NOW: THE BIG RED BASH
Track owners from everywhere were converging on Birdsville for the Owners’ Gathering at The Big Red Bash and we were meeting the team from Track to get the site ready and welcome fellow owners. First we needed a hot shower, a kangaroo pie and a bun rush for a loaf of bread. Then we headed out to Bashville a night early so we could welcome everyone.
Two hours after the gates opened we were wondering where our Track owners were – we’d only welcomed one or two! Then they arrived in urgent need of the loo after sitting in a 2-3 hour traffic jam. In Birdsville I hear you say! Yes, but eventually our 60 owners arrived smiling, flashing their headlights and ready to rock the desert.
We all enjoyed the Pot Luck dinner and the warmth of the fire. We’d come down from the Cobourg Peninsula in Arnhem Land and were finding the nights very cold. Some lucky people even won prizes including me! You should have seen the size of the giant marshmallows in my prize bag – they were so big just one was enough!
The next morning owners were in for a treat with the pre-launch unveiling of the MK5 Tvan. Everyone liked the magnetic tie downs replacing the elastic cord on the tent and the new quick cover side awning. The oohs and aahs increased when the new rear hatch opened without having to lower the back deck! We’re impressed!
Missy Higgins really set the scene on the first night of the Bash with an energetic afternoon and evening of Aussie music. I wouldn’t have called us Missy Higgins fans but we are now. We finished our evening with another warm fire.
A running race with entrants dressed like Priscilla Queen of the Desert kicked off day two. A host of drag queens raced from the top of Big Red to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor. We enjoyed great Aussie rock into the night then a good rest in our comfy bed.
Day three of The Bash was a celebration with Lee Kernaghan and the boys from the Outback Club. We’re not really diehard country music fans but we were captured by the energy and quality of the show and we were in the outback with the Outback Club!
The logistics of 7,000 people camped in the desert and 3 days of live music were pretty staggering. We are not early risers and had expected most of those 7,000 people would be ready to leave Big Red before us and we were right. When we got up for breakfast most people were leaving!
It seems fairly unbelievable but there was another traffic jam as everyone tried to leave Birdsville. Just as well we didn’t get up early after all!
NEXT: BEDOURIE AND MT ISA
See you on the Emu Track
Cheryl and David
