Splendour Changes Camping Site After Mud And Chaos On Thursday Night
"10 hours of just waiting. We're still in the carpark, we haven't arrived to where they're searching cars, we haven't got our tickets checked, we're still well before all of that point."
Wild weather and heavy rainfall has forced Splendour In The Grass to relocate all incoming campers to a new campsite after the North Byron Parklands quickly became, well, Splendour In The Mud overnight.
After lengthy delays and torrential rain on Thursday, festival organisers have taken to social media to announce on Friday morning that all campers and vehicles that are yet to arrive will be redirected to the Byron Events Farm.
“Due to ongoing weather conditions we can no longer accept any campers or vehicles at North Byron Parklands (NBP),” said festival organisers on social media. “All incoming camping patrons should proceed to Byron Events Farm (BEF) at 35 Yarun Rd, Tyagarah NSW 2481.”
Those with accessible tickets, Flashcamp and Tent City tickets will still be allowed to enter the North Byron Parklands, while free shuttle buses will be available to transport people between the two sites.
“This does not include Accessible, Flashcamp and Tent City patrons who will still be accepted at NBP. Your NBP camping ticket will be scanned and accepted at BEF,” said festival organisers.
“Free bus shuttles between BEF to NBP will be available.”
“We thank you for your patience here and big shout out to our staff who are working around Mother Nature to get you in here safely. Please be kind and patient.”
Festival Goers Have Been Hit With 12 Hour Delays And Thick Mud
The news comes after festival goers were hit with queues of up to 12 hours to enter the Parklands on Thursday.
Splendour — which runs in the middle of winter every year — has always been synonymous with bad weather and a lot of mud (which is why most veteran attendees know to pack their gum boots), but the situation has been made worse by the ongoing floods and heavy rain in northern NSW in recent months.
Festival organisers blamed the delays on a combination of staff shortages (thanks COVID) and wild weather.
“We are extending our campgrounds entry hours at NBP tonight so if you’re in the queue we will get you in. Please be patient – we hear you,” said SITG in a statement on Thursday night.
“The weather and staff shortages were all worse than expected. We are doing the best we can – the show will go on rain, hail or shine.”
Attendees have complained that the event is unorganised and the festival grounds are covered in deep mud.
“Our shuttle bus dropped us off at the wrong place then we had to ask like 5 different people where the campgrounds actually were (no one fucking knows anything). It’s gross and muddy everywhere, especially the walk to the toilets,” one attendee who has already entered the campsite told Junkee, remaining in good spirits about the festival.
“It’s a laugh, and my tent is thankfully kinda dry inside. I also remembered to use my waterproof duffle for my clothes.”
The thick layer of mud at the Parklands has also forced at least one vendor to make a makeshift pontoon for customers to stand on.
Image: Supplied
Many Punters Still Haven’t Been Able To Enter The Parklands
While the situation in the Parklands is muddy, those who are yet to enter have their own problems — with some being directed to camp overnight in the day parking carpark.
One festival goer, who estimated there were at least “a few hundred people” camped out in the same carpark as her, told Junkee she was queueing for ten hours overnight.
“We got off the motorway at about 4:15pm yesterday and we got told to camp in the day parking carpark, which was as far as we had gotten, at about 2am,” Emily, who is yet to enter the festival told Junkee on Friday morning.
“10 hours of just waiting. We’re still in the carpark, we haven’t arrived to where they’re searching cars, we haven’t got our tickets checked, we’re still well before all of that point.”
Emily stressed that there has been a lack of communication for those trying to enter the festival, but volunteers have been as helpful as possible.
“We’ve had little to no communication, all of the volunteers are incredible — they are doing the absolute best — but they don’t have any information,” said Emily, noting that they were given the option to stay in the day carpark until the line progressed, or move to another campground that reportedly doesn’t have as many facilities set up.
“I’ve heard on social media that it’s not as flooded but they don’t have the additional facilities yet. There are probably about 12 port-a-loos at the carpark where I am but there’s no food or showers or anything like that.”
Some festival goers have been quick to take to TikTok to vlog the experience.
@micknewton We waited for over 2.5 hours to get turned back ? #splendourinthegrass #Befcamping #festival ♬ original sound – Mick Newton
@findingfarley Absolutely feeling for all the Splendour campers ? #splendourinthegrass2022 #camping #traffic #thoughtsandprayers ♬ Oh No TikTok – Hip Hop
This is the first time the festival has run IRL since 2019, after the last two years were forced to cancel due to COVID.