‘Bejazzled’ cricket boxes, peroxide pink frilly stockings and nipple tassels a-plenty – it was a desert drag race with a twist.
More than 800 cross-dressing men swept down the 40-metre-high Big Red sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert towards the finish line in the centre of ‘Bashville’ – the makeshift city hosting 10,000 people attending the world’s most remote music festival in south-west Queensland from 4 – 6 July.
The sparkling spectacle, which raised more than $25,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, saw an army of men wearing wigs, flowers, tutus and feather boas compete for the ‘Queen of the Desert’ prize at the Big Red Bash.
Over 800 cross-dressing men took part in a charity race during day two of the Big Red Bash – the world’s most remote festival in south west Queensland (Pictured)
The top prize went to Chris Hockley aka ‘Baby Cakes’, a truck driver from Perth, with his ensemble of some figure-hugging psychedelic flares, fake eyelashes and an outlandish heart-shaped headpiece decorated with paper flowers which took four cans of expanding foam to create (pictured)
Chris Hockley, a 53-year-old truck driver from Perth in Western Australia took the coveted gong with his ensemble of some figure-hugging psychedelic flares, fake eyelashes and an outlandish heart-shaped headpiece decorated with paper flowers.
‘I am just easily talked into things,’ confessed ‘Baby Cakes’, Chris’s drag queen alter-ego.
His incredible headgear was made by a fellow volunteer called Kate, whom he became good friends with when he and his wife Jill camped beside her at last year’s Big Red Bash.
Kate used four cans of expanding foam on a piece of cork sat atop a normal cap to create the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert-inspired piece.
The gravity-defying costume was ‘a bit wobbly’ on the race down but Baby Cakes managed to keep it upright.
‘You have to have good deportment to wear it,’ Kate joked.
‘Yes, that is a cricket box that’s been bejazzled,’ said Brad, a 48-year-old handyman from the Sunshine Coast (pictured)
The charity fun run also featured a team of synchronised swimmers (pictured)
Ben Miller, 38, from Koo Wee Rup in Victoria, finished at the sharp end of the field in the top 20.
‘I started quite far back and coming down the hill I nearly came a cropper a couple of times,’ he said.
Mr Miller is at the festival with a group of 22 friends and family, split across six caravans.
‘A couple of the ladies work in an op shop and this is something the missus picked out,’ he said, explaining his sequined sheer top-come-mini-skirt.
‘I am just easily talked into things,’ confessed ‘Baby Cakes’, Brad’s drag queen alter ego, to Daily Mail Australia
The event, which saw an army of army of men wearing wigs, flowers, tutus and feather boas compete for the ‘Queen of the Desert’ prize, raised over $25,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service
‘At the end of the day, it’s a good laugh that raises a money for a good cause,’ he added.
Brendan Reeves, 40, from the Gold Coast, donned a unicorn-inspired outfit for the mad dash.
‘A couple of nipple tassels went missing on the way down,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I just wanted to get involved in raising money,’
Elsewhere, Brad, a 48-year-old handyman from the Sunshine Coast who is on a trip to celebrate a mate’s 50th birthday, explained the genesis of his crop-top and cod-piece combo.
‘I was having beers at my mate’s house and we looked up Priscilla Queen of the Desert and sent a pic to my wife Kristy. And she made this outfit without my consent,’ he said.
‘Yes, that is a cricket box that’s been bedazzled,’ he added, pointing to his nether regions.
Christopher Paten (pictured), 29, was left waiting for almost an hour for his bride Kaylah after a family member briefly got lost in the 130-hectare festival site, which has no wifi or phone signal
The happy couple got hitched on top of the Big Red sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert in front of close family and friends
Festival-goers were treated to cloudless skies after days of rain caused road closures across large parts of the Outback, preventing some from making it to the extremely remote site.
Those that were lucky enough to get there were sure to make the most of the experience.
Kaylah Gaitskell, 24, became Kaylah Paten after marrying her fiance Christopher, 29, a fitter, on top of the Big Red sand dune on Tuesday morning.
Rachel Simpson and Mark Turley (pictured), who have been together 20 years, tied the knot in front of two of their five children
The pair, who share daughter Dannielle, 2, chose the unusual location because it was bang in the centre of both their families: with Kaylah’s coming from Carnarvon in WA and Christopher’s driving from Bundaberg on Queensland’s eastern coast.
Kaylah kept her groom waiting for almost 50 minutes after a family member went missing in the 130-hectare festival site, which has no wifi or phone signal.
But Christopher stood unperturbed in the midday sun, with his thumbs hooped in his the pockets of his jeans and his mullet fluttering in the wind.
‘She puts up with me pretty well so you can’t ask for much more than that, really,’ he said.
The happy couple were wed by celebrant Janice Bradley from Luddenham in NSW who has performed more than 350 ceremonies, including three at the Big Red Bash.
Another couple got hitched at the same time around 100 metres away on a red ridge overlooking the barren desert.
Rachel Simpson and Mark Turley, who have been together 20 years, tied the knot in front of two of their five children.
‘I thought when we arrived we were either getting married on top of Big Red or under an awning somewhere,’ Rachel said.
Ben Miller, 38, from Koo Wee Rup in Victoria, finished at the sharp end of the field in the top 20
Drone shots of the record-breaking stunt showed a moving sea of blue in the exact shape of the great Australian land mass, which had been meticulously mapped out by GPS
Birdsville, a normally arid town of just 110 people about 35km west of where the festival is held, was battered by almost 16mm of rain on Monday.
The usually scorched red landscape of the Simpson Desert was turned into a swamp by the deluge and dozens of drivers were seen queuing in the drizzle to hose down their mud-spattered vehicles at Birdsville’s famous artesian springs.
On Tuesday, almost 5,500 patriotic revellers dressed in electric blue wigs broke the global record for forming the largest human image of a country deep in the Australian Outback on Tuesday morning.
Attendees smashed the previous record holders Romania who in 2018 managed to herd 4,807 participants into the shape of their country.
The feat, which was adjudicated by The Australian Book of Records, raised almost $100,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, whose official colour is blue.
On Wednesday, the line-up featured Australian rock, pop and country music stars including Jack Jones, The Chantoozies, Ross Wilson, Shane Howard, Kate Ceberano, The Angels and more.
The third and final day of the Big Red Bash on Thursday will see performances from festival headliner, pop group Human Nature, Pete Murray, Dragon, Chocolate Starfish and others.
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