Incredible scenes at celebrity outback soiree

Celebrities were gathered for a feast in the Aussie outback when one young travel influencer bit off more than he could chew.

There are a few things you might expect under the endless skies of the Aussie outback.

Colourful characters untouched by the dreariness of the rat race, a kaleidoscopic panorama of the depths of universe each night under the stars and a rocky landscape older than you can conceivably imagine.

You might not expect to see a 21 year old Aussie travel Instagrammer subject to an open-air sterilising surgical procedure known ominously as the “bush vasectemy”.

The incident took place in Longreach, landlocked Central West Queensland — some 1175km north-west of Brisbane — where the young man, Bodhi Jako, lay sprawled out on the turf, nervously awaiting his fate.

On Friday night, Jako, who has 110,000 followers of his videos exploring the world, lay gazing up at Stewart Bryant, head Stockman of Longreach’s Stockman’s Hall of Fame.

Mr Bryant was wielding a whip omitting a deafening crack that he had used to entertain a crowd of traveling celebrities, chefs, models and media people gathered for a Great Northern beer launch event.

The whip virtuoso had been performing a well-crafted routine double-handed tricks and cracking in time to tunes like Another One Bites the Dust before has asked for a volunteer.

When Mr Bryant requested a young man, Jako leapt up like a jack rabbit. As if he had waited his whole life for this moment.

That was until the young Queenslander was informed about the “bush vasectemy” which left a pall of terror on his face.

A strip of paper was placed over the Sunshine Coast local’s knees for the bushman to aim at with his whip. The influencer’s life flashed before his eyes as the weapon hurtled towards his crotch.

It was, of course, just a bit of fun but the whip, Jako informed news.com.au in the aftermath, made light contact with the inside of his thigh.

Jako immediately regretted the decision to volunteer..

Stewart Bryant, head Stockman of the Stockman’s Hall of Fame.

This is all to say: things get pretty crazy in the outback, from time to time.

What on earth was going on?

Longreach is no ordinary town. Situated deep in the dusty, endless terrain of the outback, you wouldn’t expect to find much here.

However, the community of several thousand has a unique charm and a bustling tourism industry. The latter is thriving thanks, in part, to two massively awesome museums — the QANTAS Founders Museum and the above-mentioned Stockman’s Hall of Fame — which make Longreach a destination for families and wizened bush-travellers alike.

There’s also a cool vibe despite the blistering heat (it was 38C over the weekend). Big city-style coffee and breakfast is served at cafes, endless beers and cocktails are poured at the numerous watering holes and there are some unforgettable places to stay.

The Drover’s Place, in Longreach.

It’s perhaps this intersection between the buzz of civilisation and the captivating surrounding of the outback that Great Northern chose to launch its new premium beer — the Long Run — here over the weekend.

It hosted dozens out-of-towners (including, for full disclosure, news.com.au) to the event at a venue called The Drover’s Place.

Chefs cooked up delectable takes on local delicacies such as the lemon and herb crocodile san choy bow, wood grilled tomahawk of beef, and chocolate and rum filled marshmallows to toast by the fire.

It was a formidable display of outback culinary prowess that shows you don’t have to be in Melbourne or Sydney to taste some of the best Aussie grub.

Surprising gem in the outback

The bush soiree was all to promote the Long Run, a beer which is only currently available in Queensland, but the star of the show was Longreach — which is well worth a visit if you’re looking for a getaway to the outback.

Here are some suggestions, based on my fleeting visit.

The Saltbush Retreat on the edge of town is an awesome place to stay. The stables are beautifully done up with outback heritage details from the old gate bedheads to custom-made trough basins. There was a walk-in shower, air-conditioning, a big TV, and kitchen facilities including a microwave, fridge and coffee machine.

Longreach is deep in the Queensland outback.

There’s a lil verandah to sit at outside, with a view straight out of a Banjo Patterson poem. There’s kangaroos and emus just chilling. It was too hot to do much else so I sat there with a cold one for the arvo after a couple of lengths in the pool. It’s walking distance from both the museums too.

If you’re hankering for bacon and caffeine before your voyage into the bush, The Ranch in town does an awesome brekky and city-standard coffee.

Longreach is a fair old trek from any major city if you’re driving. It would take over 13 hours from Brisbane for example. So my recommendation would be a flight from Brisbane.

It may be remote, but this town is well worth spending at least a couple of days at.

The writer travelled as a guest of Great Northern.