Rock’n the Simpson

The Big Red Bash is the most remote music festival in the world. It started with some music being played by John Williamson after a desert foot race in 2013. And grew. They now sell about 10,000 tickets and need 500 volunteers to help set it up and run it. It is located on the Aria Downs cattle station at the base of the “Big Red” sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert, 1600kms from Brisbane, the nearest city. The town of Birdsville is 35kms away and unless you come over a thousand sand dunes through the Simpson desert, it is the gateway to the pop up camp called Bashville.

We first heard about it last year and decided that we would like to volunteer, just because we thought it would be a great experience. Plus we would get in for free and who doesn’t like a freebie.

Because the Bash got cancelled last year due to Covid, the people who were supposed to volunteer last year were automatically given the same spots for 2021. In October last year they advertised a few vacant positions and both Lindsay and I managed to snag one each. Further down the track and few more people pulled out and we were able to change our positions so that we both ended up with photographer roles.

Victoria went into its fourth enforced Covid lockdown on May 28. My first shift started on July 1 with induction and registration on June 30. It would take us a minimum of four days to get there and we had to arrive by 3pm on the last day. On top of this, we would need to self quarantine out of our state for 14 days to get into Queensland. It wasn’t looking good. As we approached mid June we rang the organisers of the BRB and explained our concerns, they had no idea what was happening down here. We finally got out of lockdown on June 18. To be out of our State for 14 days would take us to July 2, then another two days from the border to Birdsville. I would miss three days of my shifts, so I gave up my photography role and got one in the Merchandise tent. I had to attend induction and training on July 3. It would still be tight.

We sold our camper trailer earlier in the year as we thought we would have our caravan by now but Covid has delayed everything. We have improvised with our roof top camper on a new metal canopy. We are also taking up our old tent so that we can put all the plastic boxes in there so we can get to everything easily.

We applied and received a border permit into NSW and made a beeline to the first town beyond Swan Hill. If we were going to fill in two weeks we needed something to do and I thought that it might be warmer near Broken Hill and we could also explore Menindee Lakes and Mungo National Park. We spent a couple of days in Balranald, a day at Lake Benanee and then onto Broken Hill. It had been raining a fair amount out there and the roads to Mungo and Lake Menindee were closed. We managed to snare an undercover campsite at the Broken Hill Racecourse. Being in a rooftop camper is not pleasant in wet weather. Not only for getting in and out of the tent but cooking and sitting around in mud would be awful too. We were so lucky. A concrete base and a metal roof were just what we needed. It rained every night we were there.

Queensland changed its entry requirements, backdating our 14 day quarantine start date a week to June 11, so we could now enter on June 25. It was all about the tourist dollar and allowing families to come to Queensland for the school holidays. We now had to figure out how to get there. Lindsay had always said he wanted to take the road north but what we hadn’t thought about was petrol stations. Yes we had a long range fuel tank but it wouldn’t take us 830km on dirt, we needed to fill up and we couldn’t fit any jerry cans in the back. South Australia opened its borders to Victorians on June 25 and at the same time closed them to NSW. As we were now in NSW, we couldn’t go in. We couldn’t fill up with fuel at Innaminka, the only fuel stop on the way north. Then we heard that road was closed anyway due to the rain. Another option had been to go via the Birdsville track but that was closed at the moment because of the rain. If we had stayed home an extra week, we could have gone that way. Our only option it seemed was to drive 600km east to go west. The day we were to leave the lady next to us said she heard that they were opening the Tibooburra road today, so we rang the shire to confirm it. We wanted to get going straight away in case Queensland changed its mind and closed the borders again. No time for shopping, we would hopefully get what we wanted in one of the small towns along the way. We would have to drive slightly east through Noccundra, then to Windorah, then Birdsville. The extra 200km turned into 300km as we went to Quilpie to get supplies but it was Saturday afternoon and the shops were shut.

The single lane bitumen road finishes about 280km from Birdsville where it turns to gravel. This section of the road had only been open a few days and there were several dips in the road still full of water and our car got completely covered in mud.

Arriving in Birdsville our first port of call was to fill up with fuel for the car and fuel for the generator. We didn’t have room for solar panels so we would have to run the generator to keep the battery charged while in camp. We also bought bread from the bakery and broccoli from the servo – both were about double what we pay at home. Every time we have been to Birdsville we have stayed at the caravan park but decided this time as we thought it would have been booked out, to stay on the Town Common which is a huge area just 15 minutes walking distance from town. Because of Queensland’s change of requirements, we were now early and I could do the photography job but they wanted me to stay in Merchandise as they had re-filled my position.

Having to attend training on July 3 meant we could enter Bashville (the pop-up campground for the Bash) early, a day earlier than the early pass holders. You can buy 2-Day and 1-Day early passes if you are a patron with the proceeds going to the RFDS. When we arrived there was no queue to get in. The following morning it took some people three hours to get in, if they had waited until the afternoon there was no queue.

We are camped in the volunteer camp area which is only a five-minute walk to the Merchandise tent. You can’t choose a spot, you have to go to the next one available. It will be another three days before the music starts.

Lindsay had three full days but did four and I had three five hour shifts. Carrying his cameras around in the heat and dust did take its toll on him physically, but he enjoyed it. There were a number of roles in Merchandise and I got one of the sales jobs. People were supposed to choose what they wanted from the display tent and fill in a form to give to me. My first sale didn’t have anything written down, I didn’t understand which items she was talking about let alone figure out where to find them. I felt completely overwhelmed. The next sale was easier and after a few more I worked out the difference between zipper hoodies, line up jackets etc. None of us could believe how much stuff people were buying, it was like they all had money burning a hole in their pockets. If we had run out of what they wanted, they found something else.

I wasn’t working on the afternoon of the first music day. I didn’t go down to the stage straight away so missed the Chantoozies and the Eurogliders. Sarah McLeod had been one of the new artists. She had never heard of the BRB and thought she would be playing at the Birdsville pub, I wonder if she has ever played to nearly 10,000 people? She was a bit of a rocker, so not my thing, though she did a really good cover of Stairway to Heaven. At dinner time the following night, though I was back at camp she did ACDC covers of a long way to the top and thunderstruck which were excellent, even though I can’t stand ACDC. Busby Marou was okay, the Black Sorrows were good and Chocolate Starfish did covers of Meatloaf, INXS and Queen that were excellent. Lindsay thought they did a better job than the real artists; not quite!

Most shifts have a music clash and mine happened to be on the second afternoon, probably the worst timing I could have got as there were several people I really wanted to see on that day. I could hear the music but couldn’t see them. So I missed Brian Cadd, Russell Morris, Chocolate Starfish (singing their own stuff this time), Ross Wilson and Glen Shorrock. I really would have liked to have seen Brian, Russell and Ross. I finished my shift at 6:15pm, which gave me enough time to get back to camp, put on some warmer clothes and get down to the stage before Paul Kelly started. Simon and Ann were in the mosh pit when we arrived so we sat in their chairs for a while. When they came back the line to go in was really long. They only allowed 500 people to go in at a time and while there was plenty of room if people wanted to social distance, they weren’t. I decided I had nothing to lose by standing in the line as you weren’t allowed to stand up without a chair behind you. It didn’t take long to get in and we stayed there until he finished. He was fantastic.

I wasn’t working at all on Thursday, the third day of the music. That morning we packed everything up in preparation for leaving on Friday but left the tent up so I could sit in it to have breakfast before my shift. The artists playing today were Caitlyn Shadbolt, Wendy Matthews, Thirsty Merc, Daryl Braithwaite, Ian Moss, John Williamson and Bjorn Again. I watched Wendy, Thirsty Merc, Daryl and Ian. Everyone seemed disappointed in Ian Moss, we expected him to play some Cold Chisel, he did a couple of songs but not the really good ones and he also only used his guitar for the music instead of a band. Daryl was a great entertainer. I’m not into country music so didn’t stay for John Williamson, We had friends coming to share our fire and drinks so missed Bjorn again. Next time I will make sure I see them as everyone said they were great.

Usually during our travels around Australia we get to talk to people from all over the world. It was really strange to pretty much only hear the Aussie accent. We did speak to a Danish couple while standing in line to get into the mosh pit. They moved here just before Covid and heard about the Bash while they were in Longreach on holiday.

Apart from the music, there was a drag race where proceeds went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, a Nutbush dance and Twist dance, both world records smashed with 2,878 people participating – again, proceeds to the RFDS, Dunny Door painting, air guitar, doggy fashions, yoga and skits by the Crack up sisters. You could also ride a camel or take a helicopter flight. You could also buy lots of paraphernalia – apparel, stubby holders, whips, drink bottles, hats, caps, wine glasses, hat pins, cattle tags, bar mats, BBQ pits, spare wheel cover, buffs,

All the days we had been in Queensland had been sunny, some with a cool wind. Most nights were freezing, one even got down to -3°C. Our Macpac sleeping bags were excellent. All the festival days were above 20°C.

On Friday, I was supposed to work 9am to 2pm. The festival was over so we were on pack up duty. It must have been quiet the afternoon before as the vols had already cleared the display tent and emptied all the pigeon holes of stock. We just had to fold up the tables, count some stock, fold up some tarps, move some fire pits etc. We were finished just after 11am. There was a farewell party in Birdsville that night but I had already said to Lindsay that I wanted to skip this as I was wanted to get a head start home. It turned out to be a good move. We spoke to a friend when we got reception in Birdsville. He said that it looked like our borders were about to be shut and that we should get home as soon as possible. Finishing my shift early gave us a three hour head start. We passed lots of cars, campers and caravans.

Because we had filled up with fuel when we arrived, we didn’t need to fill up again. With our long range tank we got through to Quilpie, bypassing a huge queue at Windorah that went down the main street and around the corner. The first night we got as far as the rest area we had stayed in on the way up on the other side of Windorah. On the second night we got to Cobar in NSW and had dinner at the RSL. It was only 3°C when we got up the next morning, too cold to hang around to have breakfast. We started driving when it was still dark which is normally a no no but we just wanted to get going. Lindsay kept the speedo down to 80km/hr until sunrise, just in case any animals crossed in front of us. That morning we saw emus and feral goats and pigs on the side of the road.

We filled in our Victorian border passes but didn’t see anyone at the border. Lindsay was annoyed but I didn’t care – it just meant they didn’t hold us up. We went home via a Covid testing station but couldn’t be tested as our camper was too high for the carpark and they didn’t take walk-ins. It would have to wait until tomorrow. The conditions of entry into our state were that we had to have a Covid test within 72 hours of entering and self quarantine until we received a negative result. If we had arrived after midnight, we would have had to self quarantine for two weeks regardless of the first result.

We had driven 2,300kms in two and a half days. The borders closed four days later, the day after we picked up our new caravan.

Will we volunteer at the BRB again? yes!

Would I recommend anyone to go as a patron? Absolutely, there are people who go every year. There were so many different caravans, campers, RV’s, vans – it was better than a camping show. And if you didn’t have something that could get there you could rent a tent and get a bus from Brisbane. I don’t know how good the sleeping bags were though. There are food vendors there so you could potentially eat out for every meal. They have just started up another festival at Broken Hill which was supposed to be in late August but has been pushed back to September because of the outbreaks in Sydney. This would be a lot easier to get to for most people in the southern states, especially those with two-wheel drives.

South Australian borders were closed when we left Birdsville but were due to open on the Sunday (2 days later) just for Big Red Bash patrons. Too late for us, we were already half way down NSW. We were very lucky there was no Covid up there; they did have testing on-site and in Birdsville. Potentially it could have been a disaster, but it wasn’t.