This week turned out to be less about trip planning, and more about getting ‘The Beast’ prepared for its formal debut at the Kilmore Country Music Festival and Ute Show on Sunday.

It seemed like a relatively easy task. All that was required was the completion of the project which began last week, in wiring up the auxiliary battery and the charger system, followed by a quick tub and general spruce up. Naturally, easier said than done.

Being that most of the electrical equipment is fitted in the tool box, I luckily spent a few wet days toiling away in the dry comfort of the garage, not that the rain wasn’t welcome. Despite not sounding too difficult, it was a slow and laborious process, to turn a pile of wires, connectors and other assorted components into a fully functioning system. I think the main issue was, that not having undertaken a project of this calibre previously, it was all a matter of trial and error to make sure everything fitted in, looked good, and above all worked properly, with a preference of not turning ‘The Beast’ into a smouldering pile of melted steel at any point in time.

It was already Wednesday by the time I managed to get the whole thing to a point where I could drape a couple of cables from under the bonnet of ‘The Beast’ to the garage, to plug the charger in and make sure it was all going to work as I hoped. I was thanking my lucky stars as the charger lit up in all the right places, telling me that all was good. I decided to call it quits for the day then, deciding that in my rapidly wearying state that I was best off leaving things until the next day.

Come Thursday morning, I was thinking that maybe I should have kept going the previous evening when I lifted my foot about 190mm to step over the 200mm high, 25kg battery sitting on the garage floor. Now, fool on me for thinking that it was a good idea to be working in the garage, the floor covered in metal shards, bare foot, but kicking a battery and nearly decapitating my toe was the least of my worries. It actually didn’t hurt too much, which I took to be a bad sign, nor did it bleed a great deal, which I took to be an even worse sign of the damage I had construed upon myself.

A quick raid of the first aid kit, and I soon had it wrapped up like an ancient Egyptian mummy. Then, smartly clad in safety boots, I returned to the task at hand. Thankfully no more injuries ensued, but by golly it stung later on when I had to get Bec to change the dressing. I knew it was a decent injury when even she was impressed by the size of the flap of skin hanging limply from what had previously been the top of my toe.

Finally on Saturday, I managed to get to the stage of hoisting the tool box into the back of ‘The Beast’ and start the somewhat scary task of taking to the tub with an electric drill and hole saw to cut the necessary hole for the wiring. It was not my favourite task, to be boring through the skin of my baby, but it all came off without a hitch. Thankfully.

With the box in position and securely bolted down, my final task was to layout the last couple of runs of cable and wire up the accessories. With daylight fading at a rather fast clip, I managed only to get the fridge wired up inside the car, and will have to concentrate on the radio and battery monitoring gear at a later date. The fridge was my main concern though, as were expecting a warm day out in the sun at Kilmore, and were looking forward to being able to grab a cold bevvie at will.

Having finished working on the Beast late on Saturday, I was left with no option other than to have an early start on Sunday, dashing out of bed at 6:30AM, so as to get ‘The Beast’ washed and cleaned up ready for its big day out. Admittedly, it was a very quick job, although even that took me an hour, and necessitated climbing repeatedly up and down a ladder to reach the higher panels. Then, packed with all of our requirements for a day out, we sidled up the highway an hour or so to Kilmore.

This year is the first year the festival has been held in Kilmore, previously having been known as the Wandong Country Music Fetival. The same committee has been responsible for the organisation of the day though, so it was as good as we have experienced in previous years.

Me being me, we were the first to arrive in the ute show paddock, where for $5.00 on top of our entry fee, we entered ‘The Beast’ into the ‘best imported ute’ category. It was worth the extra dollars just for the benefit of getting to park right next to the entry gate rather than a mile away as was expected of the general public.

We were then also the first to set up our gazebo, and thus got the prime position for that, with a great view of the stage. Nestled into our reclining camp chairs, we spent the rest of the day enjoying a great line up of country artists and a chat with a couple we met a few years back on a cruise. To protect their privacy, I shall name them simply Kay and Don. Kay and Don, If you’re out there reading this, you’ll know who you are, and it was great to catch up. Icy cold drinks, straight from the fridge were also a novelty which I’m sure will not wear off in a hurry. Ahh, nothing like a bit of luxury.

Come 3:00PM it was time for the ute show winners to be announced, and the excitement was building. I’d had a sneak peak at the other contenders, and competition was bound to be fierce, but I was quietly confident. I wouldn’t say I’d prepared an acceptance speech, but a few words were forming in my mind, when my bubble was unceremoniously burst when ‘The Beast’ was announced as having been the runner up.  Then the winner was announced and I had to suffer the humiliation of losing out to a chick driving a Datsun. A Datsun? Is that even a real ute? To be be honest, I was happy with runner up, and before you ask, yes there was more than the two of us in for it. I know for a fact that there was at least three!

Accepting my award (on behalf of ‘The Beast’).

If you look quickly, you don’t even see where it says “RUNNER UP”.

Oh come on, that’s not a real ute! But a winner none the less.

After a long day, and an even longer week, it was time to head for home and get ready for the coming week, during which I have a list as long as my arm of the tasks that need to be completed. Oh, the joy.

Oh, and don’t forget to keep the comments and e-mails pouring (trickling) in. Becs email is now up and running properly at: rebecca@myramblingtales.com and I can be reached at marcus@myramblingtales.com . We even have the business cards to prove it now, much to Becs chagrin.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.