Day 38: The concert atop Big Red!!

Even though it was quite cold we were up early, packed up and headed in to watch the start of the race at the Birdsville Hotel.

With it being only 6 degrees this morning - getting up and moving early was a bit of a chore and waiting for the start of the race was very cold for us and the other spectators who braved the cold to see the competitors off this morning for the 42km 'dash' out to Big Red.

We were glad we made the effort - But as soon as we had cheered them all off we very quickly headed over to the Bakery - ahead of the rush - for a scrummie breakfast.

We spotted John Williamson outside as we were leaving - he was wearing a hat and would not have been easily spotted had he not been heard speaking to someone. He has an unmistakable voice.

Then to the Birdsville Roadhouse for a shower - $5.00 each. They only have the 1x shower so we had some time to catch up on things whilst each of us took our turn.

I had a spot of "Blog Rage" happening this morning - the uploading of my blog notes has become increasingly difficult.

It is quite frustrating as even when we do have 3G coverage it seems the signal is just not strong enough in some areas out here for the upload to be successful.

Off we then headed - the '30 odd' km to Big Red - where there is a campsite available at the foot of this magnificent iconic sand dune for the night of the concert.

After setting up camp - we all raced up (well scrambled as fast as you can up a giant sandhill) to the top of Big Red to take in the view.

It was amazing and I stayed up there for about an hour just taking it all in and watching the first of the runners coming over the dune in the distance and running across the desert to the finish line.

It was quite warm and fairly windy at the campsite most of the afternoon and but we managed to set ourselves up so that we could get some protection from the sand blowing whilst sitting outside.

Russ and I collected wood - so that we could have a fire later tonight - as we planned to have dinner after the concert and it was going to be cold by then.

At 4pm we took our pre-concert snacks and wine cask (no glass is allowed at the concert) up to the top of Big Red.
As you can imagine to walk up was a bit of an effort with chairs and snacks and warm jackets.

You just got to love this guy's methodology for carrying all his chairs up to the top!!

We spent the time waiting for the start of the concert getting into the vibe that was starting to swell on the top of Big Red - as all the concert-goers starting arriving.

We all had to keep pinching ourselves to take in that we were really here!!!

I just had to keep getting up and wandering around behind the crowd and just breathing in the scene before me.
As i looked out across Big Red - with the crowd starting to grow in size, JW strumming a tune for the sound checks & the backdrop of the water below and the far off sand dunes - this scene of awesome proportions was taking on a presence that created an upwelling of emotional feelings within me.
It is difficult to explain in words.
The combination of the quietly growing crowd, with the underlying, almost palpable, current of expectation admist this vast scene was quite overwhelming for me.

The concert was planned to start at 5.30pm - so that it would be underway before sunset.
The wind that had been around all day dropped off at dusk and provided you were rugged up for the night it was quite comfortable seated in this bit of an ampitheatre atop the iconic "Big Red".
Even Dick Smith and his wife Pip were there. We spotted Dick with the old worn chairs hung over his shoulder as he was making his way through and up behind the growing crowd.

OMG!!!! the concert was awesomely fantastically awesome !!!!!!!!!! - and we are just so glad we got here to experience it.
It was an experience not to be missed!!!

It was just JW playing his guitar and singing - and also providing percussion accompaniment with his feet on a specially made rostrum. He was joined by another talented guitarist.
They played for about 2 1/2hrs with a short break.

I think also his songs had more significance for us because of where we were and where we had been travelling - Outback Australia.

You can see in the photo below that the stage was set at the bottom of a rise in the dune and they took full advantage of this staging with the lighting as night fell over the scene.

After the concert Cindy lined up to get the cd she had purchased signed by John Williamson (a gift for her dad) - and have a photo with him.
I took the photo for her and managed to get my ticket to the show signed as well.
My autographed ticket will make a great momento of a fantastic night!!

Sadly this was to be our last night together on this adventure with Cindy and Russ - but it was a great way to end it!!
We have had a ball travelling on this adventure together and hope to plan another trip with them in the future.
Thanx Guys its been awesome fun with you!!