August 8, 9, 10 Mt Isa

Day 1 of rodeo has passed! The crowd on Friday night was huge although I don’t know what the figures were.

Admission was free until completion of the afternoon events. The street parade and Mardi Gras was a big improvement on the Cloncurry Merry Muster but then Mt Isa has 5 or 6 times the population.

Last night’s events were all rough-stock (see, I’m even learning the rodeo language). Rough-stock is the term for the bucking bulls and horses. One cowboy survived the 8 second saddle bronc ride only to be dragged about 100 m around the arena when his hand was caught in the rigging before they could catch the horse and release him. Fortunately he was OK but I bet he’ll be a bit sore this morning. You have to admire the guys who enter the bull riding – the beasts are huge and the size of their horns really ferocious looking.

There is no accommodation anywhere in Mt Isa at the moment. Our caravan park has had the “No Vacancies” up for a few days and been turning away anyone who doesn’t have a booking. When we drove around yesterday it seemed like every bit of public ground had been turned into caravan or camping accommodation. No power, no water, no toilets and you have to go the Visitors Centre and pay $2 for a shower. The luckier ones are those with a shower/toilet in their vans.

We actually had a “normal” grocery shopping expedition on Saturday. Up until now we’ve only had small grocery shopping bills ($20 or so) because of the amount of food we brought from home. With the cupboards getting bare it was time to stock up again. We shopped at Coles so we could get a couple of petrol vouchers – Coles petrol is 144.9 (with voucher) while Woolies is 148.9 with voucher. I certainly hope petrol prices have dropped in Wollongong too.

We can now tick the Mt Isa Rodeo off our “to do” list. It’s been an excellent and enjoyable experience but mum and I both agree a one-day event is sufficient for our enjoyment.

Years ago, when we were living at Warroo, I was Treasurer for the Warroo Rodeo – actually it was a community expectation that the teacher was also the Treasurer. The Mt Isa Rodeo is a long way from what we used to have at Warroo.

It is the best rodeo in Australia – the state of the art, purpose-built facilities are very impressive. No matter where you sit there’s a good view of all the action. I’m in awe of the courage of the cowboys who compete – especially those who ride the bulls. There’s almost an expectation that every ride will result in an injury of some sort.

Tomorrow we start our trek towards Townsville with a stop tomorrow night at a place called Hughenden. Fingers crossed the car will make the distance – I admit I’ll be quite relieved when we get there.