St John Ambulance has rostered on extra staff across its four booths in Tamworth this weekend, as a quadrella of events is expected to keep them on their toes.
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The general hubbub of the Country Music Festival’s final weekend, Australia Day activities, the cavalcade and the Golden Guitars will combine with another wave of searing temperatures tomorrow.
The festival opened with four days of 40-plus conditions and the close is going to be much the same, with the bureau forecasting 39 degrees on Saturday, and 38 on both Sunday and Monday.
St John Ambulance NSW event commander Peter Cameron said this afternoon the volunteers had treated about 100 people so far, mostly minor heat-related cases, across their four sites.
“We’ve had a few more serious cases that have required transport to hospital, but overall it’s been not too bad,” Mr Cameron said.
“There have been less than five of those – some heat-related and some with pre-existing medical conditions; we have seen some people with some cardiac issues.”
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How do campers beat the heat?
Campers have had to come up with inventive ways to beat the heat, although there is one tried and true solution that continues to trump them all.
“You just have to get up early, jump in a cold shower and find an airconditioned pub,” said Riverside camper John Barnes.
Fellow campers Mad Jack and Aaron Medina have done it all before, both coming equipped with children’s pools to wade in next to their tents.
“We come here every year to catch up with our ‘Tam fam’ at Riverside – we love it,” Mr Medina said.
“But this year it has even been too hot to sleep some nights, so we even have naps in the pool.”
For Val Henderson, the temperature isn’t that much different from her home in north Queensland, although there is one major difference.
“We have been swimming in the river here – it’s beautiful and, best of all, there isn’t any crocs,” she said.
“Other than that, you just have to get into a pub with airconditioning.”
Brenda and Jim Greig also came prepared. Their caravan has an airconditioner, although at night the generator makes too much noise for the neighbours.
“This is our first time here and it is great,” Mrs Greig said.
“The variety of music is so good that we haven’t been spending much time in the campground anyway – but cold showers do help as well.”
