What a night!
Back in Jack, up and out the door way before the crack of dawn. A quick traditional stop at Macca’s and we were on our way.
There’s a spot far up on Indian Ocean Drive where, as you hit the crest of a gradual slope, that the sea is suddenly right in front of your eyes, even in the dark. The whitecaps are easy to spot in the glow of headlights and spotties (spotlights, very necessary in Oz for spotting kangaroos sitting on the side of the road before they leap out in front of you).
It’s when I hit that crest of the hill that I know Im really on my way somewhere, somewhere more than just up the road from home. That ‘somewhere’ translates to a fun and exciting destination. There’s no doubt you’re going somewhere.
In this case that somewhere fun and exciting was Mullewa, a small country town north east of Perth, having their annual Mullewa Muster and Rodeo. Yee ha!! It was a long time since I had been to a rodeo and I was looking forward to this one.
It was going to be dusty with the chance of a storm later that night. Perfect.
It felt so good to be back on the road. Jack has had a few hiccups since I’ve been back from epically tripping around North America and I was itching to get back out there - ‘there’ being anywhere but home.
Finally hitting Mullewa, we headed for the campground, already well populated with every 4x4 known to Australia. Swags and tents, campers and caravans and loads of rooftop tents scattered across the landscape. Some had set their sites up well, even down to the campfire ready to be lit while others looked to have just pulled in, parked up and headed to where the action was. It was gusty and dusty but the rain was hopefully a long way off so we followed the stream of people heading to the fun part.
I was really impressed with the way the town had set everything up, right down to the mini bus driving back and forth between the rodeo and the campground, ferrying people between the two. Im not sure how many trips the driver made but he was busy right through to the end.
What a vibe! It was almost like being back in Texas with all the cowboy boots and hats everywhere. The bulls were on form kicking up dust, the horses well primed for their events, and cowboys and cowgirls everywhere you looked. The crowd cheered their favourites, in the end I think everyone was cheering everyone on. It was awesome!!!
As the sun began to drop the ladies from the Geraldton Bootscooters gave a lesson to the rapidly forming crowd till it seemed everyone was part of the mass line dancing party, and set the tone for the rest of the night. The party was just getting started.
A live fire circus act and class country acts on stage got the whole place pumping.
Make it stand out
Scarlet’s Way rounded out the night with raw country rock, such a talented band performing an incredible set! Strong, raw vocals, an electrifying electric violin, these guys have it all going on! I couldn’t begin to describe it.
What a night!
Wandering down the road to camp, past campfires surrounded by exhilarated happy campers, we made it back just in time before the rain hit, and boy did it hit.
Waking up to a campsite saturated with red sticky mud, and with a break in the rain, it was time to pack up and head out, with a quick stop to cook up breakfast along the way.
Well done Mullewa, that was hugely impressive... we’ll definitely see you again next year!
