The Grass Patch Yabby Classic!

We may need to stop off in Perth to get Ben some therapy because he REALLY didn’t want to leave Esperance.  It was awesome and we had loads of fun.  We arrived on the Fri 26^th because we wanted to attend a local event the next day.  We also read about a rodeo the following Sat evening (March 5th) so we knew we would be in Esperance for a week or so.

We initially booked in to the Pine Grove Caravan Park because it was quiet, not too near the main road and had a pool (Ben absolutely loves a pool).  Jenny and Ben wasted no time in getting into bathers and going for a swim, only to return 10 minutes later slightly blue, with chattering teeth.  Jenny said the water was so cold that it was like being stabbed with a thousand needles.  Even Ben refused to go in.  We also realised that the park was too quiet for a 5 year old.  The playground was smallish and there were no other kids.  It’ll probably be the place to stay in 30 years when we are real grey nomads, but isn’t so suitable now.  So, we looked around and then moved to a park right opposite the beach and bike path with a big playground and lots of other kids.  Lesson learned. :)

The Grass Patch Yabby Classic

There were terrible fires here in November and the damage is still very apparent.  Most of the highways are lined with burned trees and the local businesses were hard hit.  An organisation called BlazeAid works with rural communities and farmers after natural disasters and they were the main beneficiaries of this year’s Grass Patch Yabby Classic.  Grass Patch is a small town north of Esperance and each year they celebrate the yabby by way of a carnival.  There are yabby races, yabby shows (prizes for biggest, longest, largest claws etc), yabby shelling competitions, yabby lucky dips, yabby BBQs and many other yabby themed activities.  I’m sure it is a bittersweet day to be a yabby.  Half the crowd are celebrating your existence and the other half is eating your family and friends.

We attended the Grass Patch Yabby Classic with a mixture of curiosity and the excitement that comes with not having any idea what you are about to experience.  We really hoped it would be quirky and interesting and we were not disappointed!

This is their mascot, Yabster.

The event was held in a big field, the area defined by a fence on one side and a huge ring of caravans on the other.  The caravans housed various stalls, from ice-cream and pies to Enjo products, the local wildflower club, sausage (and yabby) sizzles and games booths.  The first thing Ben saw was a yabby lucky dip.  There was a huge round tub of murky water and when he paid $5 he was given a small fishing net like they use in pet shops when you buy a goldfish.  He scooped the fish net through the murky water (along the bottom as advised by a local girl) and pulled up a yabby with a pink plastic tie around its middle.  The prizes available are determined by what colour tie your yabby has and pink meant he could choose one of the better prizes.  He chose a wind up hot wheels type car (no surprise there) and then they plonked the yabby back in the tub. 

Ben with his lucky yabby dip prize.

It was about 37 degrees and there was very little shade so the presence of an inflatable water slide was great news for Ben (kids only unfortunately!).  There was also a dunk bucket where you sit on a platform above a huge tub of cold water while kids throw balls at a target.  If they hit, your seat collapses and in you go!  Ben did this once but the seat hit him on the back of the head as it collapsed so he wasn’t keen on another go.  There was a jumping castle next to the dunking and water slide but the sun was so intense that it became too hot to stand on.

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The highlight of the day was the yabby racing.  We had no idea what to expect but were eager to witness the amazing spectacle that had required the construction of ‘a bigger and better grandstand’ this year. They had a TAB and form guide for each race.  Ben placed a couple of dollars on a yabby called ‘High as a Kite’ (no 5 in Race 2) but unfortunately it didn’t even place.  Here is a video of the race.

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We left mid afternoon because it was just too hot to stay out there without any shade.  We had also discovered that shops shut at 5pm in small town WA and don’t open on Sundays so if we wanted some groceries for the rest of the weekend we would have to get back to Esperance in time!