Somethings are certain of festivals: you spend a wad of cash on food and drinks; the queue for the bar and toilets are horrendous; and the toilet (or port-a-loo) itself… well, let’s just say some things are better left unsaid. With all these negatives stacking up against festivals, why do you bother? Well you can just go along with it and join the horrendous drink queue like we did for over an hour (the picture below shows less than a quarter of the line). Or you can seek out some better options.

I must say, I thought we planned our day spectacularly, never once having to use a smelly port-a-loo (due to some smart planning). And only spending a total of $130 between the 5 of us – that includes drinks, food and parking. Bargain!

The small dent in the wallet came from being in the right place at the right time. While in the drink line (for over an hour) a few people approached us asking if they could cut in behind us with the return of buying us drinks. Sweet as, hop in line brother. The result: 3 free drinks when we thought it was just going to be one freebie.

Later in the day we found a nice little spot to make our base, which was conveniently right next to a pile of empty cans and bottles. At Homebake they have a recycling program where if you return empty cans or bottles they reward you with a $1 drink voucher. The whole time we were there no one claimed the pile so we took it upon ourselves to grab it all and cash the reward. The result $31. Sweet as.

Cheapest day at a festival yet! (And rocking bands!)