Oz Adventures: The Brisbane Ekka

First, let me say that my Oz Adventures posts have already managed to get a little bit out of order.  This event actually happened before the epic mountain climb, but I thought the mountain climb was a bit more exciting and came with prettier pictures, so I placed it just a little higher up on my blogging priority list.

Second, anyone reading this blog who is not from Australia is probably saying to themselves (or to someone else, if you tend to read  blogs with a partner) "WTF is an Ekka?!"  Ok, ok, I will tell you.  The Brisbane Ekka is very similar to a state fair.  There are lots of extremely unsafe and rickety rides, heart attack-inducing food, smelly farm animals, super important competitions for the best jams and largest pumpkins, and other such fair-ish entertainment.  Does that answer your question?  No?  Well maybe the photos below will help clear things up a little.

Anyways, Tim and I ended up going to the Ekka by ourselves because we had only a very specific window of time to work with given our work/uni schedules, and none of his friends were able to join us.  We ended up having a fabulous time anyways, despite the fact that we were on a very limited budget.  And without further ado, here are those enlightening photographs that I promised you in the last paragraph of this post:

Look closely at the little blue sign in the center of this photo... it says Dexter.  That's my brother's name.  My brother is a cow... tee hee!

In the food hall, there were so many stands where one could purchase locally made cheeses, wines, spreads, produce, baked goods, and pretty much anything you can imagine.  I came across this pretty little cupcake shop, and just had to try one, despite the fact that they cost $3.50 each.

I chose one called something like "Rock'n Roady" which was chocolate with chocolate frosting, pink marshmallows, and a cherry one top.  It was rich, moist, and delicious and totally worth $3.50 of Tim's money.

I seriously chased around the animals in the petting zoo for about 15 mins trying to get some to stay still for long enough for Tim to take some pictures.

I got this free hat from some girl who was handing out free hats.  I was like a walking advertisement for RACQ Insurance.  But hey, it was free!

This guy is super cute and cuddly right?  He was on top of the photo booth for one of the haunted rides.

This guy came all the way from Montana to perform some Monster Truck stunts.  Hearing his accent when he spoke into the microphone made me feel like I would feel right at home if I were from somewhere in the deep south.

I won this little guy at one of the games.  Tim says it's a gecko but i think it just looks like a frog with a tail.  Am I right?

It was a fun evening.  We stayed and watched a motocross show and then some fireworks before heading back to the car to make the hour-long drive home.

Sadly, I will be missing the NC state fair which I think might be a little better than the Ekka but only because of the ribbon fries and funnel cakes.  What are your favorite parts of your local state fair/Ekka?  What is your favorite fair food?

I hope you are having a lovely day!


Love,


Amanda