Gympie Muster, Qld

I don't know if I can find the right words to explain the last 36 hours... it has been amazing.
We said goodbye to Woodgate yesterday morning the 22nd of August and began the trek south to Gympie.
When we arrived we did a shop at the local Woolies and stocked up before meeting up with Mike & Jan Branson and Cheryl & Graham Kent, the two couples from Perth, who we met in Noosa.
We then headed towards the Muster site, about 20 kilometres out of the town... when we arrived we were amazed by the sheer size of it all. There were camp sites set up throughout the farm with more caravans and tents than I have ever seen in my life.

We've arrived

We were directed towards a hill at the back of the main stage which we thought would be a good option.
We arrived to find that some people had been camped for around a month, while others had been and pegged their sites weeks ahead - to ensure they got a good spot.
We were going to have to improvise to find a decent position that would fit the 3 caravans.
We finally found a spot on the side of a hill.. and after a few hairy and stressful moments trying to get our caravans level, we were well and truly ready for a drink and some fun...

Our camp site

Overlooking some other campsites

Jan, Cheryl & I

Harry and Nina get into the mood, with a shovel guitar and a wine bottle microphone

Cheryl, Graham, Mike & Richard around the campfire 

Most of us knew when it was time to call it a night, there were FOUR big days ahead of us... except Richard, of course. He & Mike went on a late night search for parties, only to stumble upon a two story makeshift nightclub in the middle of another paddock. It's amazing how much effort people have put in to setting up their camps.....

The bra campsite

Another bar

Our neighbour Ian, plays his guitar and sings for us

This morning, the 23rd of August - we all woke and had brekky before heading across to the Muster area to collect our armbands for the next 4 days and to have a wander around. I have to say, I was shocked with what I saw.
It was like a massive marketplace, with a general store, all sorts of stalls with goodies for sale, as well as food stalls, a massive main stage and then about 6 separate bars and music venues so you can go in and out of each, at your leisure and watch whoever takes your fancy, whether it be a bush poet or a country music singer.
The programme is jam packed with just about every Australian country music singer you can think of.

The main stage

After a shop and a look around we settled to watch a female country singer by the name of Kate Cook who started off on Australia's got Talent. The kids remembered her from the show, she was great and happy to sign the kids hats and pose for a photo....

Nina & Jack with Kate Cook

We were then captivated by a man who plays the fiddle called Pixie Jenkins who had us in stitches with his comedy.
We then headed back to the caravan for a couple of hours before changing into our cowboy/cowgirl gear to watch the evening performers...

The two cowgirls, ready to rock

Listening to the entertainment

Graham, Cheryl, Jan & Mike soak up the atmosphere

My three Musterers

Nina finds a dancing buddy, Elkie

The list was endless... with the kids getting their hats autographed by the stars of  each performance. You've got to understand that living on the farm, the kids have been growing up on country music, so they were so excited to meet the people who sang the songs they have been listening to for years... they were in awe of it all.

With Travis Collins

Pulling faces with Travis Collins

With Jasmine Rae

Corb Lund

The McClymonts

Richard and I were in awe too - but on a different level. We were in awe of how huge the event was, how many performers we would get to listen to, how people were so friendly and happy. An old couple holding hands and boot scooting beside us, made us smile along with our tent neighbour Peter who made us all dessert last night (dumplings) and then tonight he was making us a berry crumble.... priceless!!! Country people are salt! This is only day one and we feel like we've already got our money's worth - three more to go.