Henley on Todd Regatta

Month : September
Place : Alice Springs, Australia
Famous For : Boat Race
Attractions : Track of Boat Races, Boats, Race Courses.

The Henley-on-Todd Regatta is a much awaited boat race festival held in Australia. It's organized every year in the typically dry sandy bed of the Todd River in Alice Springs, Australia. Also popular by the name of Todd River Race, the Henley on Todd Regatta is one of the prime events of spring season, as it's held during the month of September. The main attraction of this event is not the race but the track on which the boats participate in the race and a large number of tourist from all over the world flock at Alice Springs to experience the competition of unique boats.

Major Attractions

The Henley-on-Todd Regatta is the only dry river regatta in the world. It's also the only regatta ever canceled because of wet weather and there was actually water in the river. This situation arose in 1993 when the river had a flood situation. The popular boat race traces it origin back in 1962, when Reg Smith (Alice Springs Meteorological Bureau) proposed an idea for an actual regatta on the lines of the popular Henley Royal Regatta. The festival began and still continues as a joke at the expense of the original British settlers and the formal atmosphere of the British river races which continue today. The main highlight of this festival are the boats, which are made from metal frames and hung with banners and advertisements. The rowers (grouped in teams) run their boats through the hot sand in washtubs, human-sized mouse wheels etc. At the final event modified trucks decked out as boats are driven by teams armed with flour bombs and water cannon. The traditional teams at Henley-on-Todd Regatta are Pirates and Vikings. Other features like food and drinks are sold at stalls and �no fishing� signs are put up. The race is fierce to such an extent that sometimes it's hard for the announcers to determine who is the winner. One most notifying feature of this festival is that The Henley-On-Todd Regatta is run entirely on a volunteer basis by three Rotary Clubs based in 'the Alice'.