Fifteen years ago, Dave Pearce sold one of his bull bars to help pay for his trip from Western Sydney to the Deni Ute Muster.
He has been to every single one since.
"It's just the atmosphere; the utes, mates, friendships — friendships that have become like family," he said.
"2012 was a cyclone and it literally blew gazebos everywhere across the plains, 2016 there was a foot of mud, and 2019 I actually met my partner here."
Mr Pearce is one of 20,000 rusted-on fans that flock to the small southern NSW town of Deniliquin for the event every year.
"I've always had utes, there's something about them," he said.
"They're good to look at, I get a lot of compliments especially driving around Sydney ... with the bull bar and the big aerial"
This edition is extra special after two years of COVID cancellations.
"The Victorians we really only catch up with once a year and that's here, but we do a lot of Zoom calls and stuff like that, especially during COVID."
The event first ran in 1999 to give the local economy a boost amid a crippling drought, but now swells the town's population to almost triple each year.
Several world record attempts are on the agenda this year, including a tilt at muster's own record of nearly 10,000 utes in one place and a new attempt for the biggest bogan bingo.
Musical acts like Brad Paisley and Jessica Mauboy are headlining the concerts, with other events like the famous ute circle work also running.
'Big dollars for the local economy'
The iconic Australian event has grown from around 2,000 people in its first iteration to be the main attraction for the region each year.
Event organiser Vicki Lowry says the muster has evolved quite a bit over the years.
"The patrons that have been here since day one, that were the young ones out in the ute paddock camping, now are in the family sections with their families," she said.
"Now we have 70 per cent families come; the entertainment attracts everyone, from babies to older people."
Ms Lowry says after two years of cancellations, attendees are grateful to have the event back.
She was happy to "watch all our punters come through the gates yesterday".
"And we were getting smiles and waves out the windows," she said.
"They're back with all their friends that they've met from musters before, and they catch up at every muster; it's such a great experience."
Local mayor Peta Betts knows the event will provide a much needed economic boost for the region.
"[We are] looking at around $16 million brought in to the area," she said.
Ms Betts says the event is driven by 1,000 volunteers and generally raises around $65,000 for local community and sporting groups.
Historic pub reopens just for the occasion
The historic Conargo Pub, first established in 1853, has won a race against time to reopen just in time for the ute muster.
The pub, which has been frequented by the likes of Jimmy Barnes and John Newcombe, has been closed since 2014.
But licensee Michael Lodge, whose father ran the pub from 1956-82, and his team have restored it, and it is now open for business.
"A lot of people kept calling, saying, 'When are you open,'" Mr Lodge said.
"I said we'd try and open for the ute muster.
"So that's what we did,"
"We needed to get some income in, and we thought what better time than when it's flat-out busy?"
"The muster keeps the town alive, it's certainly a hive of activity; thousands of vehicles pass through here, and the locals get a bit of a kick out of that.
"It wakes a sleepy town up."
