November 10 to 16, and 2012
Doof, dreads and solar delights
We threw a bit of caution into the wind when we decided, a couple of months ago, to buy tickets to the 7-day Eclipse Festival in Cairns. How could we possibly do it with the kids? Our memories of our last eclipse festival at Lyndhurst were of a mad, dusty, hot, thudding festival in the SA Outback. Do we, don't we?....Oh well, we can only try.
It was a GOOD CHOICE
From the moment we enterered the undulating, rocky, dry campground and saw the colourful camping creations being set up all around us, we started to get excited. This was a BIG event. About 10000 Eclipse revellers were making their festive base camps with hoots of excitement rolling across the jagged hills even before the music started.
Then the music started - everything from chill-out tunes to groovy progressive house, psych trance and wild broken beats oozing out from 5 stages 24 hours a day...what a feast for the senses. The themed stages included a cool funky shack in a riverbed, a sunken Chinese junk with sails providing shade for the groovers and the multi-coloured sun stage with misters making shiny bodies below.
You're never too young, or too old, to dance.
Shake your junk on a junk
The boys bust some moves
The sculptures and artistic installations, mostly made from recycled materials helped create a surreal, otherworld atmosphere.
A photo by Paul English which captures the sun stage at sunset so beautifully.
The Eclipse Family
But what really made this festival work for us were two things. Firstly, our chance meeting in Kakadu of the wonderful Sharon & Ant and their great kids Amon and Astrid. They became our festival buddies with shared fun and child-minding and a great crew of friends. Secondly, the wonderful sense of community in the family camping area at the Festival. We very quickly found ourselves surrounded by like-minded souls, electronic music lovers with children and a desire to dance. The kids hoola-hooped, face-painted, role-played, danced and created. The big lego tub lured the boys to the Craig basecamp for hours a day.
The kids had nearly as much fun as us....nearly.Sharon and Tracey....good dancing buddies
It was a hammock-led recovery.
The Eclipse
The solar eclipse itself was amazing. We rose and sitrred the kids at about 5am and joined the thousands who had made the same pilgrimage. We lined the surrounding hilltops as the atmosphere became more charged with anticipation and emotion. From the moment the sun rose at about 6am, the applause went up and as the eclipse reached totality there were cheers and tears all around, then all sound slowly faded and it became quiet as voices were silenced by awe and we all sat mesmerised in a mystical half-light staring at the silver-ringed orb in the sky. A perfect diamond-ring flash and suddenly the sun was back and we all cheered again.
Kooky glasses on and ready for the Eclipse...the crowds start to gather on the Palmer River Station hillside at sunrise.
Hey, pass me those kooky glasses....it was a pretty big night!
Nice moments with the kids
Ant on Eclipse Hill
Hey, who turned out the lights??
A perfect diamond ring captured by fab photographer, Sid Rock.
The best thing about this event was......everyone was smiling.
1 comment:
Hi there looks like you had a great time at the eclipse festival. It was by far the best party I have been too. I have also been going to the parties in South Africa for over 10 years. Best way to have fun.
Cheers
Paul English
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