ekka.

there's nothing quite like that time of the year when the country comes to the city.. the august winds blow in and bring with them carnies, bushies, animals (but no piggies - bloody swine flu!) and all the cwa ladies' scones you can handle for the royal queensland show aka the exhbition aka the ekka.

for ten days the rna showgrounds plays host to cattle judging, horse jumping, woodchopping, countless farm animals, cotton, wool and leather parades, those crazy displays made of fruit and vegetables, honey tastings, ice cream eating competitions, and of course the mandatory show bags, fairy floss, dagwood dogs and the nightly arena entertainment which this year included freestyle motocross, a monster truck, some sort of decathlon-style woodchopping competition, and a fireworks and laser show.

my tip is not to go on the last day. the showbags were pretty much all sold out, pavilions closed early and the poor animals had definitely had enough by the time we got there - bubby goats who would normally bowl you over for food were tired, bloated and just generally cbf. they made great playmates for the kids because they were too exhausted to care whether a three-year-old was tugging at their ears/dribbling all over them/tormenting them in some other way that only three-year-olds can.

here's some photos from my ekka adventure..

(special thanks to clinton for the gif.. and for letting me steal his photos)

xx