October 10, 2018 - Reading time: 2 minutes

On Monday at Bruce Rock we met Deb and Ian, who were on their way to the Kulin Bush races, which we had read about that day in a Wheat Belt Tourist brochure. It sounded good so we made a booking at the campgrounds for three nights.

To say that we were not prepared for the size of the campground or the number of people camping would be an understatement. The campgrounds are located on a operational farm and has a large number of granite rocks located within it. The campgrounds were well organised on Thursday but as more and more caravans ( they expect over 800!) etc arrive places begin to diminish, and the organisers are runoff their feet trying to keep it all under control. The photo above was taken on Thursday morning and could double the numbers by Saturday morning. Jilkarin Lake - by Sunday the lake had recuced by 25% in size... was disappearing before our eyes!

On Friday we climbed Jilarkin Rock which gives superb views of the race track, Lake Jilarkin and the campgrounds – it was a gorgeous view and some other intrepid climbers told us the lake had been empty for the last three years.

The races themselves were a fantastic experience. The horses were not permitted to be registered to race, the jockeys in many cases were the owners and many horses ran twice. We had a great time putting five dollars for a win on our selection (in my case chosen by name) while Maureen was more scientific by choosing number 3 in each race. The results were basically the same – we lost our money but had a great time doing so! After the races there fireworks and two live bands ( last year Eskimo Joe played). Was a great time!