Revellers in the East Kimberley are celebrating their COVID economic recovery at the Ord Valley Muster as the event kickstarts what is shaping up to be a record dry season for tourism operators.
It's a stark turnaround after the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The muster continues until this weekend but many revellers said the Kimberley Moon Experience on Saturday night marked a turning point for a region that had been through a tough year.
Coronavirus event restrictions that aimed to reduce the risk of outbreaks at large events meant organisers warned revellers there would be no dance floor and people should socially distance.
During pop singer Jessica Mauboy's performance festival-goers couldn't help but gather in their hundreds in front of the stage.
Security staff encouraged those dancing to sit back down and even the musician herself reminded her fans that they had to socially distance, but the festive atmosphere proved tricky to rein in.
Lucinda Unghango travelled from the remote community of Kalumburu to see Mauboy, whose Indigenous heritage made her an idol among many First Nations people.
Potential of border closures threatened festival
In the months leading up to the festival, organisers sweated on the potential of border closures ruining travel plans for those coming from interstate or putting off people visiting altogether.
But while those fears were heightened when Western Australia closed its border to Queensland in late March, they eased in the weeks that followed.
The event's chair Beau Robinson said the fact the festival had almost sold out and was expected to draw a bigger crowd than the 2019 event was a huge achievement.
"To work through the challenges of 2020 and then come out the other side into something that we've developed that is so special for the community."
Festival hoped to start big recovery
The festival is hoped to kickstart the region's dry season tourist rush after many operators' profits plunged last year to less than 10 per cent of their usual takings.
Australians cannot currently holiday overseas so more people are looking to the Kimberley, and it has seen some businesses report more than triple their usual bookings for this time of year.
Dylan Lodge runs boat tours up the Ord River and said a few big seasons were needed after 18 months of negative cashflow.
Mr Lodge said the Ord Valley Muster played an important role in showcasing the region to wider Australia.
"It gets a big volume of people here who previously may not have come unless they had an event to draw them here," he said.
While Mr Lodge and others said the region had vast untapped tourism potential, Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan stressed the WA Government was working hard to ensure the region best showcased its many cultural and natural gems.
"I don't think it's a wake-up call for us," she said.
"We've been completely alive to the beauty and value of the East Kimberley for many years and we've been actively supporting the tourism industry."
