Our Touring Past

You must be a midge attractor philmac. I’ve been fishing and camping down Moruya way for over 40 years and never come across them. You sure that beaut yoot of yours hasn’t got a population of them living in the seat padding or something and they just come out when you get near the coast and the humidity is right?????
Jenno
Ps if beer won’t work try bushmills whiskey...it leaves me numb to most things

Well Folks...
Thats another Stockton gathering run and won..
What a great weekend.... Unlike previuos years with rain and cyclonic winds , this year was perfect.. in fact a bit better than perfect.. temps in the low 30s everyday with high humidity and North east winds..

Everyday saw us , off fishing or ....on early morning walks on the breakwall or around the town, over the beach for a swim after lunch and later the usual happy hour(s) gatherings.
We are a strange lot... in previuos years we have suffered through wind and rain while sitting in a draughty old camp kitchen for meals and happy hour.. The mamangement / council have spent at least $300,000 on a new camp kitchen with the state of the art everything in there.. its even air conditioned.... so... what do we vintage vanners do... gather beside it on the grass between the amenities block and camp kitchen in the shade... but with heat and humidity and party on way into the night..?? One exception to this was the saturday arvo great "Tofu V Vegemite on toast in white sauce " challenge...
being hosted by Tony & Jeanette and Geoff ( of Geoff and Jude fame )and bro Alan
Tension and anticipation built while the two teams worked in the kitchen to produce thier culinary delights for us to judge..
To thier credit they produced .. what was generally agreed as being "something different"....ahem... very different !!!
After much deliberation between the tasters and official judges we came up with a unanimous decision.... No winners... No losers... it was a draw.
Further deliberations seen the 2 sides invited to come back next year with another recipe each and tantilise and delight us again... no too sure if thats the best way to describe it??? but thats what they are doing.

Copped a few showers and a bit of a blow during the nights which tested a few annexes out... but no major damage reported. Michal and Anne are up for a new annexe.. Alan and Jenny have proclaimed the Aldi sun shade annexe as less than appropriate for the prevailing conditions

Up to the Gladstone pub for the saturday arvo raffle with myself and the .... as the bloke spruking the winners called her... "The lovely , Lovely Veronica" winning meat trays. a few cold schooners and nice lunch then off back to the park for more afternoon merriment.

More story and pix later.. have reached the 3 photos per post quota.
Reddo

gday all ,
thanks to everyone ,especially tony and jeanette and jeff and allan for their culinary skills ,
as it would have to be up there with one of the best weekends i have had with the vintage vanners ,
the laid back weekend was exceptional!!! also jenno i too have been going to moruya for many years without
any problems until this year so you may right , i will have to book the ute in for fumigation

I took 6 milk crates with me .. i'm getting into the " Return and Earn" cash back for bottles and cans etc..
Distributed them amongst the vanners that i know are partial to a few coldies... also targeted vans that have a reputation for gathering crowds during "Fivies" of an arvo... although with the temps getting up each day the fivies sometimes where rescheduled for elevensis in the morning...

I ended up with around 300 bottles and 60 cans for a return of $36.00..sorta softens the blow of $45 a night site fees.

Mind you i didnt contribute much to the total as i chose to "drink at home" .. and start a collection of my own..
Didnt do too bad did i??

Couple of travelling minstrals set up under a tree near the sandhills on sunday arvo and treated us to a few melodys on thier eucks.. Very talented pair Tony and Jeanette

Went fishing on Friday and caught a nice flathead for lunch.. never lost a bait on the rest of the fishing expeditions...
Although when i found a 10KG Jewfish washed up on the beach saturday morning i was tempted to throw a hook in its mouth and drag it back over to camp to parade around with for a while.. then i realised most of us had already been for early morning walkies on the breakwall and would have seen the poor creature laying on the beach.... bugga.. foiled again !!

Done a bit of pedalling on the freshly modified Reddocycle...
It was a toss up wether to take the treadly over to stocko.. those racing bike seats can be murder on "The sack -o-spuds" .. if ya get my meaning ??
So.. went for a scout around the junk piles on the footpaths of Barnsvegas and found the perfect answer.. Discarded exercise machines have great big padded seats.. 5 minutes with a hacksaw and tech screws and the job was done..vvvvvveeery comfy

Forgot to mention.... Less than 10 mins after my arrival at the park , we got a visit from NSW finest...They where looking for a felon that was rumoured as be being harboured on site 103... Naturally i denied all... but they wheren't easily fooled.. More on this later..
Reddo

The Police inquiry..
Apparently they were looking for a bloke they had been tailing from Strugglebrook .. a small colonial outpost town up in the Hunter Valley..They went on to say he was wanted for a few crimes against humanity.... and dress sense
1... Being a fitter
2. ..Collecting Japanse motorcycles.. none of which run ( explanation?..see fitter above )
3. .. Wearing his little brothers shorts..
4....Cross breeding Jack Russells with with Armadillos

When "Mad Jack" spotted the cops he made a run for my van , collapsed on the ground near my door and made out he was a park bear having a nap.... but the wallopers wherent having none of that and soon had him cornered and cuffs where applied.. To my relief i was not recognised as an associate of this nut case and no further questions where asked re Mad Jacks sanity..

However..
The 2 constables hung around for another hour and talked FB Holdens.. old cars in general, and Vintage caravans..... Oh ... if only they could be that pleasant when i get on the wrong side of them... two nice blokes . They took Strugglebrook ( alias Mad Jack) away for "processing" and he returned shortly afterwards to site 101.... out on bail...... much to Ratty and Pams disgust.. (and i suspect disappointment)

Monday morning rolled around way too quickly and we all said our goodbyes and proclaiming the weekend another huge successs. Just like General Mc Cather... we will return..
Will put up a few more pix of the vans over the next few days..
Reddo
1st up..
Warren and Helen had made the trip down from Ipswich with their 1986 Olympic Riviera.. one of the last 2 Olympics produced. Alan and Jenny hovered in with "Marvin" ... Complete with the new "less hassles" uncoupling drawbar and coupling outside of the nose cone. Makes life a lot easier unhitching. More later

John and Pams set up.. Geoff and Jude brought "The Ritz" along.. poor thing is showing a few scars on the roof from that pesky tree it lives under. Phill and Veronicas little van.. a little van but has everything a couple of happy vanners need for a comfy holiday.. Reddo

Michael and Anne where up from down ACT way with the Skyliner....
The big blow on saturday night delivered the knock out punch to thier old annexe... The panelvan is fresh back from the panelbeaters after getting rear end damage fixed..but the rear of the "Ward 13" Bondy is starting to shows a few cracks and splits... need to think about a rear end facial for the poor thing. One of the things i like about stockton is the large sites.. plenty of room to spread out.. and drains well when the weather sends a bit of rain our way. WE copped a few night showers but nothing like we have had in previous years. Thats it from me.. maybe some other shutterbug might throw a few more pixs up of the weekend??

Time to start going through everything in and on the van and towcar ready for the Kaybees "Bigger Than Texas Tour " down south in April.....Cant wait !!!
Reddo

Reddo,
Well done. The weekend captured in its glory.
Tooley