Allan Waldon says he's found a lot of back roads around Walcha and the New England tablelands that "are spectacular."
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And he's inviting 4WD enthusiasts to join him on a two-day trek he's calling "The Long Way to Walcha" to enjoy the views.
"This is a spectacular run. My mind boggles every time I deal with just how good it is," Allan said.
"I've done the Walcha Bike Rally three years in a row now and I've picked up so many tracks and so many things I didn't even know existed, that are all public roads. And I'm like, how good are these? Basically you drive all day and see nobody."
Allan is known locally for his Facebook page, The Butcher and Nepal.
The Long Way to Walcha is a joint effort by himself and the Gloucester Rotary Club, with the aim of helping out Allan's passion project - raising money for personal hygiene kits for girls and women in Nepal.
The Long Way to Walcha
The trip will leave near Barrington around 6.30-6.45am on Thursday, January 18 and return to Gloucester the following day.
The two days will be "reasonably long" ones, covering around 300 kilometres each day. All roads travelled are public roads, with 75 to 80 per cent being dirt back roads.
"We'll go up over the Barrington Tops over to the western side, and then zigzag up past Nundle. I'm not sure in what configuration I'm going to do it but we will do the 20 river crossings for through Glenrock Station, providing it hasn't rained and the rivers are up, because they are all rock crossings, no concrete crossings," Allan said.
"I've found a lot of the back roads up there which again are sensational. You're back up over the top of the Great Divide. I think we go up and over three times in one day. So you get some pretty high views."
Allan says the trip will take in national parks and state forests, and there will be a lot of driving around Niangala, Weabonga. and out west to Bendemeer.
"And there's a lot of that really high country properties that you go through with these views that go for absolute ever. Every time I go up there I'm still I still amazed, I still stop. I still get a amazed and I still love it.
Logistics
Allan is asking for a donation of around $100 to $150 per car, which provides for the fundraising part of the trip.
The drive is suitable for 4WD vehicles fitted with high profile all terrain tyres only.
Tourers stay overnight in Walcha, but must organise their own accommodation. Dinner will be at the local pub, which boasts a Nepalese chef.
Allan says drivers must bring their own lunch, snacks and drinks, to eat on the way, and pack clothes for both warm and cold weather because of the altitudes. And there won't be a lot of toilets on the way.
"That's just the way it is," Allan said.
"There are a couple of fire stations which have toilets, but basically it's behind the bush or behind the fire station somewhere."
He says he has found a few spots that will offer privacy in the bush.
If you are wanting to join The Long Way to Walcha, contact Allan via his Facebook page. He needs numbers to book a table for dinner, and wants to ensure the group is kept a manageable size. So far he has six cars taking part, but hopes to have a dozen in total.
"I just need to know numbers two days before I go, just so that we can organise the pub to book a table," he says.
Providing dignity for girls
On a trip to Everest Base Camp in 2006, Allan Waldon met guide Prem K Khatry. They became friends and started brainstorming ideas to help the rural communities of Nepal. In 2007, Allan and Prem established the charity Sambhav Nepal. In Nepali language, Sambhav means possible.
While visiting the small communities in Nepal, initially intending to assist local schools, Alan noticed there weren't many girls at school, and wondered where they were. He was appalled by what he found out.
When girls were menstruating, they weren't allowed to come to school. And that meant missing a lot of education.
"When girls get their periods, they don't go to school, they're in the goat shed. There's the stigma that goes with it - they're not allowed in the house, not allowed around people, they go to the goat shed," Allan explained.
"So if you multiply that time - how many days in a year a girl has her periods that she misses school and multiply by three years, multiplied by 20,000 that actually comes into millions of more school days that the girls are at school
He set about raising funds to deliver Days for Girls personal hygiene kits. Kits contain a bar of soap, two pairs of underpants, 10 reusable pads, two waterproof shields, a care and use sheet with period tracking calendar, nail cutters, rubber bands, a comb, small towel, hair clips, a water resistant ban to hold used liners and shields, and a larger bag to hold all components.
Allan says by providing the kits, the girls "get dignity back", and get an education.
In 2020, two weeks before COVID hit, Allan put out the challenge to get the first 100 kits handed out.
"I then said to them, stupidly I'll have 5000 pads for you in 12 months," he said.
To date, they have raised the money that has delivered 20,000 reusable pads.
"One of the girls I'm in contact with there all the time, hers (reusable pads) has been over three years now and it's still going."
To learn more about Sambhav Nepal and the personal hygiene kits visit www.sambhavnepal.org/project/personal-hygiene-kits.