Gympie Muster

The idea behind placing a tent on site early is to select a reasonably flat site that is within easy walking distance to the main stage area. The Muster is held in a National Park that is handed over to the Muster committee for about 12 days to cover the event. We went to the site 15 days prior to the date that the season pass commenced (the hand over day to committee) and selected our site. Because it is a National Park there is a $4 per day per person camping permit payable, by means of a self registration system. An empty tent costs $4 per day to secure site. They state that you must have a tent, or caravan to hold your site. (Not just a blue tarp or similar.) We put up a small 2 person tent and then using a roll of plastic tape available from hardware stores (similar to what Police or Fire Brigade use to preserve a crime scene) and pegged out an area large enough for our caravan and vehicle. We just pegged the tape down with tent pegs, attached the National Parks registration tag on the tent and every one else recognise your right to claim your site. When selecting your site, I recommend that you look at where the toilets and water supply points are or are going to be placed. Don't park down hill of the shower areas as you will get very damp under foot. There will be graded dirt tracks put in through the camping areas. Last year we were on a slight down hill side of track and after it rained on the last night of event, we required 4WD and some wheel spinning to get the van out. I would recommend that you select a camp site on the up hill side of a track to make leaving easier and within easy reach of the permanent gravel access roads. All the entertainment venues seem to have their speakers facing towards the site enterance gate so if you like going to bed early then possition your camp site to the rear of the entertainment venues. A small foot bridge will be put in to allow people to cross the creek. The main entertainment will be on the Friday Saturday and Sunday at the end of the event, but there will be plenty of other entertainment on commencing on the Tuesday before that. On the Thursday they have a lot of things happening in Gympie shopping centre that a lot of campers go into town to see. From the date that the Muster Committee take over the site, the gates are manned and as you approach, your tickets will be checked, and then exchanged for a coloured plastic wrist band. They have different colours to show what kind of ticket you have to prevent people paying for 1 day and staying for entire time. The entertainment area is enclosed by fencing and security check your wrist bands as you enter this area. The main stage is at the bottom of a hill, and you are able to reserve a spot on the hill to watch from by either pegging down a blue tarp or similar with your name on it, early in the morning and then arriving later in the day with your chair to watch the show. Or as others did was take a chair and put that where you want to sit. The tarps will be removed each night by security if you don't pick them up, and you will find that there is a line up of people at 5.45am waiting for gate to open at 6.00am so that they can rush in and select their site and peg down their tarps. We joined in with this group and always got ourselves a good place to watch from. Tracy from BTi always attends this event and will be there again this year. Hope this helps those who are intending to go. Brian

Sorry Jay, not coming this year but hope you all have a good time. Shame too about missing out on those burgers. We have missed red meat over here - too dear and not good quality. Hope we are having a good old fashioned BBQ at Copeton! Angie

Angie if we have the numbers and the equipment the we are proposing a 1/2 carcass spit roast. Size and breed of beast yet to be determined. (Watch out Ivan)
There was a smaller communal spit roast at BT Rally #1, pot roasted vegies and spit roasted joint, everyone wanting to participate chipped in a few $ and a selected "commitee" shopped and cooked.
We will wait until first days at rally for final decisions although we are already trying to source (sic) the spit roast locally.

Regards
Turist

And Angie, you will again be able to chew red meat off the bone, yum.