After a delightful camp at Quamby Rodeo Grounds where there were no other campers, just us, we set off heading northwards. We saw a communication tower and as we had one bar of service we pulled over to call our dear friend Peter who is recovering from major surgery. We had a lovely long chat and were delighted with their news of a new grandson born on 30th June. Another boy in their family of boys! The birth of a grandchild is a magic thing!

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We continued on and the countryside was very scrubby, with dense low shrubs, short trees, lots of rocky ground and still more termite mounds. Needing a cuppa we pulled up at a Rest Area where there was a motorhome camped already. Whilst we made our cuppa a group of three caravans pulled in and after a short chat we realised that they were the vans camped in the Rest Area opposite the abandoned Quamby Hotel. They asked where we camped and when we told them I think they were a bit disappointed they didn’t continue along the road a bit further and camped where we did. I suggested they get WikiCamps.

I think that modern communication is amazing. One of the ladies sat down at a picnic table so she could watch her friends funeral via live stream on her iPad. Isn’t that amazing!

The road to Burke & Wills Roadhouse is a good, wide, two-lane tar road as it is the major road up to Normanton in the Gulf. We made really good time along that stretch.

Around noon we arrived at Burke & Wills Roadhouse and OMG the queues for fuel. So many caravans and campers lined up to get fuel. Richard noticed there was a hi-flow diesel pump separate from the other pumps and there was no one at it. We pulled in and fueled up, easy peasy. Just as I was finished using the pump another vehicle pulled up behind us and the lady came over and asked if the pump was OK. When I replied “yes, but it is a hi-flow pump’ she replied that was OK for them and she wondered why all those other vehicles were queued up. I responded that we wondered the same thing when this pump was sitting there not being used. I guess it’s that herd mentality that humans have. We see a line and we just have to join it.

We had a quick look at the famous roadhouse that looks like it is a transportable building clad to look old. They did have lovely gardens out the front with green grass and flowering bougainvillea. The green grass was an unusual sight in The Outback. The caravan park alongside the roadhouse looked pretty full and I imagine it would be full by nightfall.

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Back in the motorhome we took a left turn onto the Burketown Road. It was 145km to Gregory Downs, our destination for the day. The countryside had changed again to large grassland paddocks. It looked like sandy soil and not as many rocks. We were pleasantly surprised by the road. We were expecting another single lane outback road however we found a wide two lane road most of the way to Gregory. There were a few short sections of single lane but mostly it was a really good wide road with little traffic.

We stopped off for a lunch break at a large flat spot near Muttigudi Creek. Muttigudi Creek had no water in it but it is a very deep creek so it must carry a lot of water in the wet season. Back on the road after lunch and Rich made the comment that it was 32 degrees outside. Lovely winter’s day in the north!

Around 2.30pm we arrived in the tiny community of Gregory Downs, population 40. The hotel usually has fuel however they were having some electrical work done and there was no fuel until after 4.30pm. Glad we filled up at Burke & Wills Roadhouse earlier. We enjoyed a cold beer at the hotel and checked it out. It looked like a good spot for dinner maybe. They have tables out the front under the wide verandah and more tables out the back under a covered area, those even have tablecloths.

The Gregory Downs Hotel was once a coach house and changing station for Cobb & Co coaches on their route to Burketown in the gulf. The pub still offers accomodation and even has a small caravan park out the back.

We drove past the free camp up the top of the Gregory River. The free camp has water available. This would be a good spot to camp if you wanted to have a meal at the pub but it was hot and we thought we’d try and get a camp down below right next to the river. We were in luck. There was a great spot just right for the motorhome. Not quite riverside but good enough. We could see the river from our windows and hear the fast flowing water as it rushed past the trees on the rivers edge.

After setting up camp we donned our swimmers and headed straight to the river. OMG the water was freezing but so refreshing on a hot afternoon. The bottom is sandy with lots of round rocks and pebbles. The water is crystal clear. The river is lined on both sides by cabbage palms, pandanas and tea trees with deep sandy banks. It is an outback oasis!

There are lots of campers all the way along the river and people regularly walked by carrying all sorts of floating apparatus so they can get in at one end and float down the river. Every now and then a group of floaters drifted by. Even a couple in a kayak went by. What a beautiful camp spot. I really liked this one and could easily have stayed here for a few days.

I put on a chicken korma for our dinner and got it simmering and we spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing.

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Wow wow wow. The Hard Times Mine Tour at Outback at Isa is fabulous. We were so fortunate that an extra tour was being run at 11am as the usual 9am and. 2pm tours had been all booked out. We had to arrive and checkin 15 minutes before, so, after packing up the motorhome, we left the Argylla Caravan Park and went directly to the RV parking near Coles to stock up on groceries. Once this was done we left the MH in the car park and walked the short distance to Outback at Isa where we met up with Mandie and Pete.

After checking in for our tour we were given little hanging tags with our names on them and our tour guide introduced himself as Allan. We were led down to the tour start and here Allan gave a short talk about the history of Mt Isa Mines (MIM). Then we were each given a bright orange hard hat and a set of disposable overalls (one size fits all). Change rooms are available to put on this most unglamorous outfit and lockers are available to store your stuff in. Next you were supplied with steel capped gum boots however Mandie and I were allowed to keep our own boots. Once everyone was kitted out we were led outside and around the various mining machinery on display.

Allan stopped at a few of the different machines and explained their use before he led us into a large tin shed. This big shed houses the winch mechanism for the cage that would lower us underground. But first we had to receive our lamps which were clipped onto our hard hats then before we were allowed ot go underground we had to hang our name tags on a board. Everyone that goes underground must hang their tag on the board. This is still the case in underground mines around the world. If your tag is on the board, you are underground and only you can remove the tag. If, for some reason, you forgot to remove your tag at the end of your shift and went home to bed, probably a mine supervisor would be knocking on your door to escort you back to the mine to remove your tag.

We were led back outside and 10 at a time went into the cage (an elevator) and down we went. The Hard Times Mine is about 20m underground and contains some 1.2km of tunnels. The Mt Isa Mine is 1900 metres deep. The Mt Isa Mine has many levels with access tunnels leading from one to the other. Allan explained that he’d worked underground for 30 years and the Hard Times Mine has been created so well that it looks the same as if you were in a real working mine. It certainly felt authentic.

There were two little boys aged 8 and 10 on the tour with their dad. Our guide encouraged people to ask questions and every time he asked if anyone had any one of the boys put their hand up. They asked good questions too. One funny occasion was when the youngest one asked what do the miners eat when they are underground. The tour guide looked directly at the boy and said “small children’. The look on the young boy’s face was priceless. He looked like he wasn’t sure if Allan was kidding or not.

We visited a number of sites underground and were shown how the rock face is drilled and exploded, then ‘bogged’ out and then the tunnels are covered in reinforcing on the sides and the backs (what I would call the roof). Allan explained that no one is allowed to work underground now without the backs being supported.

At one site there was a big pneumatic drill set up and everyone who wanted to could have a go at drilling a hole. We all had to wear ear muffs for that. It was so noisy!. Pete, Mandie and Richard all had a go.

Our last stop on the tour underground was the crib room. This is where the miners gather to enjoy their breaks and have something to eat. Allan explained that modern crib rooms have all the amenities one would expect above ground such as kitchens and flushing toilets.

In the crib room were samples of ore for us to see and we could all enjoy a cuppa and a Cornish Pastie. They were delicious. They serve Cornish Pasties as Cornish miners were some of the first miners in Australia and they brought their traditions with them such as calling the break room a ‘crib’. The Cornish miners pasties were originally made with a thick pie crust filled with vegetables. The miners could hold the pastie in their dirty hands but the veggies in the middle stayed clean. These days most pasties are made with flaky pastry.

A little tray back Ute pulled up in front of the crib room and in groups of 10 we were piled in the back of the Ute and driven up a long incline tunnel back to the surface. We were instructed to go back into the shed and put our lights back on the rack and most importantly, remove our tag from the board. Once all the tags had been removed we were free to end the tour and return inside where we took off our overalls and changed out of the heavy gum boots. Lastly our helmets were returned.

Allan had taken photos of everyone as we were ready to board the cage and those photos were available at the front desk for us to collect. We got a great photo as a memento. We farewelled Mandie and Pete as they are going to travel to Adels Grove via the 4WD Riversleigh track. It has 3 creek crossings and is not suitable for the motorhome. We would meet up with them in a couple of days time at Adels Grove.

We left Mt Isa following the end of our Hard Times Mine Tour and headed eastwards towards Cloncurry. The countryside was rugged rocky hills and steep valleys. This was the Barkly Highway and is the main road from Townsville on the Queensland coast to the Northern Territory and, as such, it is a wide two lane road. Through the ranges though there were double lines in the middle so no overtaking and we were following a line of RV’s.

Some of the road trains here are four trailers long. They create quite a wind as they go by us and the whole motorhome shudders.

Every now and then there are vast areas of land covered in red termite mounds. There are thousands and thousands of them.

We called in to check out the once thriving, now abandoned, town of Mary Kathleen. Mary Kathleen was a mining town of some 1,000 people after uranium was discovered in the area in 1954. The water filled open cut mine can be viewed today and lots of people travel the 4WD road just to see the colour of the vivid blue water. The uranium deposit ran out in 1982 and all the town buildings were sold and relocated elsewhere by 1984. All that remains are the concrete foundations of the many buildings. It is now a very popular free camp for self contained campers. We had a drive around then got back on the highway.

Next stop was Corella Dam. I’ve read on many other travel blogs that this is a beautiful spot to camp so even though we had no intention of camping we called in to check it out. Sure enough it is a lovely spot and it was very full with campers.

In the late afternoon we drove into the small outback town of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is famous for being the town where Qantas’s first flight from Longreach landed in 1922. The original hanger used is still standing at the airport.

We topped up with fuel but we couldn’t get a gas bottle even though we tried both service stations. We have one full one though and that should see us through for the next week. Maybe we’ll be able to get one at Burke & Wills Roadhouse.

We decided not to camp in another caravan park and headed northwards on the road to Normanton. A little way along we came to the abandoned ruins of the Quamby Hotel. It is falling down and has a safety fence all around it to prevent people getting too close. It looks like it could fall down any second. Opposite the old hotel is a large Rest Area and there were three caravans pulled up and looked like they were camping for the night. It was a bit too close to the road for us so we went a couple of kilometres further on and turned into the track leading to the Quamby Rodeo Grounds. Now that looked a good spot for a camp. It was a huge flat area that looked like it had cattle grazing on it recently as the grass was chewed right down and there were cow pats. However there was no one else there so we could set up our little fire pit and camp on our own. Perfect.

We enjoyed the ambiance of being out bush with just us and the stars. For the first time this trip we got out our Bidgee BBQ and Richard cooked up a great meal that we ate outside under that amazing night sky.

We spent the day with Mandie and Pete being tourists. First up we visited the fabulous Outback at Isa. This complex houses the Tourist Information Centre, a Cafe, The Riversleigh Fossil Centre & Laboratory, The Isa Experience (a museum to the history of Mt Isa) and the Hard Times Mine (an underground mine tour experience).

We did a fabulous one hour tour at the Riversleigh Fossil Centre. This was really good and we learnt so much about Riversleigh which is a World Heritage listed Fossil Site. It is said to be one of the best fossil sites in the world, according to Sir David Attenborough.

Most of the fossils at Riversleigh relate to 25-30 million years ago when giant mammals wandered this land. Scary big creatures such as diprotodon, marsupial lions, giant koalas and more. We were shown into the laboratory and the painstaking work it is to release the fossils from the limestone they are embedded in. It was fascinating.

Following our fossil tour we enjoyed morning tea in the cafe. Best coffee and worst scones!

We spent the next hour or so in The Isa Experience. This is a museum dedicated to the history of Mt Isa and has a wonderful gem stone collection. It is a self-guided display and has fascinating exhibits detailing the history of Mt Isa from its earliest people, through the discovery of ore by John Cameron Miles who staked the first claim in 1923, and on to how the town grew from a small mining town to the outback city it is today.

It is also home to the Mt Isa Rodeo Hall of Fame. The Annual Rodeo is a big deal in Mt Isa. The first rodeo was held in 1959 and since then the Isa Rodeo has become a major event on the Rodeo calendar. It is now the biggest and riches rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere. The Mt Isa Rodeo is held on the second weekend in August each year. A special purpose rodeo arena at Buchanan Park has been built in the town to world Rodeo standards and many of the cowboys that compete at Isa also compete in other countries. The Hall of Fame celebrates those that have made a significant contribution to the Rodeo over the years.

After all this reading and museum exploring it was time to get out and about. We’d heard about Lake Moondarra which is some 16km from town and apparently is a large man made lake and also the town water supply. In this extremely dry climate a lake would be a welcome sight. The road out to the lake was well signposted and we got such a surprise when we came to it. It is huge! Much bigger than we expected. You could water ski here and always be able to find good water because of the numerous islands.

Lake Moondarra was constructed in 1956 and its Aboriginal name means ‘plenty of rain and thunder’. The lake is popular with locals and is famous for its fishing, water skiing, canoeing and dragon boating, The view of the dam wall from the lookout is quite a sight. All that dry country and that huge lake below.

Back in town we drove to the Mt Isa Lookout to check out the view and the painted water tower. It is painted with native birds and fish. The view from the lookout across the town is a good one from that elevation. You can clearly see Mt Isa Mines on the western side of the Leichhardt River and the town on the eastern side.

Mt Isa is a mining town and as we drove around we noticed that most of the homes are transportable. I guess if the mine ever closes the houses can be moved somewhere else, although I read that the Mt Isa Mine is not likely to close any time soon. It is one of the worlds largest producers of lead, zinc, silver and copper. The mine was commenced in 1923 so it is almost 100 years old and it remains one of the worlds most productive single mines. The mine was acquired by Glencore in 2013 and Glencore employs around 3,200 employees and contractors today. It is a mixture of open-cut and underground mining and the copper mining section is 1980 metres deep.

Back at the caravan park and I took the time to do more washing and finally wash the dusty floor. You’ve no idea how good that made me feel to be rid of that BRB dust!

Our little BRB Makin’ Memories group of four couples went out for dinner to the Overlander Hotel and we enjoyed a last night together.

The countryside from Boulia is pretty much the same at the other side of Boulia. Lots of stones, flat plains, small creeks that you know are there by the line of trees, narrow tar road with occasional cattle grids.

Near Dajarra a long line of jump ups appeared on the horizon to the west and ahead of us. These jump ups rise up out of the flat plains below.

The narrow road is a much rougher road than the one to Bedourie and the cattle’s grids are very rough but we are still able to travel at about 9o0km/h on most stretches. Off course if a vehicle is coming the other way we slow right down and get onto to shoulder to let them past.

As we approached Dajarra we entered the low hills. The road went up and down over the low hills. This stretch had lots of steep gullies formed by flood waters. We came across two three trailer road trains going through this section. They were the first ones we’d seen since Longreach. They were both cattle trucks. We pulled right off onto the shoulder for those to go past and let them stay on the tar.

There were also a lot of Brahman cattle around that area. We travelled through the low hills for quite a way before entering the tiny community of Dajarra. Dajarra has a Roadhouse and a couple of streets of houses and not a lot else. There were a few Aboriginal people in the streets so we assumed it’s an Aboriginal community. Like everywhere on this journey there were RV’s parked everywhere and lined up to get fuel.

We didnt stop in Dajarra and continued on through the hills. The familiar domes of spinifex cover the rocky hillsides and we saw hundreds of red termite mounds. We both commented that this was pretty country compared to the flat stoney plains.

Everyone was up bright and early and ready to roll out at 7.00am. Our first stop was The Tip just on the outskirts of Birdsville. All your rubbish from the BRB has to be taken out with you so there was a line of RV’s doing exactly what we were doing, droppping off our rubbish and bottles. Cans and PET bottles that can be recycled and can be left in the big bins provided at Bashville.

Next stop was the Dump Point and as there was a queue at the first one we carried on through town to the one near the Racecourse. Only 1 in front of us! Yay.

Then it was back to the Birdsville Common to fill up our water tanks. I’m really happy that our tanks lasted for the whole time at Bashville AND we had showers every day. They were short showers but still helped to get the dust off. While at the Water Point I got the first of many loads of washing done. They could hang up and dry as we traveled along.

With no sign of the others we headed north out of town towards Bedourie. We stayed ahead of the line until we reached the first lot of gravel and this is where we were overtaken by everyone heading north. We were down to 30-50km/h on this corrugated section. Most of the RV’s that passed us did the right thing and slowed down until they got past but there were the usual couple of idiots who flew past.

We pulled in at Bedourie in the line up for fuel however it didn’t take very long. They had people at the bowers with their ATM machines so you didn’t even have to go inside to pay. That made the line go much quicker.

After a lunch stop we waited in town for Mandie and Pete for an hour but as they didn’t go past we made the assumption that they had gone past us in Birdsville while we were getting water and made the decision to go on to Boulia.

We had an uneventful drive through to Boulia however there was no sign of our friends. We can just hope they get our messages and get back to us. We topped up with fuel and parked in the Main Street where we could see all the vehicles as they came into town. We were starting to worry about Mandie and Pete. Where could they be?

We usually communicate via FB Messenger and Mandie is usually very quick to respond but today we got nothing. We waited until 6pm and decided to walk across to the police station to check that there hasn’t been any accidents between Birdsville and Boulia. The nice young lady constable was very helpful and recorded all ours and the Glasson’s details and searched for any notification of accidents. Luckily there have been none. She said it is very common out here to lose people for a day or two because the mobile service is poor and patchy or non-existent. She said she will keep following up and we should call again in the morning.

So after trying some more fruitless times to call Mandie and Pete on the UHF we got a response from Brian to say the rest of them had found a camp spot on the Boulia Racecourse Reserve. We made our way there in the dark guided by Brian’s directions and Dave turned his hazard lights on so we could see the flashing lights.

We quickly set up camp and joined them all around the camp fire. Everyone was talking about where Mandie and Pete could possibly be and in the end we all thought that as the Messenger messages looked like they were going to Maddie’s phone but she was not reading them that they must have a problem with the phone. They may even be way in front of us if they got by us in Birdsville and kept going.

We’d received a messages from Robert & Catie to say they were camping at Dajarra so they are only 150kms in front of us.

Helen cooked scones in the camp oven for desert served with jam and freshly whipped cream. What a treat!

Wherever Mandie and Pete are I hoped they had a good camp spot.

OMG the dust! Sitting inside the motorhome having breakfast and there was so much dust. The entire camp was under a cloud of dust as campers packed up and joined the queue for the rollout. The rollout gates didn’t open until 7am and there were people lined up in the queue ready for the gates to open.

All round our little camp was a hive of activity however only Paul & Ruth from our group had to leave today. They need to get home as Ruth had received the sad news that her dad had passed away. I hoped their trip home to Sydney was a safe one. So we were down to 5 caravans and a motorhome now.

I’m glad we decided to stay an extra night at Bashville and not have to join the long queue of departing vehicles. We were almost out of water though so we would have to leave tomorrow so we could fill up in Birdsville.

After farewelling Paul and Ruth I went for a walk to the top of Big Red to take photos of the camp being packed up. It’s a tough walk straight up the deep red sand to the top. There was a line of people at the top all on their mobile phones. It’s the only place you can get service and it’s spotty at best. I was able to send texts to our family though to let them know we are OK. My mum texted back that she’d seen The Big Red Bash on the ABC News that morning. She said it looked fantastic.

It was lovely and cool at the top of the dune but the flies! OMG now there are a lot less people so there’s more flies per person.

It was fascinating watching the huge stage and all the other Bash buildings being dismantled. One huge road train with three trailers was parked in front of the stage and it looks like most of the stage construction gets packed into that. I guess it will be all going to Mundi Mundi Bash at Broken Hill next month.

Back at camp and it was interesting watching all the campers leaving. So many rigs of all shapes and sizes. The dust was horrendous. At one point the dust cloud blotted out the sand dunes on either side of Bashville. I didn’t feel like I would ever be clean again!

Robert & Catie decided about lunchtime to pack up and get going. They were meeting friends at Gregory before going out to Adels Grove and they had to be at Adels by the 12th. This only gave them 3 nights to get to Gregory. We would catch up with them again at Adels as we were booked in there on the 15th.

So now we were 5. All five of our group remaining were traveling to Mt Isa so we would probably camp together along the way somewhere in the desert the next night. We were all booked into the same caravan park in Mt Isa and I was actually looking forward to being in a CP so I could clean the dirty motorhome and wash everything.

All five of us packed up as much as we could in the late afternoon ready for an earlyish getaway the next morning.

At 5.30pm a group of us walked to the top of Big Red for one last sunset in the Simpson. It truly is a magical sight as the sun goes down and the red sand glows for while and then all of a sudden it gets dark.

This was the day that the world record for the number of people dancing the Nutbush & the Twist took place. The world record for the Nutbush was set at The Bash a couple of years ago where they had 2,330 people dance the Nutbush for five minutes. This year was the first time the Bash was attempting to break the record for the most number of people doing The Twist.

Most of our group participated proudly wearing our Makin’ Memories shirts. I thought we looked great. As we approached The Plaza we could see lots of people had made the effort to get dressed up. There was a cute group of Wally’s and a huge group of Riding Dinosaurs. Lots of groups had their own group shirts. The lady rocker from the group with the pink Hawaiian shirts had her group ready to Nutbush.

We all had to line up at the concert area gates and then we were allowed in and had to find the line number we’d been allocated to. Our group was in row 19. We were counted as we entered the concert area. Officials also went up and down the rows doing another count. It all has to be spit spot to become a world record.

We had a short 1 minute practice and then it was on. Not sure how many but I’m guessing about 2,500 people danced the Nutbush for the next five minutes. Oh the dust! Glad Mandie gave me a face mask. Many people were wearing bandanas. We did it! I think the record was broken but we would find out later in the day during the concert.

Next it was time to try for the Twist record. Quite a few people left the concert area. It had been very hot work doing the Nutbush for five minutes and some people had enough of the dust. All our group stayed and we twisted for five minutes in the hot sun and dust. Let’s hope we broke that record too!

The concert area opened at 12.15pm and we were all settled in with our group by 12.30pm.

Caitlyn Shadbolt opened this day’s concert. She is a young singer songwriter who rocked the arena with her catchy songs.

Following Catilyn the MC introduced the Big Red Bash Band who had been cobbled together a week ago. The original band were stuck in Covid lockdown areas so it was a rush to find suitable replacements. They arrived in Birdsville a week ago and rehearsed in the Birdsville Hall. They had to learn over 60 songs in that week. The drummer, Pete Drummond is from Dragon & Thirsty Merc, the bass player was Ian Perez, the keyboard player hails from Tasmania, the guitarist is Pete Robinson. Considering these guys hadn’t played together until last week they made an amazing band.

Wendy Matthews was up next, another Aussie singing legend. I was disappointed with her performance though. Her voice is not what it once was.

The Crackup Sisters came on in the break and introduced two people from the Australian Book of Records to announce that we’d broken the record for the number of people dancing the Nutbush with a total of 2,878. We didn’t break the world record for the Twist though but we did break the Australian record with 2,799 people twisting in the dirt.

It was fun and, along with the Drag Race, helped to raise over $70,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Fantastic effort.

The Aussie band Thirsty Merc were up next and man, can their lead singer play the keyboard. He’s awesome. Caitlyn Shadbolt joined the band as a backup singer. Her fiancé, Matt Smith, is their lead guitarist.

It was hot in the sun. Not a cloud was in the sky. There was a slight breeze though that blew the fine dust around. My body felt like it was desicating, drying out and every surface was covered in the powdery dust. I sat in my chair and baked the afternoon away.

At this point I still found it amazing to be there in the Simpson Desert miles from anywhere and that all these people have traveled from far and wide to attend the most remote music festival in the world.

It’s fun sitting in the concert area and watching the antics of the kids sand surfing down Big Red behind the main stage. Big Red towers above the stage. Every now and then the drone camera shows an aerial shot of the concert area on the big screens and it’s really amazing to see. Even though there’s a lot of people it doesn’t feel crowded. People have complied with the Covid rules and spaced themselves apart. Only 500 people at a time are allowed into the ‘mosh pit’ and there are marshalls on the gate to ensure the number isn’t exceeded.

The Crackup Sisters ran another of their silly competitions during the break. This one was a relay event with four teams of three competing. It was all a bit of chaos but fun to watch. The Crackup Sisters are certainly entertaining.

Darryl Braithwaite was up next and of course he had to finish his 40 mintue set with a rendition of ‘The Horses’. We all enjoyed his performance.

The Crackup Sisters then held a dog parade and gave out prizes for things like the ‘best dressed dog’, ‘the best dog trick’ and others. The Big Red Bash is one of the few music festivals in the world where you can bring your dog along. There is a separate camp area for those that bring their moggie along and a even a separate area within the concert area. Of course dogs must be on a lead at all times. We saw a great variety of pooches over the few days.

Simon Story from The Storey Players gave a short talk explaining how they take drama workshops to outback communities. During The Bash between 60 and 70 kids participated in the free workshops. We were shown a short film showcasing what some of the kids did at the workshops during The Bash.

Another rock legend Ian Moss was up next and I was a bit underwhelmed by his performance. He played without a band, just him and his guitar and I felt his voice was just not great on the day. His performance took us into sunset

The Crackup sisters were back in the break with one of their hula hoop routines. They are very funny and they can really swing those hoops.

Aussie icon John Williamson was up next. John has played at The Bash previously. In fact he was the first. The first one was in 2013 and held on the top of Big Red and John played to about 600 people. All supporters or runners in The Big Red Run, a desert run of 250km that was organised by Greg Donovan to raise money for research into Type 1 Diabetes. Greg’s son Stephen has Type 1 Diabetes and was the inspiration behind the run. Greg and Stephen did the 250km run together and went on to arrange The Big Red Run for a number of years. Now the whole Donovan family is employed full time organising and arranging The Big Red Bash and now The Mundi Mundi Bash.

John’s performance was brilliant. Most people would know his songs and lots of people were singing along. His music is so Australian and the atmosphere during his performance was such a happy one.

The Crackup Sisters came out in the last break to entertain us for the last time. They invited everyone to come along to their inaugural Bush Dance being held in their backyard at their house in Winton. The Bush Dance is being held to raise money to finish their house which will be a museum to outback entertainment when it is completed.

The final act of The Big Red Bash for 2021 was the Abba tribute band, Bjorn Again. They were fantastic. Not very many people were still in their chairs by the end of their performance. People were up dancing in the dust. What a great finish to the three days of great music.

The big event of the morning on Day 2 is the Drag Race. People pay to enter the Drag Race, get dressed up in drag, then run (or walk) from the start at the top of Big Red down to the finish line in The Plaza. Of course you have to walk up Big Red to get to the start line! There are prizes for the first three runners, the best three costumes and the best three groups of costumes. Some of the costumes were very creative. Four from our group participated and they looked fabulous. They were even selected in the top 50 and had to go up on stage at the end and parade in front of the whole crowd.

I climbed Big Red to get photos of our little group. Once the race started I ran down a bit further to get photos as they went by. Then I did it again, and again, and again until I caught up with them at the finish. My thighs were burning by the time I got to the bottom of Big Red. It’s hard work running downhill in the deep red sand!

It was all a lot of fun and raised $$$ for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The concert commenced this day with gates opening at 12 noon. We were all set up with our group by 12.30pm. Event organiser Greg Donovan welcomed everybody to day two followed by a short video of events and moments from the day before.

A special report was given by a guy from Queensland Health, who were there conducting Covid-19 tests. He let us know what symptoms to look for and to remind people to maintain social distancing, use the sanitiser and to let us know the good news that they hadn’t had a ‘positive’ test yet. Yay….we hoped it stayed that way.

It was another warm afternoon as we settled in to listen to the first artists up for the day, Vika & Linda. They rocked the Simpson with some new songs they’ve recorded whilst they haven’t been able to perform to live audiences.

Brian Cadd was next up. This guy might be getting old but he can still perform. His voice is not what it once was but, once a performer, always a performer. Brian Cadd has not changed his hair style since the sixties however his hair now is all white. While he was on stage there were lots of people on top of Big Red behind the stage including one guy flying a large kite. What an experience to be sitting here in the desert with amazing music and that incredible view of the giant sand dune that the festival is named after.

Brian Cadd was followed by another Aussie rock legend, Russell Morris. His voice sounds the same as it did back in the 70’s when I was in high school. I remember his music so well. He gave a great performance and I really enjoyed this one.

There was a large group a couple of rows in front of where we were sitting. Their whole group were wearing very distinctive bright pink Hawaiian shirts. One of the ladies, who I’m guessing would be in her 70’s, danced through the whole Russell Morris bracket. She’s a rocker from way back.

Chocolate Starfish were back for another set and this time they played their own music. Can’t say I liked it as much as when they did the covers the day before but that’s probably because I didn’t really know any of the songs.

Next up was Ross ‘The Boss’ Wilson, another old rocker. His performance was fabulous too as he sang many oldies.

As the sun was going down it was the turn for another Aussie legend, Glenn Shorrock. Glenn was the lead singer for the famous Aussie band Little River Band before going on to a successful solo career. He was also fabulous.

In between artists the Crackup Sisters organised games like tunnel ball, tug-o-war, performed on stage and generally kept the crowd entertained.

The sky put on an incredible sunset while we waited for the final act of the night. The one we’d come all this way for…..Paul Kelly. What can I say? What a show. It was every bit as good as I thought it was going to be. Paul Kelly’s distinctive sound rocked the Simpson. It was an amazing experience being in the audience for this great show. He finished his set and everybody kept cheering ‘more, more’. He came back on to the darkened stage alone and, lit by a single spotlight, Paul Kelly recited ‘Clancy of the Overflow’. There was a complete hush over the crowd. It was awesome. Then the band came back on and Paul Kelly sang, probably his most famous song, ‘Little Things’ to finish the set off. Wow, wow, wow.

We all meandered back to camp, thankful that our camp is so close, and settled around our campfire again. It had been another awesome day at The Big Red Bash.

Apparently an Air Guitar competition was held in the morning however I didn’t go down to The Plaza for that one. I did go down to watch the Crackup Sisters show again. The show was completely different to the previous day with lots of hula hooping and whip cracking. Those girls are very clever.

This day was the first day of the music festival and our group set up our chairs and stuff in the concert area about 12.30pm in time for the Official Opening and Welcome to Country. We got out our beach cart, loaded our chairs, drinks and warm jackets for later and wheeled it to the concert area. It was easier than carrying it.

The Welcome to Country included a half hour video that followed the adventures of local Aboriginal Elder, Don Rowlands, as he took members of his family into the Simpson Desert to tell them Dreamtime Stories and share in the knowledge of their ancestors. It was a lovely family story and I’m glad that Don is sharing his knowledge, culture and language with his family so that it won’t be lost.

The Crackup Sisters were the MC’s for the day and they were also the interim entertainment between music acts.

It was a hot sunny afternoon but once the sun went down it rapidly became cold and I was very glad of my Big Red Bash microfibre blanket to keep me snug. The atmosphere in the concert area was amazing. Everyone was careful to maintain social distancing by keeping groups apart and 2 metres from the row in front. Even in the ‘mosh pit’ area at the front of the stage people kept apart from each other. We enjoyed the music of The Chantoozies, Eurogliders, rocked to Sarah McCloud and enjoyed the mellow sounds of Busby Marou.

During the performance by Busby Marou it was time for Richard and I to make our way to our booked Helicopter ride. The heli landing area was way over the other side of Bashville and took about 15 minutes to walk there. When we arrived the flights were running a bit late so we had to wait. Our original time was 4.59pm and we eventually got on the chopper at 5.20pm. It was perfect really as the sun was going down and the sand hills really glowed in that light.

The chopper pilot was Hylton Ward whom we had met in Winton when we were on a tour with Red Dirt Tours run by Hylton’s wife Vicki. Hylton had sat up the back of the bus with us and he remembered meeting us. I’m sure we got a lot longer than the 12 minutes we’d paid for. It was worth every cent.

The Bashville site looks so incredible from the air. It is enormous and almost filled to capacity. There was even a new section that had to be created to fit in all the campers. It was easy to see the arc shape of the site from the air with the main stage front and centre. In front of the main stage is a large open space called the ‘Concert Area’. This is where festival goers bring their camp chairs and set up to listen to the music. On either side of the concert area is a long block of composting toilets. In the arc behind the concert area is The Plaza. This is where all the food vans and merchandise vendors are set up. It is also home to the the Medical Centre, the Covid Testing Tent and the Admin Marquee. The Crackup Sisters ‘house’ and a mini stage are also in this area. Behind The Plaza are ever widening arcs of camp sites.

By the time we got back to our chairs in the concert area the sun had gone down and we got to enjoy the music of the Black Sorrows and
Chocolate Starfish. Chocolate Starfish were brilliant. Their set was called ‘Best of the Best” and they played covers of many famous songs from the likes of Queen, Meatloaf and others. What a great voice their lead singer has!

It had been a fabulous start to the Big Red Bash.

We spent the day familiarising ourselves with Bashville. Some walked to the top of Big Red, others walked around the expanding camp sites, others walked to the sand dune behind our camp and Richard read his book.

I booked a ride on the helicopter for the next day. There are three seats in the chopper but the combined weight of the three passengers cannot exceed 230kgs. As Richard is 95kg and I’m 73kg in my boots that didn’t leave enough for another person unless they were a small 60kg so we paid for the three seats, $585 for a 12 minute ride. Expensive I know but it should be amazing to see Bashville from the air.

The Crackup Sisters Show was held in the morning at the Plaza in front of their ‘house’. These girls are from Winton in outback Queensland and put on a comedy show using their whip cracking, acrobatic and circus skills. They are very quick and brilliant at improvising. It was a funny show.

Catie stood in the queue for the Merchandise Tent for a couple of hours but she was able to get what everyone had ordered. A big thank you to Catie for being so patient and standing for such a long time.

Before we had left home our group had arranged to hold a ‘pot luck’ dinner. A group dinner where everyone contributed a meal to share. I had made lasagne. What a feast we enjoyed with such a great variety of delicious food. Our Makin’ Memories group are great cooks!