SA Drink Of The Week

Peter "Curly" Curtis OAM and Darren Greatrex

Musical Pilgrimage

Steve Davis survived his first SA Variety Bash and lived to tell the tale. More importantly, he brings two bash stalwarts into the studio to share what really drives people to spend weekends fundraising all year, then eight days together in old cars traversing some of South Australia’s most remote terrain. Current chair Darren Greatrex recently delivered a record-breaking $2.7 million fundraising result, while veteran Sir Peter “Curly” Curtis OAM brings 35 years of bash wisdom to the conversation.

The SA Drink of the Week features Little Blessings Brewing’s Tropical Trinity Gin, a deep orange concoction that Steve discovered during a spontaneous tasting in the middle of nowhere between William Creek and Coober Pedy. The gin’s tropical fusion of pineapple, passion fruit and orange creates what Steve describes as walking backwards into a tropical plantation with a toucan tapping on your shoulder.

The Musical Pilgrimage presents “A Lot of Nothing,” an original composition by Steve Davis and the Virtualosos, written in the backseat during the bash as the vast South Australian landscape inspired reflections on finding yourself in the emptiness of the outback.

Episode photo of Monkey Business Car 13 by Keryn Stevens Photography.

You can navigate episodes using chapter markers in your podcast app. Not a fan of one segment? You can click next to jump to the next chapter in the show. We’re here to serve!

The Adelaide Show Podcast: Awarded Silver for Best Interview Podcast in Australia at the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards and named as Finalist for Best News and Current Affairs Podcast in the 2018 Australian Podcast Awards.

And please consider becoming part of our podcast by joining our Inner Circle. It’s an email list. Join it and you might get an email on a Sunday or Monday seeking question ideas, guest ideas and requests for other bits of feedback about YOUR podcast, The Adelaide Show. Email us directly and we’ll add you to the list: podcast@theadelaideshow.com.au

If you enjoy the show, please leave us a 5-star review in iTunes or other podcast sites, or buy some great merch from our Red Bubble store – The Adelaide Show Shop. We’d greatly appreciate it.

And please talk about us and share our episodes on social media, it really helps build our community. Oh, and here’s our index of all episode in one concise
page.

Running Sheet: A Deep Dive Into The SA Variety Bash

00:00:00 Intro

Introduction

00:02:45 SA Drink Of The Week

Th SA Drink Of The Week is the Tropical Trinity Gin by Little Blessings Brewing, based in Laura.

Between William Creek and Coober Pedy, Steve encountered Little Blessings Brewing’s Tropical Trinity Gin during an impromptu roadside tasting that perfectly captured the bash’s serendipitous spirit. The Laura-based distillery operates from an old chapel, creating this distinctive deep orange gin that shakes cloudy with fruit sediment.

Steve’s initial reaction, captured on camera in the desert, speaks for itself: “It’s like I have walked backwards into a tropical plantation of citrus and there’s a toucan tapping on my shoulder.” The gin combines sweet pineapple, tangy passion fruit and zesty orange while maintaining gin’s traditional robust structure. Steve likens it to a film set for Gilligan’s Island, where tropical botanicals create convincing scenery over gin’s reliable framework.

The colour resembles his parents’ 1970s kitchen cupboards painted “burnt orange” – a deep hue that wants to be red but stops several steps short. Steve recommends trying this gin neat, particularly for those who typically avoid straight gin, describing it as a feast for both palate and eyes with its beautiful label work and sunset-reminiscent colour.

The timing proves providential, as Curly’s pet parrot chirps throughout the interview, creating an unintentional tropical soundtrack that complements the gin’s character perfectly.

00:08:00 Peter “Curly” Curtis OAM and Darren Greatrex

Here we have two blokes who’ve discovered something most of us spend our lives searching for: a perfect fusion of adventure, community, and purpose. Darren Greatrex, the current Bash Chair, and Peter “Curly” Curtis OAM, the larrikin legend who helped shape what the SA Vareity Bash has become. Between them, they’ve got over 35+ years of Bash stories, from Curly’s first adventure in 1988 to Darren’s record-breaking $2.7 million result in 2025. But this isn’t about the money, the miles, or even the mechanics. This is about what drives people to spend a week wrestling with 25-year-old cars in the middle of nowhere, all in the name of helping kids they’ve never met.

We previously covered the Variety Bash in 2024, when Steve sat in with The Bakers car before they left Adelaide in episode 398.

Peter “Curly” Curtis OAM opens with a story that would terrify most first-timers: his inaugural 1988 bash experience leaving Burke at 8:30am and arriving in Tibooburra at 4:00am the following morning after getting bogged, lost, and possibly detained in a pub or two. “We slept on the ground outside the pub,” Curly recalls matter-of-factly. “We were up at seven o’clock not to be left behind.”

The conversation reveals how fundraising has evolved from basic entry fees to sophisticated year-round campaigns. Darren Greatrex explains the diversity of approaches: “You see anything from a sausage sizzle at Bunnings, you see people selling donuts, you see people putting on concerts.” The legendary Hogs, visiting Victorian fundraisers who shake collection tins outside supermarkets, can raise $3,000 to $10,000 per weekend through sheer persistence and community generosity.

A particularly moving moment comes when Darren describes arriving at Bendleby Ranges to publicly donate towards the local, Orroroo Community Playground project and then surprising the locals with the additional $50,000 they needed to complete it. “What variety did is they quickly got together and had a meeting only about three days prior to us arriving,” he explains. The decision to fund the shortfall spontaneously demonstrates how the bash operates beyond its structured grant process.

The human dynamics emerge through discussions of team formation and survival strategies. Curly observes that “very few people that raise the minimum, which is $10,000 per vehicle” and credits a culture where people “have that feeling of need” to give more.

In discussion about coping with camping in remote areas and going without showers, Darren notes the transformation from 95% male participation in early years to today’s 45% female participation, has revealed that women adapt “much, much better than the men.”

Steve’s rookie perspective provides fresh insights into the bash’s social dynamics. His observation about the ease of talking to anyone on the bash, boils down to the principles at work during costume parties where playing a character removes the “peril of being, making a fool of yourself” and that resonated with both veterans. “You are a persona,” Steve notes. “Remove that and the bash would be harder for new people to be included so quickly.” Curly confirms: “The bash would not be the bash without the themes and the cars and the costumes.”

The logistics discussion reveals staggering complexity behind the apparent chaos. Planning for 2026 began four months before the 2025 event, with infrastructure, catering, and fuel coordination for 400 people entering small communities. Mobile workshops carry spare parts and fuel, while three medical teams including Royal Flying Doctor Service personnel ensure safety across thousands of kilometres.

Personal stories punctuate the technical details. Darren’s memory of flying a blind child to Kangaroo Island with a braille computer demonstrates variety’s direct impact: “Just watching that impact on that kid was a turning point for me.” Meanwhile, Curly’s Tarcoola food horror story (“which one’s which?”) provides historical perspective on how much the event has improved.

The interview concludes with Steve’s proposal for mandated silence during one stop to appreciate the vast landscape. Both veterans embrace the concept, with Darren recalling standing at Sunset Ridge in misty fog: “We just looked at each other and just went, my God, look, this is just something you’d never, ever see.”

01:03:45 Musical Pilgrimage

In the Musical Pilgrimate, we play a track by Steve Davis & The Virtualosos, A Lot Of Nothing, to round off our deep drive into the SA Variety Bash.

“A Lot of Nothing” emerged from Steve’s backseat contemplation during the vast drives between destinations. The landscape between William Creek and Coober Pedy, where roads barely exist on station country, inspired lyrics about finding yourself in emptiness and the redemptive power of isolation.

Steve Davis and the Virtualosos crafted a composition that captures both the physical reality of endless horizons and the psychological journey of people who “choose” to live in remote areas of South Australia. The song’s central image – “There’s a lot of nothing as far as you can see, the shimmer in the distance is a sweet infinity” – reflects Steve’s realisation that true understanding comes from turning off music and phones to “face the real you who’s been buried in the silence of this place.”

The piece connects to Steve’s proposed moment of mandated silence during future bashes, recognising that the vast South Australian landscape offers transformative experiences for those willing to embrace the apparent emptiness. As the lyrics suggest, sometimes you must navigate the weather until you find yourself.

Steve Davis survived his first SA Variety Bash and lived to tell the tale. More importantly, he brings two bash stalwarts into the studio to share what really drives people to spend weekends fundraising all year, then eight days together in old cars traversing some of South Australia&rsquo;s most remote terrain. Current chair Darren Greatrex recently delivered a record-breaking $2.7 million fundraising result, while veteran Sir Peter &ldquo;Curly&rdquo; Curtis OAM brings 35 years of bash wisdom to the conversation.
The SA Drink of the Week features Little Blessings Brewing&rsquo;s Tropical Trinity Gin, a deep orange concoction that Steve discovered during a spontaneous tasting in the middle of nowhere between William Creek and Coober Pedy. The gin&rsquo;s tropical fusion of pineapple, passion fruit and orange creates what Steve describes as walking backwards into a tropical plantation with a toucan tapping on your shoulder.
The Musical Pilgrimage presents &ldquo;A Lot of Nothing,&rdquo; an original composition by Steve Davis and the Virtualosos, written in the backseat during the bash as the vast South Australian landscape inspired reflections on finding yourself in the emptiness of the outback.
Episode photo of Monkey Business Car 13 by Keryn Stevens Photography.
You can navigate episodes using chapter markers in your podcast app. Not a fan of one segment? You can click next to jump to the next chapter in the show. We&rsquo;re here to serve!
The Adelaide Show Podcast: Awarded Silver for&nbsp;Best Interview Podcast in Australia&nbsp;at the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards and named as Finalist for&nbsp;Best News and Current Affairs Podcast&nbsp;in the 2018 Australian Podcast Awards.
And please consider becoming part of our podcast by joining our Inner Circle. It&rsquo;s an email list. Join it and you might get an email on a Sunday or Monday seeking question ideas, guest ideas and requests for other bits of feedback about YOUR podcast, The Adelaide Show. Email us directly and we&rsquo;ll add you to the list:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:podcast@theadelaideshow.com.au">podcast@theadelaideshow.com.au</a>
If you enjoy the show, please&nbsp;<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/another-boring-thursday-night/id696302138">leave us a 5-star review&nbsp;</a>in iTunes or other podcast sites, or buy some great merch from our Red Bubble store &ndash;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/theadelaideshow/shop?asc=u">The Adelaide Show Shop</a>. We&rsquo;d greatly appreciate it.
And please talk about us and share our episodes on social media, it really helps build our community. Oh, and here&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://theadelaideshow.com.au/complete-list-adelaide-show-episodes/">our index of all episode in one concise page.</a>
Running Sheet: A Deep Dive Into The SA Variety Bash
00:00:00&nbsp;Intro
Introduction
00:02:45&nbsp;SA Drink Of The Week
Th SA Drink Of The Week is the Tropical Trinity Gin by&nbsp;<a href="https://littleblessingsbrewing.com.au/">Little Blessings Brewing</a>, based in Laura.
Between William Creek and Coober Pedy, Steve encountered Little Blessings Brewing&rsquo;s Tropical Trinity Gin during an impromptu roadside tasting that perfectly captured the bash&rsquo;s serendipitous spirit. The Laura-based distillery operates from an old chapel, creating this distinctive deep orange gin that shakes cloudy with fruit sediment.
Steve&rsquo;s initial reaction, captured on camera in the desert, speaks for itself: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like I have walked backwards into a tropical plantation of citrus and there&rsquo;s a toucan tapping on my shoulder.&rdquo; The gin combines sweet pineapple, tangy passion fruit and zesty orange while maintaining gin&rsquo;s traditional robust structure. Steve likens it to a film set for Gilligan&rsquo;s Island, where tropical botanicals create convincing scenery over gin&rsquo;s reliable framework.
The colour resembles his parents&rsquo; 1970s kitchen cupboards painted &ldquo;burnt orange&rdquo; &ndash; a deep hue that wants to be red but stops several steps short. Steve recommends trying this gin neat, particularly for those who typically avoid straight gin, describing it as a feast for both palate and eyes with its beautiful label work and sunset-reminiscent colour.
The timing proves providential, as Curly&rsquo;s pet parrot chirps throughout the interview, creating an unintentional tropical soundtrack that complements the gin&rsquo;s character perfectly.
00:08:00&nbsp;Peter &ldquo;Curly&rdquo; Curtis OAM and Darren Greatrex
Here we have two blokes who&rsquo;ve discovered something most of us spend our lives searching for: a perfect fusion of adventure, community, and purpose. Darren Greatrex, the current Bash Chair, and Peter &ldquo;Curly&rdquo; Curtis OAM, the larrikin legend who helped shape what the&nbsp;<a href="https://savarietybash.com.au/">SA Vareity Bash</a>&nbsp;has become. Between them, they&rsquo;ve got over 35+ years of Bash stories, from Curly&rsquo;s first adventure in 1988 to Darren&rsquo;s record-breaking $2.7 million result in 2025. But this isn&rsquo;t about the money, the miles, or even the mechanics. This is about what drives people to spend a week wrestling with 25-year-old cars in the middle of nowhere, all in the name of helping kids they&rsquo;ve never met.
We previously covered the Variety Bash in 2024, when Steve sat in with The Bakers car before they left Adelaide in&nbsp;<a href="https://theadelaideshow.com.au/podcast-episodes/398-baking-a-difference-car-13-the-bakers-on-the-sa-variety-bash-trail/">episode 398</a>.
Peter &ldquo;Curly&rdquo; Curtis OAM opens with a story that would terrify most first-timers: his inaugural 1988 bash experience leaving Burke at 8:30am and arriving in Tibooburra at 4:00am the following morning after getting bogged, lost, and possibly detained in a pub or two. &ldquo;We slept on the ground outside the pub,&rdquo; Curly recalls matter-of-factly. &ldquo;We were up at seven o&rsquo;clock not to be left behind.&rdquo;
The conversation reveals how fundraising has evolved from basic entry fees to sophisticated year-round campaigns. Darren Greatrex explains the diversity of approaches: &ldquo;You see anything from a sausage sizzle at Bunnings, you see people selling donuts, you see people putting on concerts.&rdquo; The legendary Hogs, visiting Victorian fundraisers who shake collection tins outside supermarkets, can raise $3,000 to $10,000 per weekend through sheer persistence and community generosity.
A particularly moving moment comes when Darren describes arriving at Bendleby Ranges to publicly donate towards the local, Orroroo Community Playground project and then surprising the locals with the additional $50,000 they needed to complete it. &ldquo;What variety did is they quickly got together and had a meeting only about three days prior to us arriving,&rdquo; he explains. The decision to fund the shortfall spontaneously demonstrates how the bash operates beyond its structured grant process.
The human dynamics emerge through discussions of team formation and survival strategies. Curly observes that &ldquo;very few people that raise the minimum, which is $10,000 per vehicle&rdquo; and credits a culture where people &ldquo;have that feeling of need&rdquo; to give more.
In discussion about coping with camping in remote areas and going without showers, Darren notes the transformation from 95% male participation in early years to today&rsquo;s 45% female participation, has revealed that women adapt &ldquo;much, much better than the men.&rdquo;
Steve&rsquo;s rookie perspective provides fresh insights into the bash&rsquo;s social dynamics. His observation about the ease of talking to anyone on the bash, boils down to the principles at work during costume parties where playing a character removes the &ldquo;peril of being, making a fool of yourself&rdquo; and that resonated with both veterans. &ldquo;You are a persona,&rdquo; Steve notes. &ldquo;Remove that and the bash would be harder for new people to be included so quickly.&rdquo; Curly confirms: &ldquo;The bash would not be the bash without the themes and the cars and the costumes.&rdquo;
The logistics discussion reveals staggering complexity behind the apparent chaos. Planning for 2026 began four months before the 2025 event, with infrastructure, catering, and fuel coordination for 400 people entering small communities. Mobile workshops carry spare parts and fuel, while three medical teams including Royal Flying Doctor Service personnel ensure safety across thousands of kilometres.
Personal stories punctuate the technical details. Darren&rsquo;s memory of flying a blind child to Kangaroo Island with a braille computer demonstrates variety&rsquo;s direct impact: &ldquo;Just watching that impact on that kid was a turning point for me.&rdquo; Meanwhile, Curly&rsquo;s Tarcoola food horror story (&ldquo;which one&rsquo;s which?&rdquo;) provides historical perspective on how much the event has improved.
The interview concludes with Steve&rsquo;s proposal for mandated silence during one stop to appreciate the vast landscape. Both veterans embrace the concept, with Darren recalling standing at Sunset Ridge in misty fog: &ldquo;We just looked at each other and just went, my God, look, this is just something you&rsquo;d never, ever see.&rdquo;
01:03:45&nbsp;Musical Pilgrimage
In the Musical Pilgrimate, we play a track by&nbsp;<a href="https://stevedavis.com.au/steve-davis-the-virtualosos/">Steve Davis &amp; The Virtualosos</a>,&nbsp;A Lot Of Nothing,&nbsp;to round off our deep drive into the SA Variety Bash.
&ldquo;A Lot of Nothing&rdquo; emerged from Steve&rsquo;s backseat contemplation during the vast drives between destinations. The landscape between William Creek and Coober Pedy, where roads barely exist on station country, inspired lyrics about finding yourself in emptiness and the redemptive power of isolation.
Steve Davis and the Virtualosos crafted a composition that captures both the physical reality of endless horizons and the psychological journey of people who &ldquo;choose&rdquo; to live in remote areas of South Australia. The song&rsquo;s central image &ndash; &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of nothing as far as you can see, the shimmer in the distance is a sweet infinity&rdquo; &ndash; reflects Steve&rsquo;s realisation that true understanding comes from turning off music and phones to &ldquo;face the real you who&rsquo;s been buried in the silence of this place.&rdquo;
The piece connects to Steve&rsquo;s proposed moment of mandated silence during future bashes, recognising that the vast South Australian landscape offers transformative experiences for those willing to embrace the apparent emptiness. As the lyrics suggest, sometimes you must navigate the weather until you find yourself.

A weekly podcast recorded in Adelaide that puts South Australian passion on centre stage with a featured guest who joins us each week as a co-presenter to share how they're pursuing their passions. We venture across topics as diverse as history, wine, food, art, music, relationships, critical thinking, health, news, interviews, chat and quizzes. 

Every single interview, every single show, unlocks insights into what drives people to be doing what they're doing and what keeps them striving. 

The Adelaide Show is produced by Steve Davis and Nigel Dobson-Keeffe.

Please subscribe to our In Crowd list; you get an email each Friday (when we have published a new episode) with an overview of that week's show. Plus, consider joining our Inner Circle; a small group of passionate South Aussies who allow us to pick their brains and gain interviewee suggestions.

This podcast began life as Another Boring Thursday Night In Adelaide from episodes 1-79.

A podcast recorded in Adelaide that puts South Australian passion on centre stage with a featured guest who joins us each week as a co-presenter to share how they're pursuing their passions. We venture across topics as diverse as history, wine, ...

The Adelaide Show

A podcast recorded in Adelaide that puts South Australian passion on centre stage with a featured guest who joins us to share how they're pursuing their passions. We venture across topics as diverse as history, wine, food, art, music, relationships, critical thinking, health, and general news. Every single interview, every single show, unlocks insights into what drives people to be doing what they're doing and what keeps them striving. The Adelaide Show is produced by Steve Davis, and ends with an original song by a South Australian artist. Please subscribe to our In Crowd list; you get an email each Friday with an overview of that week's show. This podcast began life as Another Boring Thursday Night In Adelaide from episodes 1-79.

A podcast recorded in Adelaide that puts South Australian passion on centre stage with a featured guest who joins us to share how they're pursuing their passions. We venture across topics as diverse as history, wine, food, art, music, relationships, critical thinking, health, and general news. Every single interview, every single show, unlocks insights into what drives people to be doing what they're doing and what keeps them striving. The Adelaide Show is produced by Steve Davis, and ends with an original song by a South Australian artist. Please subscribe to our In Crowd list; you get an email each Friday with an overview of that week's show. This podcast began life as Another Boring Thursday Night In Adelaide from episodes 1-79.

Current SA Variety Bash chair Darren Greatrex and veteran Peter “Curly” Curtis OAM reveal what really happens during eight days of driving 25-plus-year-old cars through remote South Australia, while Steve samples Little Blessings Brewing’s Tropical Trinity Gin and shares his original song “A Lot of Nothing” inspired by the vast outback landscape.

Advertisement