With seven weeks to go until the start of their epic trek through outback Australia, our Fergie boys fired up their vintage tractors on the weekend and took them on a 'shake-down run'.
They had an early morning start in Parkes on Saturday, hitting the backroads to Bogan Gate via Cooks Myalls and Blow Clear Forest at "break-neck speeds", sometimes reaching 25km/h.
As expected with 75-year-old tractors that have been saved from their rusty demise in paddocks and sheds, there was an early break-down and Rodney Barnes ended up towing Jeremy Clark for more than 50km just to achieve their goal.
There were 12 tractors in total and participants said it was a beautiful, fine day despite the cold.
"We coordinated with our local car club (Central West Car Club) who met us at the Bogan Gate Pub for lunch and a few beers, with some live entertainment and plenty of banter and chatter," said trek organiser Richard Jefferay.
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"As always we try to support our local businesses and the Bogan Gate Pub didn't disappoint with great food and a great atmosphere.
"We sold plenty of merchandise and had a silent auction of sorts which was lots of fun and very successful, adding more to our funds for such a worthy cause."
It's full steam ahead for their planned departure from Bourke to Birdsville - a 1200km journey - that begins on Monday, 11 August and they'll arrive in Birdsville on Saturday, 23 August.
The team of nine embarking on this trek has a goal of raising $100,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and their tally now sits at $88,329.
As always for anybody wanting to support their cause they can donate at fundraise.pcfa.org.au/tractortrek.
