Travelling Jackaroo Sam Hughes plans to leave town after tractor repairs completed in Geraldton

A teenage vagabond, known as the Travelling Jackaroo, is about to hit the road again in his fundraising quest to drive a tractor around Australia, after holing up in Geraldton to get repairs done on his unique mode of transportation. Sam Hughes, 19, has spent the past four weeks fundraising in Geraldton after his tractor needed some repair work done. Mr Hughes, from rural Queensland, has been on the road for more than a year and a half. He travels in a 1960 Chamberlain 9G tractor fundraising for Royal Flying Doctor Service, Dolly’s Dream and Drought Angels. But he was at a standstill for the past month while Geraldton Towing Services stuck into some repairs on the tractor. Mr Hughes said the vehicle needed an oil leak fixed and an upgrade to a dual-battery system for his new Engel fridge, but was officially back on the road on Sunday, July 31. When he arrived in Geraldton, he had already more than $100,000 for charity. He was almost halfway around Australia, and expects it to take him around another year and a half to complete the journey around the country. “I thought what a better way to see the country than see it at 35km/h?,” he said. Although Mr Hughes is ready to hit the road again, he said the next few days will be interesting in the midst of the severe weather along the WA coast. “I’ll be out there trying to pack up my camp in the middle of a storm,” he said. Mr Hughes said the cooler weather may be a good change with the tractor running without air-conditioning, but being an open cab there could be difficulties with heavy rain. Mr Hughes had the opportunity to fundraise with the Great Moscow Circus. He said he hoped to team up with the circus during their time in Rockingham. “I’m hoping to catch up with the Great Moscow Circus again to do some fundraising with them. It’s been wonderful working with them,” he said. Normally, Mr Hughes said he would display the tractor at the circus show but couldn’t in Geraldton for obvious reasons. “On this occasion I couldn’t exactly have it out the front because it was in the shop, but normally I do as part of the fundraising and it goes quite well,” he said. Mr Hughes said he planned to leave Geraldton on Tuesday or Wednesday, and was still deciding whether he should take Brand Highway or the inland route. “I’m watching the weather to see what’s going on. There’s three routes I could take: the coastal road, which I won’t take because of the wind, the Brand Highway which is a good choice but there’s traffic,” he said. “I could take the inland route but if I did that it would add an extra day on my trip.” Mr Hughes said he estimated it would take him 2½ days to arrive in Perth on the Brand Highway route. For more information, visit the Travelling Jackaroo Facebook page.