There were lots of trains running, even though it was Sunday. I think they must have known that there would be a lot of people going to the show. This is what we saw when we got off the train at the Olympic stadium grounds--where the show was happening.
I suppose there's a common problem with people losing their kids?
The stadium grounds are huge. So, even though there were lots of people, very rarely did it feel crowded.
Close to the entrance, there were some WWII vehicles. Seemed a little out of place, but Fede really enjoyed it. I liked the red kangaroo on the door--although it's a bit cutesy to be on an army jeep.
One of the first things you notice is that everyone is carrying "show bags." The past few days, if you were on the train, you could tell who had been to the Royal Easter Show based upon the show bags they were carrying.
On the Royal Easter Show website, there's an entire section devoted to show bags. I think there are over 100 different types. Most of them are targeted for children (who know exactly how to get their parents to purchase a show bag for them). But there were a few for adults too.
I should have taken a picture of some of the families that were overladen with show bags. We saw strollers with 5+ show bags hanging off of it. I got the impression that the show bags were the main attraction. Of course, there were also rides and games.
I dragged Fede into the animal section. There was an entire building devoted to birds: chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, fowls, etc. Of course, the baby chicks were adorable.
Then there was this bird--which Fede and I kept staring at, trying to figure out where its eyes were. We couldn't find them.
Fede was very happy when we left the bird hall. We were lucky, because we exited by this skate park--and were just in time for a demo.
These guys were awesome. But strangely, the crowd barely cheered. I was screaming as loud as a could--because I figured the skaters would like some encouragement. But the rest of the crowd was rather subdued. It actually sort of annoyed me that no one else was cheering.
We eventually wandered into the large exhibition hall where there were tons of booths as well as some display cases showing various competitions--like this one for fleeces.
Or this one for honey.
There were tons of cakes in the cake decorating competition. I thought the Vegemite cake proudly declared: Yes, this is Australia.
There were also several large displays made from produce.
But what we had never seen before was the lumberjack competitions.
These guys were from all over the country--and a couple guys from New Zealand.
There were two competitions: one where the lumberjacks stood on a piece of wood and cut it in half, chopping between their feet (which seemed a bit risky to us); and one where they chopped the wood in half, swinging their axe sideways.
We were pretty impressed by their speed. I think the upright wood took only 26 seconds to be cut in half. The horizontal piece of wood took a couple seconds longer, maybe 30 seconds. Wow.
It actually required quite a few people to help with the whole competition. After each heat, there would be about 10 guys who would come out to clean up all of the wood pieces that littered the floor. And other people who would remove the wood pieces from the contraptions that held them in place--and others who would secure the wood blocks into place. Oh, and judges as well. The cleaner the cut the better--it's not just about speed.
We saw a couple more things, which we'll share in a video. Oh, and of course, we also couldn't resist fair food. I can't remember the last time I had a corn dog.
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