On the Way to The Rodeo – What We Found in Outback Queensland

Unlike the saying, this was Explorer Constance’s first rodeo. Alongside her mate Isobel, they slipped on their cowgirl boots and headed up to the annual Nebo Rodeo in the Mackay Isaac region of Queensland to see what all the fuss is about.

The charm of country Australia is spoken of fondly by people who know it well, often discussed as a trade secret or an inside joke.

I’ve heard whispers from relatives about the red dirt and blue skies, but I grew up in the city, and now I’m most certainly a beach dweller.

It’s pretty tricky to pull me away from the ocean, and the same can be said for my friend and photographer, Isobel Owers.

But curiosity got the better of us, so we loaded up her beloved Troopy, Wombat, and decided, where better to start our country experience than at the Nebo Rodeo?

We discovered, as the rumours suggest, there’s much to love about country Australia – blue skies and red dirt only scratch the surface.

Read more: 5 Days Road Tripping Queensland’s Mackay Isaac Region

That Old Fashioned Hospitality

After the one-hour drive from Mackay, before heading to the showgrounds, we drove through the streets of Nebo in an effort to gauge exactly what we were walking into. There we found the Nebo Hotel.

‘Now that’s a pub’, Isobel said. And I couldn’t agree more, with its maroon colouring, two storeys, and classic Queenslander feel. And of course, there were lots of typical Aussie antics on the pub deck, namely men with pints and mullets.

Naturally, we had to have a look and were greeted by the sign on the door: ‘Arrive a guest, leave a local’. Consider me won over, and someone give that marketing team a raise!

Even with a whole showground of people down the road, this place was packed. I wanted to put this down to stragglers from the Friday night street party, though there was a familiarity to the pub’s bustle confirming that yep, this is a typical Saturday at the Nebo Hotel.

I turned to Isobel and said, ‘Where the hell are we?’ thrilled by a vibrancy I naively didn’t expect. I guess that’s what you get when you cultivate a business where community is priority number one. Established in 1863, 160 years on, the hotel is still a Nebo family-run business.

We could’ve stayed a long while there, but we had a rodeo to attend. It only happens once a year and there’s no way we were missing it!

Home for the Night

Turning into the showgrounds, I was flawed. The space was overflowing with very large trucks, country music blaring from speakers, swags anywhere and everywhere. To be honest, our beach bum was showing, and we were slightly daunted that we wouldn’t be able to kick it in the country.

In my experience, events of this size are filled with annoying steps like finding which section of the campground you’ve been allocated. But here camping was free (score!) which meant no red tape. We claimed a quieter spot and as I set up my swag.

I smiled at the whinnying horses in the distance. A word to the wise: country Australia is hot during the day and chilly at night. Be prepared with all your warm essentials and don’t live to regret as I would come to that night.

Country Community

Gearing up for the night ahead, we sat on the back of Wombat, snacking and taking in the scene. A cowgirl washed her horse in the sunlight and, when she saw us looking, she called us over for a chat; people are friendly out in the sticks!

Then, and perhaps most importantly of all, we donned our country get-ups. We took no prisoners with our button-downs, denim, and borrowed Akubras. Finally, I put on my disgruntled barista Doc Martens with the hopes the coffee stains might be mistaken for dirt from a hard day’s yakka.

On our way to claim our wristbands, we passed families lassoing toy bulls. They welcomed us over to watch and try if we wanted to (under expert supervision). Needless to say what we lacked in skill we made up for in enthusiasm.

When we entered the stadium, it became apparent that this was in fact our first rodeo.

A man looking effortlessly country said to us with a smile, ‘You girls aren’t from around here, are you?’.

‘What do you mean?’ I replied through laughter, humbled my stained Doc Martens had fooled no one, and so quickly at that.

And like the cowgirl and families we’d chatted to already, Chris was friendly and curious about where we’d come from and how we ended up in Nebo. My former fears as to whether or not we could kick it in the country evaporated, and with hindsight, seemed rather silly.

The Happenings

In all the excitement it was almost easy to forget there were things to do at this rodeo.

The rodeo itself was made up of aptly titled events like ‘bareback’ (riding a horse without a saddle), ‘barrel race’ (cowboys and cowgirls race around three barrels), and ‘bull riding’ (no explanation needed).

The rodeo winner stayed on the bull for the entire eight seconds of bull bucking and bagged himself $10,000. One thing’s for sure, I’m glad it wasn’t me on the back of those bulls, but I wouldn’t mind the payday.

Between events, the crowd was entertained with silly gags like the kiss cam, which I, as the oh-so-mature adult I am, found particularly amusing.

And for anyone who showed up without rodeo appropriate attire (why are you looking at me?) the Ringers Western On The Road truck sorted them out.

Plus, it’s not a rodeo without one hell of a feed. Luckily, I love food trucks; I actively seek them out in my everyday life. There’s not a marketscape I haven’t ventured into nor a food festival I haven’t attended.

Here, there was no need to search, ‘twas food trucks galore! I had the pleasure of devouring a 24-hour slow-cooked beef brisket accompanied by spuds, slaw, and bread.

And for dessert, Isobel and I treated ourselves to a crepe stuffed with Nutella and banana from a lovely woman named Wendy. It’s safe to say, we were very well-fed.

The pinnacle of our rodeo experience came once the official competitive events ended, the fences were pulled down, and the crowd flooded the red dirt. There, out on the rodeo ring, celebrations kicked off and boots were scooted with country music singer, Luke Geiger.

The following morning with sore feet and hoarse throats, we boiled the kettle for a tea, and loaded up Wombat.

Driving out of the showgrounds, we waved to fellow early birds or passed solemn nods to last night’s stragglers.

Cheersing our morning brews, Isobel turned to me and said, ‘Well done, Nebo Rodeo.’

‘Not bad at all,’ I replied.

Photos thanks to @isobelgrace.jpg