A couple of weeks ago we witnessed an event called Henley-on-Todd. Every year, people build "boats" for this specific event. Some people build their boats in a week's time, others probably take months to make theirs. And some must have thrown theirs together mere hours before the event.
These "boats" are paraded through town, and then eventually raced Fred Flinstone-style in the normally dry riverbed known as the Todd River. It's quite a sight to see and one I'm glad we didn't miss!
This event started in 1962 as a fundraiser for the Rotary Club, and has continued ever since. We actually volunteered to help out at the event. Kevin was on traffic duty and I did ticket sales. After helping for a couple of hours, we were relieved from our posts and free to watch the festivities.
There were food trucks and stalls, and plenty of places to stand and watch the event. In addition to the boat racing, there were a number of other unique games. One involved shoveling sand into a big barrel, and another involved racing each other in big hampster wheels down the River Todd. It was all pretty fun to watch.
At the end of it all, mechanized "boats" battle each other. They have firepower and water canons and try their best to defeat the other two boats.
We've started to say "only in Alice Springs" a lot ...!
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