Our time at El Questro and on the
Gibb had come to an end so we were all a bit philosophical, it had been an
awesome two weeks however the whole time we had been timing it to pop out at
the other end just in time for the Kununurra Bushman’s Rodeo...Yeeha!
We headed into town and parked
outside the visitor information centre. De and the boys headed to the Saturday
markets while I pulled up my chair and attempted to upload some blogs. You meet
a lot of people when you travel and over the next hour I must have chatted with
5 or 6 families that were also in town for the rodeo, resulting in my uploading
of zero blogs.....the pressure!
We picked up a few essentials and
headed for the Rodeo grounds, where we would be camping for the night, as it
was, you guessed it..free! After a quick lunch we laid down for a nana nap, but
as I lay there in a pool of perspiration I decided it was time to get the
generator out and crank the AC up! Our AC unit tells you what the current temp
is and its first reading let me know it was 39oC....no wonder the boys were
struggling to sleep. All was going well for 20 minutes until the genne ran out
of fuel and I didn’t have any left...oh well we had a small respite! The boys
and I went for a bit of an explore around the ‘other’ side of the grounds,
checking out the bulls and horses as well as looking at the chutes.
By 4 the crowds were starting to
roll in so we donned our best country looking gear and headed the 150m to the
grounds. We had put our chairs out earlier reserving the best spot, straight
across from the chutes and by 5:30 it was all happening. Rob and Cad with the
BFF had joined us as had another couple that they had met along the way with a
swarm of kids sitting with their heads pressed between the metal bars of the
fence. There were sqeals of delight as the horses and then bulls threw their
riders and galloped past spraying dirt and manure all over them as they all
reeled away from the fence. The B grade bulls were first and the rodeo clowns
showed amazing timing and skill in evading their charging and swinging head and
horns.
The next four hours was much of
the same with the swarm of travelling kids increasing in size and the giggles of
delight peaking when a saddle bronc charged straight out of the chute, directly
across the arena to where we were sitting with the rider showing incredible
courage, not flinching an iota as it careered towards the fence turning with a
millimetre to spare. I think his name must have been Moses as the swarm parted
like the red sea as if the 100mm metal fence infront of them didn’t exist. If
they remember nothing else from the rodeo it will be that one ride!
Another highlight was the station
challenge where two people (there were a couple of chicks so I can’t say
blokes) race to the chutes, one climbs over grabbing a yearling’s head while
the other opens the gate. The beast then takes off, with the ‘header’
attempting to slow its path enough for the gate opener to grab hold of its tail
and direct it across the arena to an imaginary finish line. This is where the
fun began as they then had to drag the beast to the ground! There was an array
of methods being used that stick out. One of the riders had also entered and
was the tailer. His header had let go but that wasn’t deterring him as the
beast dragged him around the arena with him resolutely holding onto his tail.
It felt like about 10 minutes but probably would have only been 30 seconds, but
I think I would have lasted 2 or 3 seconds.
The other memory was Chris, who had
taken the boys riding at El Questro, was in the finals and was tailing. He was
trying desperately to fling his beast to the ground but it wouldn’t go, so
instead he changed plan and executed a text book rugby tackle sliding down the
hind legs and holding on as it desperately tried to kick free. It came down
with a thud with them winning, the swarm rising as one as most of them had also
been riding with him! For all of their
effort the pair won $120, not much considering the entry fee was $45 each!!!!
The events were over and the
buckles presented and all of the other campers had left as the band started up.
We caught up with our travel companions Logan and Larissa for a few more brews
and for some reason Logan thought it would be a good idea to head into the
arena where all of the kids were now playing....big mistake. A few seconds
later he was mobbed, led by Jack and Sam, he held them off for a while but
there were a dozen adrenalin filled kiddies desperate to tryout their new found
bull riding skills, using him as the bull! I did consider going to help him but
wisely reconsidered! Ten minutes later he re-emerged from a world record dog
pile and sprinted for the fence, with new found stepping skills that would have
got him a start in any NRL or AFL team he darted and weaved his way, spitting
out mouthfuls of dirt and manure as he went. He made it with milliseconds to
spare and while he had a few more drinks with us, he never really recovered!
 |
| The next morning, at the servo, we ran into the winner of the bull ride! |
Last drinks were called and we
headed across to our ‘swag’ and I am pretty sure we were all asleep by the time
the key was inserted in the door!
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