With the UHF radio in hands, comments on peoples driving and bad jokes from J-Mac were readily available. The drive seemed to take forever but eventually a small corrugated iron sign saying “Rover Park” on the side of the road pointed us in the right direction to the relief of everyone. After trekking through some rocky paths and signing in, we found a nice campsite with it’s own fireplace.

As the sun was setting through the Tenterfield mountains, we needed to organise camp immediately and start filming. Seasoned campers such as ‘Money Mike’ and the ‘water boy’ had their tent set up in no time… unlike the chefs who had poles and pegs flying everywhere. After several attempts and a whole heap of yelling and swearing, they eventually pitched their tent successfully much to their relief. We started filming our dinner segment straight away. We started off with a beautiful roast chicken with a parmesan and chili crust followed by a creamed corn soup. All cooked in the camp oven of course.

After dinner, we were all invited to an event known as the ‘night mud drags’. With food in our belly, drinks in hand and the crowd cheering, the drag races were awesome. Dozens of four-wheel-drives hammering through the mud tracks and spraying mud and dirt everywhere. The chefs were lucky enough to get some interviews with some of the drivers and get close enough to have mud flicked on their faces and the smell of petrol in their nostrils. After the drags, a few of us went down to the kiosk for a spontaneous ‘after party’ and shared some off-road stories over a few drinks. The drinks flowed into the night and plans were hatched for the following day’s events.

After heading back to the tents and falling asleep, the crew was awoken to the sound of J-Mac having a ‘technicolor yawn’. This would not have been a notable event had he not been asleep at the time, which resulted in a stained pillow, jumper, bag and tent floor. While the rest of the crew and campsite were able to sleep soundly, the stench and comfort levels in the chefs tent was almost unbearable.

While the crew was awake bright and early on Sunday morning, the chefs had a little trouble waking for breakfast. After poking and yelling at them, they eventually awoke to cook a wicked breakfast of French toast coated in blueberries, raspberries and strawberries with a subtle hit of lemon juice. After breakfast, while the crew was getting ready to attack the day’s events, we suddenly lost J-Mac back to the tent for a much needed ‘nana nap’.
The major draw card of the long weekend’s events was what was known as the ‘mud run’ which is basically a small mud track with a couple of water hazards and the driver with the fastest time wins. The competition was fierce and the drivers were giving it their all. The chefs set up the BBQ a few metres from the track and prepared a delicious eye fillet with a citrus salad which went down well with the local crowd that had formed throughout the day.

With the BBQ sizzling the trucks were going crazy through the obstacle course. Trees, logs and rocks were smashed along with most of the cars which usually finished with damaged fenders, broken steering columns and busted radiators.

While some made it through the course reasonably untouched, the water stopped some cars dead in their tracks. The final run on the track bought an end to the trip. It was time to pack up the tents and head home.

After an exhausting weekend filled with mud, great food and good company, we hit the road for the long haul back to the Gold Coast. As everyone was a little tired, a storm following us all the way home did not help the night time drive. The chefs rendition of Whitney Houston’s ‘I will always love you’ through the UHF radio helped keep spirits high and nearby truck drivers entertained.

Above: Left to right, Water Boy, Money Mike, Dukely, JMac.

We arrived home safely late Sunday night.

An awesome weekend was had by all and all the vision for this trip can be seen on the BBQ Bachelors first show on Aurora Monday 7th July at 8:30pm channel 183.

That’s all from me until next week.

Cheers

Michael “Water Boy” Suzor | Crew, The BBQ Bachelors