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Wrap-up of the 2024 Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash
Words Amelia Mansell Pics Justin Gill and Trevor Ryan
The 2024 Bash concert season is done and dusted, and the team from Hema Maps is back in Melbourne with some great stories to tell.
Hema Maps and Autophix setup at Mundi Mundi Bash 2024
The 2024 Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash wrapped up a bit over a week ago, bidding farewell to the event’s biggest crowd yet, with 14,000 festivalgoers hitting the roads after three days of music on the iconic Mundi Mundi Plains in the New South Wales outback.
And after a massive three days at the festival as an exhibitor, the Hema Maps team returned home, all a bit tired, still tracking in the red dirt and ready for a soft bed, but happy with another great season of outback festivals under their tyres.
Created and run by the Outback Music Festival Group, the Mundi Mundi Bash and the Birdsville Big Red Bash (held in July) are two of Australia’s most iconic outback music festivals, with Mundi Mundi known for being the biggest while Big Red takes the cake for being the most remote.
In the words of our team, these events are a cross between a cruise and a music festival, with travellers from all over Australia coming to spend days in the outback, decking out their campsites ready to enjoy some great Aussie music artists, enjoy the scenery, activities and just generally make merry.
But it’s not all about fun, and these festivals raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year which go towards good causes, such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Beyond Blue — but more about that in a bit.
Now that the team members have had time to sit and recoup after their trip, we spoke to them about their experience at this latest and greatest of outback music events and got some handy advice for those hoping to become a ‘basher’ next year.
Getting to Mundi Mundi
The Mundi Mundi Plains near Silverton, outside Broken Hill, sealed their place in Aussie history when they served as the backdrop of the second Mad Max movie, and more recently in the Furiosa spin-off. And while the trek there might be easier than to the even more remote Big Red Bash, travellers need to be prepared for anything.
The team did experience some unforeseen challenges, including one of the vans in their convoy breaking down between Mildura and Broken Hill — so, the middle of nowhere. “Thankfully we had a ZOLEO satellite communicator, so we were able to contact roadside assistance to get us to Broken Hill,” Justin Gill said.
This was a great reminder of the importance of having the right communications equipment for outback travel. You simply never know when something is going to happen and it’s essential to have the gear to ensure your safety.
Despite the recent rain the road conditions on the way there were great, and the team was amazed by just how green the outback was this year. But they were quick to warn drivers not to be complacent — there was still plenty of wildlife out and about, so avoid driving at dawn and dusk.
There are some key things to prepare for when you’re planning to attend the Mundi Mundi Bash.
First up are the weather conditions. Situated on the iconic plains around Silverton, the Mundi Mundi festival is surrounded by wind turbines, which gives an idea of the weather you’ll experience while there, Justin warned. While August tends to be dry, there’s a lot of wind. This year saw plenty of whirly winds on the move, hunting down anything that wasn’t tied down, so Justin recommended making sure you’ve got plenty of pegs and similar to secure your camping gear. In comparison, the Birdsville Big Red Bash is held each year in early July, when you're more likely to experience wet weather and rougher road conditions.
Then there’s the fact that this is still a remote festival, and there’s virtually no cellular connection. “This was the first time Hema Maps had Starlink on our stand, not just on our 79 Series vehicle, which meant we could stay in contact with our team and support customers with transactions.”
Also, it’s important to note that while Broken Hill isn’t far away, once you’ve bumped into the festival there are some strict rules about going in and out, so it’s essential you pack all the fresh water, food and gear you need for the three days or more.
Pro tip: When heading to outback events like this — or any kind of outback travel really — be aware of and prepared for the bindies. A pair of Gator boots (or similar) and a rake are good ways to combat them around camp.
Bumping in
The Mundi Mundi Bash’s location only 12km outside Silverton is a large part of its success, with the road in almost entirely sealed (the final 2km is a dirt road suitable for all vehicles, caravans and camper trailers). This has made it a very appealing option for Aussies wanting to dip their toe into the outback experience without having to drive too far from civilisation or budgeting for a 4WD that can make the trek.
Broken Hill (26km from Silverton) serves as a great spot for travellers to stop, visit the various facilities and shops this large outback town offers, and stock up for their three days at the bash.
“Our first stop on day one was Silverton Bakery, where we picked up all the pies and pasties, we needed to get us through the first hungry day of bumping in and setting up camp,” Justin commented. “The owners of the bakery also own Eldee Station and are great to chat to.”
The festival bump in is run over multiple days, with organisers rolling in approximately 7000 campsites. It’s an enormous logistical undertaking, so a massive well-done to the team who manage it so smoothly.
Our team members are well-seasoned Bashers now, but one thing Justin noted that they did differently this year (and to great success) was to set up the campsite so that after a long day of staffing the Hema stand and chatting with festivalgoers, they had plenty of room to sit back and relax with full view of the night’s entertainment.
Event highlights
Meeting the Donovan family was one of the team’s biggest highlights. Greg Donovan founded the Big Red Bash in 2013, and after years of success held the first Mundi Mundi Bash in 2021. These events take an enormous amount of planning, and the Outback Music Festival Group spend the entire year planning all the logistics involved to ensure everything is as seamless as possible for the thousands of festivalgoers.
Some other festival highlights included the food trucks (great food, and very reasonably priced despite the captive audience, the team reported), not the mention the many great events and world record attempts that took place over the three days.
“The Mundi Mundi Undi Run, Big Blue Day, Nutbush World Record Attempt and Mad Max dress-up event are all great activities to keep the crowds happy and entertained,” Justin said. The Hema team even did its bit to help in the effort to beat last year’s Nutbush World Record Attempt, although sadly we fell short.” Other event activities on offer included camel rides, outdoor film screenings, dunny door painting, scenic helicopter flights and sunrise yoga.
Credit: Mundi Mundi Bash socials
Hema Maps was one of the many exhibitors at the Mundi Mundi Bash, and some of the most popular things festivalgoers were interested in were gadgets to fix caravan solar systems and phone chargers. “You’d be surprised by just how many people forget their charger. We had people coming up to our stand asking if we sold them,” Justin said. When it came to Hema gear, the Map of Australia Sticker and the Wall Maps were our top sellers — both of which sold out by day two.
Events like this would not be possible without volunteers who join the festival workforce and do a whole variety of jobs to keep the festival running smoothly, with the side benefit of subsidised camping. The ‘dunny angels’ won the hearts of all festivalgoers yet again and kept the toilets in an immaculate condition over the course of the three days. All the toilets are compositing units, meaning there’s virtually no smell. But these are the only bathroom facilities provided — there are no showers or the ability to get extra fresh water for a bird bath, which is why it’s essential to bring in everything you need for the three days.
Another festival favourite of Justin’s was seeing Trev Ryan from Autophix Australia, our event partner at the Bash, go out most nights to people’s campsites with his car scanners to read the engine codes of cars that had been damaged during their travels so that they would know what went wrong (and potentially how to fix it). To find out more about Trev’s experience at the Mundi Mundi Bash, head here.
Trev from Autophix Australia at Mundi Mundi Bash 2024 (Credit: Trevor Ryan)
And then of course there’s seeing all different and fun ways that people decorate their campsites to both match their personality but also help it stand out so they can find their way home in the dark.
Leaving the festival / bumping out
After a massive three days, the team was eager to pack up their gear and hit the road again, which they did in the late afternoon on the final day of music.
“What goes up, must come down,” Justin said. “There’s a lot of people bumping out, so be patient and have UHF radios handy. The organisers are very strategic during bump out and everyone will leave the site safely, but it’s once you’re on the open road again and everyone starts heading off in different directions that you’ve got to keep your wits about you.”
It was a massive 12-hour drive from the stunning red dirt of the Mundi Mundi Plains to chilly Melbourne for the team, but what an adventure it was.
The 2024 Mundi Mundi Bash wrap-up
Great Aussie music and some of the most iconic outback locations aren’t all the Mundi Mundi and Big Red Bash’s offer. Both festivals are dedicated to creating fun entertainment for their many festivalgoers, and many of these events have become good-natured competitions between the sister festivals, and also help raise money for some fantastic charity initiatives.
Here’s how the 2024 Mundi Mundi Bash went:
- Freeze Frame Dance World-record attempt: 6248 people, which smashed the record of 2754 set at the Birdsville Big Red Bash in July
- Nutbush Dance World-record attempt: 6515 people, which fell just short of the record of 6594 people set at last year’s Mundi Mundi Bash. Even so, this iconic event raised $97,625 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).
- Big Blue Day: 7234 people gathered to set a new world record for the largest human image of a country, raising $115,888 for the mental health charity Beyond Blue
- Mad Max Record Attempt: 298 festivalgoers dressed up as their favourite Mad Max characters to honour the areas ties to this iconic movie franchise (although the record still stands at 556 people set at the 2022 Mundi Mundi Bash)
- Mundi Undi Run: 1960 people donned their most creative and quirky costumes and smashed last year’s record of 1500 people and raised $68,600 for the RFDS
“This year’s Mundi Mundi Bash has been the biggest and best yet, with 14,000 people making the pilgrimage to the Plains,” said Greg Donovan, festival founder and managing director of the Outback Music Festival Group. “To see so many people come together for a cause as important as the RFDS is what being an Aussie is all about. The funds raised by events like these are vital to ensuring that the RFDS can continue to provide critical services to rural communities. [And] Beyond Blue’s work is so important, and to have this level of support from our community is both humbling and inspiring.”
Now that both 2024 Bashes are done and dusted, let’s see what the rest of the year brings!
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