Splendour Digs

By Muna Noor  •  01 Aug 2010 in Splendour In The Grass

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 I am not a happy camper! I’m more a hotel-motel kinda gal, but like most Malaysians I’m not past roughing it out. So when I was handed the keys to this cute ‘lil camper van and told it would be my home for the next few days, I was like, “Bring it on, mofos!

 

We all know that if there was an Asian Survivor series, Malaysians would win. Heck throw us on a tropical island with nothing but our clothes and a toothbrush and we’d have set up house in a tree and had  our own moonshine operation running. That said, if camping were an Olympic sport, Australia would win hands down. They would pack everything they would need (forfeited points for anything left behind – of which they would lose none) and upon arrival at the designated location unpack, erect their tent, set up the barbi and have cold stiff drinks laid out on the table, all in record time. Skills….

 

 

Despite it’s size, my own mini-camper van was well outfitted with 2 beds (pillows, sheets and comforter included), cooker, fridge (although I couldn’t figure out how to open it), sink, plates, cutlery, electrics for lights and recharging my phone/laptop, toilet and shower. What I couldn’t figure out was how Australians manage to shower in such a confined space without finding their arm down the bog and one leg sticking out of the shower stall and in the camper kitchenette. Hmmm….

 

                        

 

To do it in style you need to do it as above. Aside from the band trailers, I doubt there was anything more luxe onsite than these behemoth mobile homes. The Splendiforous crew rented 4 of these between them from Maui and parked them in a circle General Custer style. Fully fitted out, with a much larger john and shower, 2 sinks (bathroom and kitchen), multiple beds, speakers on the outside and sunroof, there is plenty room to spare for your supplies. And you’ll need the space cause it’s not like you can nip out of the camp site for town to buy that missing bottle of sunblock. Unless you plan on driving over a bunch of drunken festgoers in tents, monster truck stylee…. Ouch.

 

 

Most fest-goers chose to drive in and erect their camps next to their car/truck/van (like the above). Unlike Splendour’s previous Bryon Bay location, which was smaller and closer to town, Woodfordia is out in the boondocks and the nearest town of Woodford is pretty tiny, so accomodation options like rented homes and hotel rooms are somewhat limited.

The Splendour site however is sprawling and they devoted a considerable amount of it to pitching up. It probably still wasn’t enough though as the fest’s Event-Camping tix combos (costing a whopping AUS$465 each) were the first to sell out – on the same day tix sales opened! 

The Event-Camping combo tix entitles you to drive in pitch up a tent or park your camper van in this here  Reserved Camping area.  

 

 

 

For a little bit more moolah you can move into one of these tents or teepees already erected in Tent City or Teepee Life.

 

I should mention that due to a ticket scalping fiasco in 2005, from 2006 onwards Splendour In The Grass organisers decided that all event tickets would bear the name and date of birth of its buyer. Which also means you can’t trade or swap your tix. And every camper has to have their own Event-Camping tix. The final headcount of festival attendees at the end of Splendour 2010: 32,000+. That’s a lot of campers!