special that they believe in.
They've now pledged $500 TOWARDS OUR FUEL EVERY YEAR FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS!!! ⛽❤️
I mean, seriously!!! How does this even happen?!
I am absolutely blown away by the generosity of these people. I'm so incredibly honoured and proud that they've chosen Team Ella to support, and I can't wait to make them proud they did.

And while they've committed to supporting us for the next five years, I'm hoping that somewhere along the way we'll be celebrating something even BIGGER… A CURE FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS!!! ❤️
Now THAT would be the ultimate finish line!

To everyone at Touch N Go Motorsport, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I don't think you'll ever truly understand just how much this means to me.
I went into this rally hoping to raise some money, make some memories and have a bit of fun. I certainly didn't expect to come home with all of this!!!
A beautiful group of new friends, memories I'll treasure forever and some incredible people who believe in what we're doing for Ella and everyone living with CF. ❤️
Dorothy is going to be one VERY special little Rodeo!!! 🚗🌹
Now PLEASE jump over and give Touch N Go Motorsport a follow. These incredible people deserve all the support we can give them!
And as for Dorothy's new look… WATCH THIS SPACE!!! 😍🌹❤️

21/09/2026

❤️ 4,300+ KM LATER… DOROTHY IS HOME ❤️

Over 4,300km, more dirt and dust than I ever thought possible, and we’re HOME!

It was so great having Shane and Ella meet us in Torquay so we could spend a couple of days together before doing that final leg home. And I think Ella was pretty happy to finally see Dorothy pull into the driveway. ❤️

What an adventure. Dorothy did us proud. ZERO mechanical breakdowns and ZERO flat tyres! Not bad for a 25-year-old ute we bought to do something completely crazy. 😂

There was just one little whoopsie involving me, a rather large rut and Dorothy becoming temporarily stuck. 😬 Our amazing workshop crew made a few adjustments to get us home and, when some new noises appeared, the official recommendation was basically “turn the stereo up.” 😂

Worked a treat. After a day or two we didn’t even notice them anymore.

But the best part of this rally wasn’t the kilometres, the dirt, the costumes or even the trophies. It was the people.

We’ve made some really special friendships. Some through a common bond, and others simply because this rally seems to attract genuinely beautiful people with enormous hearts.

On night one I made a promise that I’d keep up the costume tradition. We didn’t quite manage every night this time…but a promise is a promise. I’ll do better next year ❤️

And somehow amongst all of this, Team Ella has also been given the incredible honour of carrying on the Rosie legacy. Soon that enormous rooftop rose will make its way down to us and take its new place with Dorothy. I honestly cannot wait to see it here. 🌹❤️

The trophies have come home too, and they’ll be pretty special reminders of just how incredible this whole experience was.

A huge thank you to Mal, Nathan and Linda for everything you do to make this rally what it is. And Linda, thank you for the gorgeous bag of goodies you had waiting for Ella at the welcome dinner. One very spoilt and very happy little girl. ❤️

It was also so lovely finally meeting the Cure4CF crew in person, sharing plenty of laughs.

We set out to raise money and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.

We came home with over $36,000 raised, four trophies, a filthy ute, a giant rose on its way, some very questionable new noises and a whole bunch of people we now get to call friends.

Not bad for our first rally. ❤️🌹

Dorothy might be home…but Team Ella is definitely not finished.

Here’s to another year of raising awareness, raising money and doing everything we can to help get closer to that cure.

Thank you again to all our sponsors and people who’ve donated. No words

21/09/2026

Quick 2 night stop at Pivot Homes where I had to say goodbye to rally car Rell. Feeling sad. Will miss you. Thanks again for coming on this journey. Next stop home, via Monash for lung function tests. Almost over

18/09/2026

This is so special to me ❤️❤️❤️

You’ve all met Dorothy who was named after Dr Dorothy Andersen, the doctor who first described cystic fibrosis.

But now it’s time to meet another pretty special old girl…

Meet Rosie. 🌹I can only go off what I’ve researched and hope it’s all correct.

Rosie is an old Holden panel van with a pretty incredible place in Great Escape Oz history.

Back in 2001, the then CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Australia bought Rosie for two young men with CF, who took her on the road through NSW, Queensland and Victoria raising awareness of cystic fibrosis. That journey helped spark the idea that eventually became The Great Escape Oz Rally

Years later, Rosie needed a bit of TLC, so inmates at Junee Correctional Centre repaired and repainted her, getting her rally-ready again.

And you really couldn’t miss her… because on her roof sat that GIANT red rose, representing Cystic Fibrosis Australia. 🌹

Rosie became a pretty special part of Great Escape history.

So why am I telling you about Rosie now?
🌹
I have been chosen to take the giant rose and wear it with pride on top of Dorothy 😲 No words

18/09/2026

Little stop on the way home at Hahndorf for a leg stretch and toilet break and now we’ve just arrived in Robe for the night. What a view after seeing nothing but dirt, dust or mud for the week.

Another shout out to another sponsor B C S Maintenance for all their support over the last few months. From a money sponsorship to signed north Melbourne goodies for Ella to getting Mia Fevola and Ricky Nixon on board to make Ella’s wishes come true. You’re an absolute legend Chase and we are grateful.
Thank you

18/09/2026

Passed this beauty on the rally

Bit of a fixer-upper. Good bones. Plenty of potential.
I’ve no doubt Approved by ED will sort the permits ✅

Just jumping on to say a huge thanks to Approved by ED for your sponsorship and support during the rally. We’ve appreciated having you behind Team Ella — even if we did spend the week finding you more work. 😉