“The smiles, the sunburn, the sky and the clouds. The strangers, the friends – both newfound and old. That long drive into the unknown, followed by dancing and inevitable laughter. Embarking on adventures through ghost gums, discovering an oriental tea lounge, a jazz quintet improvising on the beach or a disco legend unleashing funk & soul from a treehouse. Long days of wild river swimming and those quiet moments of reflection.

These are the things that will define the greatest weekend of your life.”

Welcome to the wild world of Strawberry Fields.

In a bid to visit every transformational festival in Australia and around the globe, Euphoric Threads Designer Laura ventures 8 hours out of Sydney and into the Aussie bushlands to volunteer at the magical Strawberry Fields Festival…..

 

After my first insight to the crazy bush doof scene at Rainbow Serpent Festival I was eager to check out the next doof, and what better fit than STRAWBS!

Strawberry Fields Festival is an absolute oasis in the middle of Australia’s bush, nestled in a serene nook on the Murray River right between Victoria and the town of Tocumwal in New South Wales.

Tocumwal is most easily reached from Melbourne (3 hour drive), 5 hours from Canberra, and 8 hours from Sydney. I bravely caught the long ass Strawberry Fields festival coach which I highly recommend if you are travelling solo and want to save money. I stocked up with booze and snacks and the 8 hours flew by.

Upon entering the grounds of Strawberry Fields, it was hard not to be struck by the surroundings. The campsites were situated among the dry dusty fields of gum trees, and no matter where you were, the banks of the infamous River Murray was only a short walk away. It was such a pretty location, no wonder they nickname it the “Wildlands”.

 

Art installations are dotted around the site, while the stages are designed using lots of natural materials, making them blend in with the bushland.

I loved the use of up-cycled and recycled every day objects and materials that made up the artwork in the woods …

 

 

The Beach Stage was the absolute place to be during the day at Strawberry Fields festival. When the sun comes up and it’s a bit too hot in your tent, just head straight to the Beach Stage (via a food pit stop) to have a dip in the cool Murray River.

Right on the banks of the Murray after giving ample space for netting and hammock chill areas and for people to sunbathe, you’ll find the beach stage. There’s nothing better than being nestled amongst the trees next to the water on a warm day in the bush. This zone is generally going off during the day, playing chilled house beach tunes and upbeat dance.

 

 

The Friday I arrived was a scorcher, so everyone hit the river with inflatables and funky swimwear – my fav! The Beach Stage was my favourite day hang, I loved all the faux palm trees amongst the gum trees that lined the banks of the Murray River, and the separate pamper zones; such as the Strawberry Fields Bush Spa, Mirage Motel, and Bush Barbers.

 

 

Whilst meandering along the riverbanks I came across a bizarre gigantic rainbow installation that I had the urge to get papped next to …

 

 

….but low and behold, as I walked around the back of this rainbow sculpture I realised it was a GIANT walk-in kaleidoscope. Euphoric times! I was like a kiddy in a sweet shop. The mirrors were super trippy seeing all angles and sides of your face.

.. I can imagine it would have been even more awesome for anyone actually tripping.

 

Check out these kaleidoscopic shots.

I am wearing our festival TASSY RASHY bodycon festival set :

 

The day I arrived was the warmest and dustiest day all weekend. Perfect for bouncing around in next to nothing and getting sweaty on the DF.

NOTE TO SELF – Pack a dust mask as part of your outfit!

Here’s a few photos of us all prancing around after our pre drinks. I’m wearing an old Dollskill bikini with my Disco Spirits headpiece my friend Kirsten made for me this Summer.

 

 

In exchange for a festival ticket I volunteered (an awesome idea to attend festivals and save yourself $400!). I had to work x2 6 hour shifts during the festival, with my first shift unfortunately being Saturday evening 6pm – midnight – this was tricky as I was half cut and on the DF loving life when I noticed the time and had to bail halfway through a decent set. YES – all glittered and dressed up to the nines of course, gracing the other volunteers with my Grayson Perry-esque outfit. It was actually pretty fun, helping out on the Strawberry fielders team – basically helping patrons ride out their acid trips, find lost tents, and hand out hydralytes.

 

 

Festival-goers this year were treated to an array of stunning performances from Aussie icons such as DRMGNOW, Milan Ring, Mildlife, Emma Donovan & the PutBacks, and Animals Dancing. The lineup featured a mesmerising mix of international acts like the great Derrick May, Japan’s Wata Igarashi, and the phenomenal Bob Moses (Live!).

My high point of the festival was Wata Igarashi’s techno showcase, which delivered a late set of pure euphoria on the main stage in the early hours of Sunday morning. I equally enjoyed CC:DISCO’s set in the Wildland stage which I ran to like Cinderella as soon as the clocks struck twelve.

 

 

Food choices were similar to Rainbow Serpent, serving an array of the most delicious cuisines from around the globe, with a focus on local and sustainability. There was one catering truck selling $5 bacon butties and $3 sausage-in-bread, so that was where my friend Jade and I spent most our mornings ha. I was pretty impressed though by the festivals’ initiatives to reduce waste. Strawberry Fields is actually the first festival in Australia to implement the “Rewash Revolution”, where attendees were charged a $4 deposit for their crockery, which they get back when it’s returned for washing. Attendees that BYO crockery don’t pay a deposit at all and can access free dishwashing. Great idea, (minus the queuing), this is something British festivals should take inspiration from!

 

So as far as doofs go, the dancefloors here were pretty dam wild and I still can’t get enough of the Aussie Doof sticks, they crack me up!

(If you want a better insight into what a doof actually is, read my last article on Rainbow Serpent Festival!)

NOTE: Doof Stick = A tall, decorated stick carried around at a bush doof that’s used to find friends and affirm artistic spirit.

You need a doof stick at these festivals because theres usually 5,000+ people on the DF and you can really struggle to find your friends. It’s also a really good way of establishing where your home base is (front left, front left!). But doof sticks are more than just that. You can use them to attract people. If you put a witty, funny joke or meme on them, you will have people come out of the crowd and strike up a conversation with you. I wish I photographed more of the funnier ones, but here were a few of my favourites:

 

 

The outfits were super unique, with many going to the extreme of matching their doof stick puns … for instance the CHUX cleaning wipes (see above!) – one lady had created her entire outfit out of Chux cleaning wipes. I saw some other lads all in neon yellow Aussie POST OFFICE outfits with the red logo reading “SENT IT” – ha! I saw a few Buzz Light Years – even female versions, wetsuits, feathers, bondage, and morph suits.

 

 

Out of the Aussie doofs so far, I prefer Rainbow Serpent Festival at it is HEAPS more colourful and creative in terms of outfits and VIBES … however Strawberry is a strong competitor!! I had the BEST weekend. I arrived on my own knowing only one girl, but left Monday with a dozen new mates…

 

 

I camped right near the glamping site on the West side (Red) with a bunch of legends from Melbourne, and after a very loose Friday getting lost on my own.. being picked up and looked after by a lovely couple from Cairns.. all these legends quickly became good friends and we met up every evening to party. It was a corker of a weekend.

NOTE – Bring walkie talkies!! They are life savers! 

Saturday night was hilarious, we had our walkie talkies super charged and as soon as my shift finished I fled into the woods on the most funniest mission to find my cooked crew. It was a wild one; from Wata Igarashi’s techno set, to CC:DISCO and wondering around all the trippy art installations at night… then ending up partying on a giant pirate ship with the funniest Aussies all dancing to a boombox blasting camp 90s Disco Tunes.

NOTE TO SELF: CULTURE BEAT – MR.VAIN and LA BOUCHE – BE MY LOVER ! …

I also remember bumping into this Irish legend who I had helped to find his tent (whilst on his crazy acid trip) earlier on in the evening on my volunteer shift. He introduced me to all his friends who all happen to be Irish Doctors! I couldn’t quite comprehend it. Funny enough he was a Doctor of Mental Health.. LOL. Legends.

As temperature dropped to 8 degrees in the bush, I called it a night..well, morning, around 7am.

I woke to puddles in my tent as the heavens had opened. Sunday was freezing and wet, so we all hit the DF in the avo wearing about 20 layers. I looked like Jon Snow on acid. Sunday evenings shift was pretty hectic, helping people OD’ing and vehicles stuck in the mud as everyone started to flee once the music finished.

NOTE – Music finished 7pm on the Sunday evening! Shocker. (Another reason why I prefer Rainbow.)

 

All in all though… Strawberry Fields what a HOOT! I highly recommend going.

 

 

Have you been to Strawberry Fields before? Have any funny stories to share? We’d love to know! 

Next up for us is Rainbow Serpent 2020 fingers crossed! See you on the DF!

 

x