A Dash to the Bash

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PREAMBLE





This Tour has been a long time in the planning. Like everything else in 2020 it was swallowed up by the global pandemic known as COVID 19. We were supposed to take our winter journey back then to Outback Queensland with a specific destination of Birdsville for the Big Red Bash – a music event on the edge of the Simpson Desert. When it became apparent that the 3 days of concert in the desert would not be going ahead the organisers offered all ticket holders the options of either refunding their money or extending ticket validity to 2021. We took up the latter.



When we first bought our tickets it was suggested that a group to follow on Facebook called “Travelling to the Big Red Bash” might be a useful thing to do – past attendees were encouraged to share their experiences and their tips, not only on the event itself but their journeys from all over Australia, and new Bashers like ourselves were invited to ask any and all questions they might have as to what to expect, what they should plan for etc etc. For the most part it was a good group to watch, read and pay attention to – there was the occasional snide or sarcastic remark made but unfortunately you get that with a lot of things these days and so we just glossed over that bit.



Some of the information given though was extremely helpful and so it fell to John to prepare our caravan for the roads we would be travelling. He has lagged every pipe and wire underneath the van and has clad the water tanks in heavy rubber matting “just in case” we should pick up some sharp rocks or gravel that could cause serious damage – and in locations where you are not likely to be in a position to easily repair things.



We also changed our AGM batteries & solar system control to Lithium which would give us longer staying power when we were free camping. This was something that we had thought of doing previously, but “now” seemed like a good time to get on with it.



The Landcruiser – “Mara The Sahara” – was also treated to some updates and a thorough medical …. for an old girl (670,000 kms original engine) she continues to serve us well.



Of course 2020 and into 2021 still sees the threat of the virus and Victoria particularly has endured 4 lockdowns. Our little town of Romsey is in regional Victoria and as such we have not been as seriously affected by these lockdowns, but restrictions have caused some anxiety as to whether we would be able to get away at all. However, almost at the 11^th hr regional Victorians were free to move about the State. The question was could we move interstate?



We had planned on leaving on 19^th June taking our time to reach Birdsville but when our restrictions were eased meaning we could cross state borders we thought we had better get a move on before things changed again and so we are now heading off on 14^th June. Permits to enter both NSW and Qld were sought and received and being completely self sufficient in the van we could isolate if need be.



This, then, is The Todds Tour – A Dash to the Bash

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