Today's racing didn't start until just after 1pm and we decided to walk out to the race course from our camp-site which took us 30 minutes or so. It was a warm day and I couldn't help but think how hard it would have been for the early explorers like Burke and Wills who walked through this country in the heat of summer...
We arrived at the Race Course about an hour before the first race which allowed us to find a seat in the covered area and then locate the beer tents and the bookies. We met up with the guys we met up on Big Red a couple of days ago and had a great time placing bets, having a few drinks and cheering on our horses. Before we knew it the last race for the day had run and we made our way into town for a quick dinner and to get in line for the 7.30pm Boxing session. The lines for the buses were very long and we decided to walk again which took us just on an hour with a quick stop back at camp to drop off some gear.
The crowd for the boxing started to grow quickly and we were fortunately up the front but we were amazed by the behaviour of some of the grey nomads. For some of these guys common sense and courtesy go out the window and on more than one occasion we had to call them out on their poor behaviour and remind them how to act which was quite disappointing. Queues mean nothing to some of these guys and the sense of entitlement because "we are old" is really sad... I'd be shocked if my parents behaved like that, anyway end of rant.
Fred Brophy soon came out and introduced his fighters and gave them all a "rally" on the drums and the bells and then called for challengers. After the first few challengers were selected we were allowed into the tent and after a bit more pushing and shoving from the grey nomads we made it in and found some seats. The boxing was very entertaining and a few of the challengers gave Fred's boys a run for the money some of the others not so much... Overall it was an entertaining evening and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience the last operational boxing tent in the world. Sorry about the quality of the photos they were taken from my phone.
After the boxing it was time to head back to camp this time we caught a bus as we were well and truly over walking and in need of a good nights sleep.
Trip Distance = 0km
Total distance travelled with camper =
12,644km
Total number of nights in the camper = 94
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| Approaching the Race Course |
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| The Bookies |
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| Crowd waiting for the boxing tent to open |
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| Fred's female boxer the "Beaver" taking on a challenger |
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| "Digger" delivering a knock out blow |
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