A number of vehicles had a trip to “Big Red”, the first big sand dune entering into the Simpson Desert. Excitement was high and the track out to Big Red was very wet. It didn’t take Craig long to drown Andrew’s Cruiser, then only going about 20 feet before getting bogged. Margaret’s recovery skills soon had Andrew’s vehicle pulled out. Big Red wasn’t as steep as first thought with 3 options – easy, medium and impossible. After all vehicles and most drivers had a go at driving up Big Red we then headed back to Birdsville without incident. Checked with the local police about road closures due to the recent rain and flooding. A report had come through that a Tour Bus had been stuck since l0am that morning with a group of elderly passengers on board. Some of those passengers attended our Gala Night the previous evening. We had Dinner at the hotel and all the wheelies were treated to a real bed in accommodation at the hotel.
The next day saw much excited souls of the Foxes and the Papas taking the journey out to the ‘Big Red’ to enjoy the thrill of climbing the mountain of red earth in their trucks to shout from the top, ‘I Did It!’ The night topped off a great day at the Birdsville Pub with a Gala Night that was planned to release and expose the hidden and surprising talents of the fellow Foxes and Papas- and weren’t we all pleasantly surprised! The talent show provided side splitting laughter, awe and wonder as everyone participated with bush poetry, original songwriting and attempted singing, harmonica playing, jokes, skits and hilarious rendition of the antics of the brothers and sisters across the 2-way. It was simply the best!
