Our Touring Past

Just to get the ball rolling, on the annual Shellharbour get together, Our great organiser Judge Judy has not yet put up the Dates for this year, and with good reason.
A few of us eternal opptimists have booked our usual sites from Thursday the 15th and departing on Monday the 19th of October, as allways up to you how long or short you stay. As this is a busy Park it is better to book earlier than later.
Lets just hope things settle down so we can use our bookings and have a great weekend like we always do.

Strugglebrook aka JD aka PSK.

Good morning beautiful people... and John

I rang the park yesterday. recorded message tells you to use their website to make booking enquiry.
Did that.. waiting on response via email??
Seems a bit odd to be doing business that way.. you dont catch a virus by answering a phone enquiry.
Have asked for site 44N as usual,, from Thurs 15th to Monday 19th.

Havent found a replacement towcar for the EH ute yet.. probably press the Hilux into action towing the best egg ever made.

Dont let the covid 19 stuff drag you down.. come along and enjoy your hobby...... even if John is there ..

Hi All,

I have been holding off posting about this year's Shellharbour get together due to the dreaded Covdid 19 restrictions.

Please be assured all sites are re-booked and held for us every year, this is the last thing I do before I leave each year. I also put a few spare sites on hold in case we have extra starters.

There was some talk last year of moving the weekend back one week to coincide with the Jamberoo Car Show. After talking to most people it was left the same. Some people wanted to be able to put their cars in the show, some wanted to go to Kurri Kurri etc, too many variables to work with.

At this stage the caravan park is not answering the phones but will call you back if you leave a message or send an email. They are happy to take deposits and will hold them over until next year if the weekend doesn't go ahead.

They are waiting to hear if caravan park restrictions will be eased. As the restrictions currently stand they can only accommodate self contained vans and that certainly excludes the majority of us. They have had to block off every second shower, toilet and basin which cuts down the number available. There are quite a few permanent vans in the park and they are given priority to use the amenities as they pay fees all year.

I do hope this explains why I have been holding off posting and unfortunately I can't give you a definite answer if we can go ahead yet. I speak to Julie frequently and will update everyone the moment I hear any relevant info.

Sadly Mark and Julie are moving on to go and live on their beautiful property on the North Coast of NSW. They finish up 30/9/2020 and will be a very hard act to follow as far as managers go.

Any questions please ask away.

Jude & Geoff

Thanks Geoff and Jude.
It has been a tough year and we are all looking forward to getting away in our vans, but we have to commend the authorities,
including park managers in their efforts to keep us all safe.
Keep us informed Jude, but as they say "there is always next year".
Cheers.

Yo.. Beautiful campers

It seem a bit unusual the some parks have restrictions and others dont ??
I fully understand the need for caution when it comes to Covid 19 .
But we just had a week at Murrurundi van park back in July and it was a case of .."The more the merrier" when it came to booking in ??
and that is in a park that only has 2 showers and 2 toilets in the Mens section of the amenities.??
Yes i know there are no permanents at Murru but the numbers still add up and there was no closing off any of the park to anybody.??

So... only thing i can think of is that Shellharbour park have made their own decision based on risk assessment rather than state government directives to take extra precautions due to being closer to the Sydney Covid 19 hot spots .. therefore increasing the likelihood of another cluster developing .

I guess we just sit and wait and wander ??

Reddo

Aren't they council controlled?

I have been keeping in touch with Julie at Shellharbour and at this stage they are still under Covid19 restrictions which means it isn't looking good for our annual get together.
All the park managers can do is check the NSW Health Guidelines each day and hope for a change .

It has been mentioned that some parks are open and some not . It all depends on the council that covers each area and some parks are still privately run and choose to risk opening up. The penalty for breaching these rules is $55,000 and I can understand Mark and Julie sticking to the rules. These shutdowns have cost them a lot of money and they are very disappointed they can't be open for us.

We have booked all the sites for 2021 and anyone who has paid can either transfer their money to next year or ask for a refund if we don't get to go this year . I can understand this is difficult for people who have to take time off work etc and I am sorry I can't give you a more positive answer.

There is a statement on the parks website explaining all the current restrictions, we can only live in hope that things will change in the next few weeks .

And yes humpty, they are council controlled.

Jude & Geoff

I have contacted Shellharbor today to confirm our attendance for the weekend in October. Thier website states that all caravans must me self contained and I said that ours was and we were looking forward to the weekend.

Their response was

"Our amenities are operational although running at half capacity. In the event of any pandemic outbreak the amenities will be immediately shut down, hence the requirement for self-containment if this does happen"

So, what does this mean.

I understand that this means that we can still use the facilities in the caravan park (but every second stall is closed).

To make your van self contained all you would need is a portable toilet that could be used if a "pandemic outbreak" occurs as well as a bucket for showers.

I don't think we can have our cooking competitions (and I have a great recipe for a dip for this year) , or our well attended happy hours.

Anyway, Anne and I will be using this as an excuse to get away from home and look forward to socially distancing from those who can make it.

Michael

UPDATE

I have had a clarification from Shellharbour.

We can only accept bookings with caravans or motorhomes that have a kitchen and a fully self-contained en-suite bathroom with shower and toilet (plumbed in, i.e. flushing toilet), we cannot accept port-a-loos or non plumbed in showers.

So I guess they do not agree that a shovel is acceptable as a portable toilet.

Hmmmmmm..... This calls for some lateral thinking folks..

Hows about we as a group weigh in $10 each and buy a derelict van. Divide longitudinally into 2 halves inside..Designate them "male n Female" .. cut a hole in the floor on either side.....book a site for it in the park ( preferably at the very extreme end of the park) . Dig 2 " long drop holes" and position the van over the holes...... Bingo... our own vintage van ablution block....problem solved.

Warning: a type 2 particulate face mask / respirator may be required while using this facility

Just another innovative design from "Reddos shed of invention "