From Alice Springs AirportFor dry regatta contestants flying into Alice Springs, the Airport shuttle bus service is actually called Alice Wanderer. Airport transfers deliver passengers to the town centre and drop-off/picks points at hotels and hostels. The shuttle service office is on Todd Street opposite the Tourism Centre. Alice Wanderer
The Ghan Train to Alice SpringsAlice Springs is served by the Adelaide-Darwin Transcontinental Line called The Ghan Train, which has the look and feel of the old Oriental Express. It’s a historic line operated by Great Southern Railway, with trains running only twice a week. Middle of NowhereAlice Springs is literally in the MIDDLE of nowhere since it’s roughly 1,500 km from Adelaide on the one side and another 1,500 km from Darwin on the other with nothing much in-between. The journey by train, over 13 hours, or self-driving for two days, or taking the bus for two or more days, may be rather gruelling, albeit adventurous. However, it’s not as daunting as it sounds to get to this outback town and its water-free regatta, since there are daily flights to Alice Springs Airport from Adelaide, Ayers Rock, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth & Sydney, and a few from Brisbane. Distances From Alice Spring to Australian AirportsAlice Springs Airport is only about 10 km from town, but...
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Prices in the table are quoted in AUD
Henley-on-Todd Tickets
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Henley-On-Todd-Regatta
Alice Springs, AustraliaTodd River
-23.704669,133.88029
type of festival
sports
boating & sailing, silly fun, competitions
other events
culture: beach party, for kids
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ADVERTISING
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Henley-On-Todd Regatta: Water-freeHenley On Todd Regatta is a wacky waterless sailing, rowing, yachting, kayaking and nautically-themed land race, held on the third Saturday in August, on a dried-up riverbed with bottomless vessels carried by crews who race on foot (like Fred Flintstone in his footmobile) in an event dreamed up (over beers with friends) by meteorologist Reg Smith in 1962 as a charity fundraiser for the Rotary Club. Madcap contests that anyone can enter and don’t require equipment (excluding “Bring Your Own Boat” & “Battle of the Boats”) include a tug of war, rowing boats, sailing yachts, surfing, carrying kayaks, conducting rescue missions & scrambling in a giant wheel across the sand at the dry Todd riverbed, 1500 km from water, in Alice Springs Australia. |
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On the morning of the Regatta, a water-free boat race parade traipses down Alice Springs Todd Mall to where events occur at the dry Todd riverbed, featuring “Bring Your Own Boat” (BYOB) where vessels must ‘resemble’ a boat & crews must race to a buoy then back to complete the course. Competitors also vie to win the BYOB awards. There’s rowing, yachting, rescuing & skiing. Rowing involves crews of 4-8 carrying their funky crafts to a buoy then back to the finish. “Mini Yacht” & “Maxi Yachters” do likewise but with crews of 6-10. “Surf Rescue” teams paddle-shovel through sand on rails to save a damsel-in-distress and “Sand Ski” crews traverse sand on water-skis.
“Bath Tub Derby” involves carrying a woman & a bucket of water, “Oxford Tubs” requires shovel-paddling & the “Kayak” race is about carrying a kayak along a slalom course. “Tour d Todd” is cycling in a cage-wheel; “Boogie Board” gets crews to tow a board with a ‘wave’ surfer standing (or kneeling), and “Anchor the Boat” is a boat tug-of-war.
One of the regatta’s pièce de résistance is for Rotary members and their land-adapted naval fleets that include Viking boats, battle ships & pirate vessels supercharged by 4-wheel drives. The combat includes flour-bombing pirate attacks, water cannon blasts by Viking ships and nasty-dusty nautical tactics to win the “Battle of the Boats”.
Henley On Todd Regatta is a madcap waterless regatta in a dried-up river in Australia!
Whether you’re lost, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere amidst the Australian outback (and it happens to be the third Saturday in August) or you take the 13-hour Ghan Train (from Adelaide to Alice Springs, traversing 1,559 km, or from Darwin to Alice Springs, covering 1,420 km) to the zany events at the Henley-On-Todd Regatta, it’ll be well worth the $15 fee (which goes to charity) to watch or participate in one of the world’s strangest water-free boating events.
Bring your desert mirage abilities & imagine the shenanigans unfolding in something other than sand…something wet perhaps.
Join in the mad-cap fun or nibble snacks & sip cool beer under an old gum tree beside the…ummmm…river!
What do you think?Thank you! |
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AccommodationAlice Springs CampingWhile Todd River Regatta isn’t a camping event, there is camping and caravaning nearby, from outback experiences to luxury campsites with swimming pools.
Alice Springs Accommodation Options |
AmenitiesEats & Drinks:
Bars, Food Stalls, Water
Fresh & Clean:
no
Cash & Shops:
Shops
Zone In & Out:
Kids Zone
Accessibility:
no
Todd River Amenities
Alice Springs Amenities
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Datesstart Sat, 20 August 2016end Sat, 20 August 2016 Third Saturday in AugustThe Regatta is always held (at least for the last fifty years or so) on the 3rd Saturday in August. Starting Times
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Season & WeatherSeason: Summer
Temperature: 6 to 22 °C
Ummm... Henley on Todd Regatta takes place in the summer according to western hemispherians, but for those Down Under, it’s winter. Since Alice Springs is situated amidst the red sand deserts of central Australia, it has extreme temperature changes, from freezing night-time lows to daytime highs around 20°C or more. Prepare for sunny, dry, dusty days & chilly-chilly nights. Check the official Australian tourism website that devotes an entire section to Weather in Alice Springs. They say temperature can change "as much as 28°C in one day"! |
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