2SER Breakfast

Easter is about taking a well deserved break and spending time with your family and friends. Last year we went hunting for places to celebrate Easter over the weekend, this time we’ll venture out into the state and into the country for Easter.

Griffith, NSW

West of Wagga Wagga, you can get in the car for a 6.5 hour road trip, or your can fly there – they have their own airport: Griffith Regional Airport.

Griffith hosts the Griffith Annual Easter Party from the 17th – 20th April.

It’s one for the adults and the kids. Griffith is a wine producing region (need we say more?) and you get to celebrate in a timely manner because it coincides with the end of grape vintage. Enjoy the best local food & wine and cellar door experiences.

For the kids, Action Day at Griffith Pioneer Park Museum is on Good Friday and goes for one day only. Action Day is a popular event which brings many people far-and-wide. Step back in time to enjoy a range of activities and events that include steam engines, farm machinery and vintage cars. You can also check out blacksmithing, sheep shearing, farm animals, petting zoos and train rides (who am I kidding? Adults will enjoy this just as much as the kids).

Bourke, NSW

An 8-hour road trip north-west will take you to the town of Bourke, and the people at Bourke are known for throwing good parties. The Back O’Bourke Easter Festival from 18th – 21st April will not disappoint.

There’s multiple fun activities, but the most interesting is the Wool Bale Rolling Championship on Saturday 19th April. This happens in the centre of town and it’s been going on for ages (there’s footage online of one competition back in the 80s).

There’s an Easter Colour Run on Good Friday, multiple Jandra Paddleboat Cruises along the Darling River, with one twilight cruise on Saturday 19th April; and Horse Racing at the Bourke Racecourse.

I’d also be heading back to Bourke in October for their epic Pro Rodeo event, the Back O’Bourke Stampede. It’s a championship rodeo competition with bull rides, saddle bronc, bareback bronc rides, rope & tie events and barrel races.

Nundle, NSW

8-hours from Sydney, just south of Tamworth. Nundle hold their own Easter Festival and you can even head to Hanging Rock nearby for their Easter celebrations as well.

But right after Easter and Anzac Day, after the school holidays, you should stick around to check out The Great Nundle Dog Race on Sunday 4th May.

Held on the first Sunday in May at the Recreation Ground, the annual Great Nundle Dog Race is a fun fundraiser for the public school’s parents and citizen committee (P&C), attracting families and their dogs from the local region, the Hunter, Sydney and the North Coast.

It’s tradition began with a bet (doesn’t everything?) in 1979. Two farmers were arguing over who’s working dog’s the fastest, so they chose a time and a place (Oakenville St) for a race to settle the score. News of the race spread far and wide with other farmers wanting to put their fast dog in the race too. The race went for 150 metres from the Peel River to the local pub and in the end, both farmers lost with the caravan park caretaker’s dog, Kelly, taking the win.

But everyone came out the winner, because The Great Nundle Dog Race was born. The two farmers were part of the public school’s P&C and they decided to make it a fundrasing event hence forth with a donation of $2 to enter in the race. The main race is open to bona fide working dogs only, so it brought dog handlers and their dogs far and wide the try out. The Nundle Dog Race became big news and the other dogs and dog owners felt left out so they added over 20 races open for all breeds.

It became a tourist event because watching the race became so entertaining. The starting line is pure chaos because dogs are just running everywhere. The winner is which ever dog makes it across the finish line irrespective of the route taken or the fights they get into along the way.