Strewth!! The Henley-on-Todd Regatta (an annual event and the Number One Reason for us high-tailing our way to Alice Springs) has everything. Crazy folk in costume! Colourful street parade! Towering floats! Jokes-a-plenty MCs! Wacky races! Crowd participation! Smoke blowing, water bomb tossing, confetti exploding Grand Finale! We are a part of something so intrinsically, authentically, irreverently Aussie and we lap it up – sitting through the whole yew-beaut day and even edging our way to compete in an event or two. Yet it’s the simple fact that the kids keep getting sprayed with lollies – in the parade, in the spectator stands, in the events themselves – that prompt them to declare the Henley-on-Todd “The Absolutely Very Best Day of Their Whooooole Lives”.
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| Greeting the floats on the main street. Notice the big plastic bag full of lollies in the hands of the pirate wench that are making their way slowly towards our eager young'uns, whose pockets are quickly stuffed to capacity. |
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| Competing in the Boogie Board Race - Rikki on the board. Just check out the size of the crowd in the stands. |
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| Jack and Rikki competing in the Sand Sprint. Benji is also registered but chooses instead to bury himself in daddy's arms and watch from the sidelines. |
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| The Great Lolly Scramble. Not surprisingly, with so much competition, the kids collect only a fraction of the booty they scored during the earlier parade. |
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| Watching the Grand Finale boat race, Jack proudly wears his bright yellow XXXX cap (yet another freebie scored on the day). |
