Unrelenting drought across NSW has been fierce, but, venture into parts of Queensland and the situation is even worse. A road trip, with a difference, is set to make business owners smile and bring several towns an economic injection.
The We Care Road Trip, coined by Brandy Hill woman Anne-Marie Best, will debut in Queensland on March 28 and 29. The venture has already injected more than $83,000 into regional economies in NSW.
It will leave Brisbane and head to Dalby and Chinchilla before stopping overnight in Miles. It will then make its way to Goondiwindi and to Warwick before returning to Brisbane.
"It's a chance to support the businesses in these towns that are being affected by the drought. We wanted to get as far as we could in one day so we can help as many towns as possible," she said.
"We will spend almost three hours in Dalby, then in Chinchilla we will be there for about one and a half hours. From Chinchilla we go to Miles and spend the night there.
"The next day we'll go from Miles to Goondiwindi and spend two hours there - we'll be there between 11am and 1pm, and then we'll go onto Warwick for about three-quarters of an hour before we head back to Brisbane."
The Queensland trip came about after a call from Lizal Textor, who had followed the NSW journeys and wanted to hold a road trip in the state.
Palmer's Coaches has stepped in with a 54 seat coach and fuel. G.J. Gardner Homes Australia has stepped in with a donation that will pay for the driver.
Ms Best will fly to Brisbane to support the event.
The We Care Road Trip bound for Tenterfield in northern NSW on March 14 and 15 has already sold out. Ms Best said the seats were scooped up in record time and she was thrilled to have a full coach.
"I've had people ringing wanting seats, but it's sold out," she said.
"I've got people who have been on all four trips coming. I've got people who are brand new, I've got people that have been on one or two. They enjoy it so much that they want to do it again.
"Word of mouth is selling out mine now, but the Queensland one is new so we need people to get behind it."
To book a seat supporters must donate at least $100 to Need For Feed Disaster Relief and email a copy of the receipt to wecareroadtrip@gmail.com.