Shitbox Rally participant, Caroline Kennedy has been tickled pink by SA’s iconic Oodnadatta Roadhouse
JFK’s daughter is loving her Shitbox Rally journey and making a pit stop at a famous SA landmark.
Lifestyle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
American royalty Caroline Kennedy is winning hearts across the South Australian Outback and Red Centre.
The eldest surviving child of US president JFK is taking part in the 33rd Shitbox Rally to raise money for the Cancer Council, travelling in a convoy of cars all worth less than $1,500 across some of the most remote parts of the country.
She’s behind the wheel of a “beaten up” decades-old Ford Falcon, painted to resemble a rocket ship and dubbed Moonshot, having so far passed through Roxy Downs and Oodnadatta since leaving Adelaide early Saturday.
The Pink Roadhouse has been a favourite stop so far, memorable for the US Ambassador to Australia and locals alike.
Owners of the iconic watering hole, Peter and Jennifer Moore, say they were charmed by the “down-to-earth” 66-year-old lawyer and diplomat.
“Caroline Kennedy was absolutely fantastic … (she was) just absolutely fabulous; she’ll go back to America remembering us and we won’t forget her,” Mr Moore said.
“She told us she’d been looking forward to visiting The Pink Roadhouse as she’d heard so much about it.
“This was one of the best groups we’ve ever had come through.”
Speaking ahead of her Outback adventure, Ms Kennedy said she’d stocked up on Haigh’s chocolate for a sweet treat – or three – while on the road.
She’d also got her playlist sorted with “lots of songs from the 1970s and ‘80s – my hey day”, as well as some current day Australian favourite’s including SA’s Electric Fields and Kid Laroi and Tame Impala.
Ms Kennedy, one of 520 participants in the 2024 “autumn rally”, is travelling in a 1960s station wagon, she practised driving in the Embassy driveway where she found “it handles pretty well”.
She explained the car’s paint and name: “I am inspired by my father’s ‘moon shot’ to land on the moon … (finding a cure for cancer) is the same type of hopeful inspirational goal.”
Ms Kennedy first discovered the iconic Box Rallies, established by Adelaide man James Freeman in the wake of losing both his parents to cancer, in 2022 on a visit to Bunnings.
“I met these two guys at Bunnings and saw their car and couldn’t believe it would make it out of the parking lot, much less across Australia,” she said.
Mr Freeman said there had been a touch of the White House-style glamour when the group passed by Uluru.
“We had to organise a 2,800 re-route of the rally as the Great Central Road out of Yulara is completely closed, so we now are coming back down through Roxby Downs and Penong in South Australia and crossing the Nullarbor,” he said.
“(It meant) all 520 of us dined in black tie at The Field of Light Dinner at Uluru.”
The group is due to arrive in Perth on Saturday.
Almost $45m has been donated to Cancer Council through rallies to date with a record more than $2.7m raised so far in the most recent event.
Hell’s Kitchen, Mali edition: Prem cooks up SA seafood safety storm
In a personal bid to save SA's seafood industry, Premier Peter Malinauskas has invited cameras into his kitchen to prove local fish is still safe. Watch the video here.
Will this 7NEWS star be the next Miss Universe Australia?
The countdown is on to the Miss Universe Australia national final and this Channel 7 star is hoping to be crowned the winner.