At sparrows fart we started our road trip; meaning it was super early in Australian terms! A beautiful sunrise greeted us through the windscreen of the car as we began our road trip out to Mullewa, a small town approximately 500km North East of Perth. It was my friend’s idea to go to a rodeo, and I was all for it!!

One of the best things about being out in the country is the quietness. And the serenity, and the space and the openness and the greenery, OMG I can go on and on. I am a city girl at heart but I absolutely love my weekend getaways to all parts of the state.

After a few stops for coffee and a random dead quiet op shop with a bargain rodeo shirt find for my friend, we had arrived. Once the tent was erected (teehee) we were ready to get amongst it! Yee-hah!

Rodeo is a subculture all on its own. I was loving the outfits! Many of the women were dressed in awesome tartan/floral shirts with bulky belts, and stylish cowboy boots. Matching cowboy hats were all the rage, a royal blue one took my fancy! I was loving all the boots and hats and shirts! Here are a few examples…

So we stood around and watched the crazy men getting bucked off the bulls for a number of hours. It really is a mad sport! And pretty dangerous. One guy, when he fell off, the bull kicked him really hard right in the back. Down he went and down he stayed. On to the sandy arena the Ambulance drove and hoisted him onto a stretcher. His rodeo day was over. There were also other events with horses, and an event called a Barrel race, where women ride as fast as possible around an obstacle course of barrels. I was so impressed with how they commandeered the horses, such beautiful and powerful animals.

After the rodeo there were three musicians to entertain the crowd. We also saw some trapeze artists who were also really good! Listening to some country and western tunes was fun, we danced around a little and mostly sat on a picnic rug, enjoying the atmosphere and the clear star filled night sky. I was off to bed by 930pm, tired after being out and about all day enjoying myself! My friends went the distance and stumbled in around midnight, making the most of the night of entertainment.

We slept as soundly as possible in our 3 woman tent, and off we were early again for our next destination; Geraldton. We were lucky that my friend’s parents lived there. So we were planning on a sleepover at their house and a tiki tour around town.

We went to the beach for a walk, to some markets, to the HMAS Sydney memorial and into town for supplies. By the time we made it back to the house we were ready for drinks and a degustation delight. Snacks galore we pecked away all afternoon, and played board games, happy as pigs in a muddy pen, with a ball… a really good bouncy ball, and a really muddy pen!

We shared a lovely dinner with my friends family, and played more games into the night.  It was great! There is nothing I like more than board games! SO much fun! Perhaps a little too much fun? Ha!

The next day we went for a little walk around the burbs before piling back into the car and exploring the surrounds of Geraldton. We came across a wind farm, and a lovely place called Erindale Falls, a magical place with many sqwarking cockatoos perched high up in gum trees.

And then it was time to drive home… Overall it was a fabulous weekend away with good friends. We explored lots of new places, spent loads of time barefoot, laughed and drank and ate a lot and had lots of fun! I am already looking forward to my next weekend away… where that will be is a mystery!

Hope you also had a good long weekend! Have you been to a rodeo before?

I hope you like all my photographic efforts!

Let me know what you think!?

Anita xx