419 - A Deep Drive Into The SA Variety Bash

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.

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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 “Cur