The team travelled across Australia in support of the charity, stopping along the way to view some iconic scenes. Janice Johnstone is pictured along the Great Australian Bight in South Australia.
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Three blown tyres, nights sleeping under the stars, and 12,000km of Australia’s roughest roads — all for a cause changing kids’ lives.
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Kyabram’s John Martin and Janice Johnstone recently wrapped up their epic adventure participating in the Variety Bash, Australia’s longest running charity motoring event.
And the pair smashed their original $5000 goal to raise an impressive $6500 for the children’s charity.
Driving as team ‘418 WET’, John and Janice joined a convoy of 85 vehicles on a 10-day journey from Halls Gap, Victoria, to Exmouth, Western Australia — carrying with them the memory of a much-loved partner and friend.
The pair’s trusty ride was a 1995 Toyota LandCruiser, belonging to Janice’s late partner, Bruce, who died in 2025.
Kyabram locals John Martin and Janice Johnstone participated in this year’s Variety Bash as team ‘418 WET’ in a 1995 Toyota LandCruiser.
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Bruce was also a dear friend to John, a dedicated Rotarian, secretary of the Kyabram Angling Club, and a former policeman who grew up in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Following his death, the vehicle was transferred to Janice, who decided to give it a new purpose by supporting children in need through the Variety Bash.
“We did it very much honouring the car,” John said. “We had the story of Bruce with us.”
The journey was no easy feat, roughing it in the outback, packing up swags in the dark, long days on the road and navigating remote tracks where the price of diesel hit a steep $3.90 a litre at Eucla on the Nullarbor.
John drives the team’s car along the Nullarbor Plain
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Along the way, the team and convoy delivered $166,071 in grants to schools and regional communities, contributing to a total of $2.66 million raised for children living with disability, illness and disadvantage.
Looking back on the mammoth drive, John said the journey succeeded in every goal, witnessing “spectacular country”, helping disadvantaged kids, giving Bruce’s LandCruiser the ultimate farewell tour and taking his ashes home to the Pilbara.
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