CAMPSITE # 84 - A Stripper In The Outback

We were at a loss, it was pelting down with rain in what was supposed to be the stinking hot Australian outback. What were we to do? We had just under a week to kill until we were due to be ready and willing to begin work in Port Augusta. An imaginary light bulb instantly appeared above our heads when we read about..
Site Prairie Hotel in Parachilna, SA"
Rating 10/20, the brochure could not have jumped out at us anymore -


"From Australia's most awarded hotel, you can enjoy magnificent views of both the Flinders Ranges and the vast red desert plains sweeping toward Lake Torrens. Inside the hotel, you’ll find great character, charm and creature comforts – topped off with superb cuisine including our feral platter of Kangaroo, Emu & Camel"

What a treat! And what a place! It truly was in the middle of nowhere. We were situated approximately 2.5 hours north of Port Augusta in between Hawker and Leigh Creek. Calling Parachilna a town is a bit of a stretch considering only 7 people live there and the entire place revolves around the pub either way, we were very excited to be there.

So, Tom and I set ourselves up in their camping ground (A.K.A car park but the views of the ranges certainly made up for it). Afterwards we set about treating ourselves to some Camel, Roo & Emu. The food was extraordinary, we were so impressed. Our favourite of the three meats was Camel. Emu was more like tough beef and didn't have that much flavour. We've had and enjoyed quite a bit of kangaroo so Camel was awarded first place thanks to its taste explosion in every bite.


Once we finished our meal, we hung about in the bar having a chat to 4 out of the 7 locals and had some great laughs. As we were sitting there, Tom and I were approached by another woman, Laura, who was a guest in one of their cabins who proceeded to explain to us that she was staying at the hotel filming a promo for a movie. The promo was about an English backpacker who travels to Australia and runs out of money and so takes up stripping to earn some cash. Laura asked us if we would be around the following day and whether we would be interested in being extras for her promo. Well we, of course, had to check our extremely busy schedules and consult our agent, Charlie and then we happily agreed to act as, what we thought to be blurry background images.


Blurry background images... I don't think so!

It all started in some dilapidated caravan. As we walked in I was handed an extremely skimpy stripper outfit and given some very straightforward instructions. Now let me just say, at this point in time Tom and I were giving each other some pretty baffled looks. How did we know that "promo movie" wasn't actually movie makers speak for "porno"? Thankfully though, there was no half naked man with long blonde hair stroking his kitty kat.

My 'character's' name was Louise who was the lead stripper in the stripjoint the girl had joined and I had some serious attitude. After hearing Laura announce "Cut" and "Action" over and over again, retracing my steps and repeating the last 30 seconds of my life over again, but this time with more "anger in my eyes", I realised that I certainly didn't have the patience to be the next Angelina. 

Now, it should be noted... particularly because my parents read this.. Mum, Dad... I was fully clothed during the entire process. Mind you, strippers 'clothes' aren't certainly the type of outfits I would wear to a nightclub let alone a shopping centre.

Loving the tartie makeup! But what's with the hat?!

Next, it was Tom's turn. The next scene was the three of us in the main character's room and we were having a party after a really great night in the 'joint' and there was Tommy, the drug-lord-that-we-all-totally-don't-know-him-for looking particularly shady and acting the notion of snorting thin air up his nostrils.

WHAT THE HELL WERE WE DOING? AND... HOW THE HELL, IN THE MIDDLE OF BLOODY NOWHERE, DID WE FIND OURSELVES DOING... THIS???


We were feeling a little perplexed. Was this all just some weird and dodgy joke? And, who were they expecting to play our roles if they didn't meet us that night? There certainly wasn't a plethora of possible strippers and pimps to chose from in Parachilna. 


Either way, we did it and it was a great laugh. Hopefully, in a few months time Laura will send us a copy of it and we can have a little sneak peak. We did manage to watch some footage back at the end of it all and we were surprisingly impressed by the result... and thankful!! However, it is safe to say that our days of stripping and pimping are officially numbered.


Once we had recovered from a very eventful night, Tom and I took the Geological Trail through the Flinders Ranges.... one of us was certainly enjoying himself....

In Geology Land, it is always crucial to use a scale...

I was busy appreciating everything other than the rock formations...

The results of the floods that gushed through just a few weeks prior...

The difficult choice, flies or rain!