Rainbow Serpent Festival 2006 - 27.1.2006

Australia Day 2006 and golly wasn't it hot! Most of the general population was taking shelter from the swelter in air-conditioned comfort, but the rest of us were packing our eskies with days worth of sustenance and playing jigsaw with our car boots in a vain effort to fit it all in! Fun and games, it always is, and come 1pm I was finally ready to hit the road - friends in tow - with not one inch to spare!

We had an uneventful 2.5hr drive, getting into Beaufort (the last stop) around 5pm and stocking up on last minute necessities. To our pleasant surprise the venue was not more than 5 minutes out of town, and the obligatory "dirt road" was about 200m long, so navigation was SIMPLE! The event staff were probably the nicest people on the planet, I swear I have never been welcomed to a party in such a cheery fashion, ever! Massive kudo's to them all, they made our weekend that much better!

The site was very nicely located, with camping on the inclined slope, and the stages and markets under the trees. The massive amount of work put into this party was becoming quite evident by this stage; the audio rigs were crystal clear; the decor immaculate and the market stalls were in full swing, offering everything from traditional foods and beverages to home crafted clothing and knick-knacks. A very pleasant way to discard one's money!

Our little group spent Friday night wandering around from stage to camp-site, and everywhere else, bumping into all manner of lovely folk, and generally having a grand (but subdued) ol' time. This was only Day 2 of 5, and I planned to be still going on Monday!! So we kicked on to just after midnight, and headed off to bed.

Saturday was a great day and we chilled out properly before heading into the town swimming pool, complete with DJ setup, pumping beats and an Olympic-sized pool. Just goes to show how well this party was organised - we had a great time cooling off and the shower afterwards was much appreciated! It's not often I feel this awesome on the third day of a festival!

Saturday night was fast approaching now, and we got ourselves down the main stage, which by this time was fully setup and blaring over the entire Rainbow area. It was a very clear-sounding rig, and this only became more apparent later on in the night. My first must-see act was Space Tribe, kicking it on directly after Mr Peculiar, and they brought the ruckus! Absolutely rocking psy-trance, and the first majorly-awesome music of my RSF. By this time, the party was in full swing, and both stages were packed. The party people were bouncing around like ping-pong balls. I must say, this party had the best vibe of any I have attended - it was fantastic to look around and see nothing but cheesy grins and happy folk and it was highly contagious; the PLUR was on tap and flowing freely!

Saturday night continued on, the music relentlessly rocking, and although it started to rain quite heavily, there was no stopping the party, and if anything, it only added to the excitement, and I must say, the combination of 3 big lasers and a whole lot of rain looks EXCELLENT!!!

The night ended far too soon, and as Sunday morning dawned, the clouds blew over and what was something of a muddy mess turned into a delightfully clear, Aussie day. I caught a quick nap, and was up and at 'em for Son Kite's morning set, and this immediately became my favourite set of the party.

Their deep, pumping sounds were lapped up by probably the largest morning-set crowd I can remember, and they kept on till midday, when this tired little camper returned to his camp-site for some seriously alcoholic refreshment. The day stretched on and on, and between bouts of frisbee, and other mindless recreational activities, and trips down to the "air-conditioned" (ie. a fine watery mist!) market stage to see Stewart Walker, minimal/techno act, and a damn fine artist, I finally threw in the towel at dusk, and somewhat sadly went to bed exhausted but thoroughly sati Tags