Aug 25, 2009, 13:50 GMT
Canberra - Tourists have the opportunity to find out why Australia is so different at a number of unusual festivals taking place there in September and October.
The small town of Tully in Queensland is hosting a rubber boot celebration on September 5 which begins with the parade of an eight-metre-high 'golden' boot along main street. The highlight of the Golden Gumboot Festival is a rubber boot throwing competition.
The focal point of the Kingaroy Peanut Festival held on September 12 is, as the name suggests, the peanut. The celebration is taking place in Australia's 'peanut capital' of Kingaroy in Queensland with the Peanut Strongman Competition, which is unofficially regarded as the world championship in pulling ground nut threshing machines.
The Outbackfestival in Winton, Queensland, has several curious competitions to entertain visitors. They include the Outback Iron Man and Iron Woman competitions where participants face-off against each other in the middle of Australia's bush. The most unusual event at the festival is Latrine Running where an outhouse and its occupier are raced around a course.
Millmerran is hosting the Australian Camp Oven Festival on October 2 and 3 where over 7,000 amateur cooks are expected to take part. The event is different from other culinary competitions in that participants have to show off their skills in the wilderness 220 kilometres south-west of Brisbane.
It also differs in the way they compete against each other: oven lid throwing, bush bread throwing and mailbox building are just a few of the more unusual ways competitors show what it takes to be an outback cook.
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