So we moved
to the Big Rig accommodation just in time for the Rodeo – what a way to make
Angus’ day! We settled into our site and
pretty much left instantly to catch up with a bunch of other travelling
families at one of the waterparks. We made sure we were back nice and early
though – Angus didn’t want to miss a single event! Our neighbour
had been helping out with the set-up, had an official wristband, and knew the
back way in, so we wandered out past the back of the bus, through the
stockyards and into the rodeo.
It was
quite an eye-opener for a family who had never attended a rodeo before. The
dress code was “think pink” and they were raising funds for Breast Cancer, but the only member of
our family who was likely to have any pink clothes was in Melbourne. I
certainly wasn’t turning up in my sarong, so we
made the best effort we could and Angus wore his new shirt, purchased with
money from Nana in Broome!
We watched
the first few events and saw lots of men riding after ‘teenage’ steers and trying to throw ropes
over their heads. We saw them trying to catch, flip and tie up the same young
bulls. I’m sure there are official names for
these events, but I am so far behind in my blog writing, that I’ve forgotten what they are! Angus loved seeing
the bucking bulls, and I was impressed with the ‘chicken cage’ where the officials could run to
safety from the wild animals. They had a champion caller, who was rather
entertaining, but who also raved about the competitors so much that they were
unable to meet expectations more times than not.
The grounds
had all sorts of food vans, and I was most amused to see that they all sold the
same thing! We had a choice of 4 different hotdog sellers, or 1 stall that sold
burgers. Mr Whippy was there again, and some clothing stalls for those who
wanted cowboy shirts or cowboy hats. There were a couple of rides and a showbag
stall for the kids, but the highlight seemed to be the light-up toys.
My
favourite event was the “beautiful girls on fast horses” event where the women had to ride out through
a laser, ride around three barrels and back through the laser. Those horses
were incredible! By this time it was about 8.30pm and I was shattered. I headed
back to the bus to bed, which sounds easy, but was actually rather difficult.
The way we had come was blocked off and whilst I could SEE Bertha “just over there” figuring out a way past all the stockyard fences was a little more
difficult. I felt like a rat in a maze. A dark maze. I made it in the end, and
Duncan and Angus stayed to watch the bareback riding and then call it a night.
They had a band and bar set up, but the events didn’t finish until way after 10.30pm and the bar went til 1 or 2am, so we
were very early pikers compared to the regulars!
Robbie
Robbins was a brilliant place to stay. There were HEAPS of buses there, and
PLENTY of children. Every night there were flocks of children on bikes zooming
around. We did our usual stroll around the campground, which took rather A LOT
longer than expected. I think we took 1.5 hours to get around, what with all
the chatting! Dunc is VERY well suited to this lifestyle and meeting a bunch of
other bus-loving blokes meant there was no quiet happy hour the entire time we
were there.
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