What's your beef?

Country music, cowboy hats and a rope tied around a bull's testicles: welcome to rodeo night in Rockhampton, Australia's beef capital. We had stopped in Rocky to break up a long coach trip and filled our time chilling out at the excellent botanic gardens and spotting koalas, kangaroos, crocs and all manner of Aussie beasts at the free zoo, but little did we know that the evening was to bring the best surprise.

On a recommendation from our hostel owners we saddled up on a bus and headed to a pub in town, which just happens to have a full rodeo arena and stadium out the back, past the toilets.

Among the swirls of cattle-kicked dust and under the blare of Cotton Eyed Joe, bulls with their balls tied would leap out of gates with cowboys holding onto them for dear
life. There were falls and spills that thrilled the audience, most of whom had reserved ring side seats, which came with buy one get one free steak meals. At one point a man rode a pregnant cow without using his arms, for some reason. But the rest was fun: bulls flinging boys off of them before charging at anyone they could find. Cowboys jumping up fences to avoid the prongs of the bull's horns and, get this, affordable beer. Banging.