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qld
australia day long weekend
at
canungra
Saturday 23rd to Tuesday 26th January 2016
Wendy and I have hosted about six camps now since joining
the group in 2009, and so far we have a 100% record with water issues.
However, this camp it was not due to it falling upon us in bucket loads,
standing ankle deep in it whilst in our annexe, syphoning it from the floor
of the camper – it was lack of it, keeping it and delivering it to where it
was supposed to be.
Gum Flat belongs to the Canungra Scout Group and is situated about 40km West
of the Gold Coast, it is flat ground and bordered on two sides by the
Coomera River. 18 groups consisting of about 50 campers attended the weekend
with 3 new campers to the group joining us for the weekend from Tenterfield,
Toowoomba and the Gold Coast. The 8 acres of land meant we could spread out
and enjoy the serenity of the bush, swimming in the river and generally
enjoying each other’s company for 4 days.
Another Scout group had used the site in the week prior to our arrival and
they had erected a ‘slip and slide’ and it seems they had used all the tank
water therefore no showers and no ability to flush the loos. A local water
supplier trucked in enough to half fill the tank on Saturday morning however
a couple of problems with electrics, plumbing and the septic still remained.
A group of campers set about to assist the scouts to repair some the gutters
and pipework to allow water to catch in the tanks. Others assisted with
brushcutters to clean up around the entry gate, car park area and tracks to
the creek.
Some of the group tried their 4wd skills and drove towards O’Reilly’s
Retreat to view the rainforest and escarpment and drove the well-known ‘Duck
Creek Road’ which required avoiding the other 100 or so other drivers and
cars doing the track that day. Reports came back that it was pretty crowded
which meant a long slow trip mostly in low range first gear (and that was
just the driveway of the local bakery). Others drove to Tamborine Mountain
for wine and cheese tasting, market stalls and view the variety of shops on
gallery walk.
Lindsay set up his telescope on the night of the full moon, it was terrific
to actually hone in the Apollo landing site and see the US flag flapping in
the breeze.
A metal detector was at hand for the young folk to try their luck, they did
pretty well out of it and struck rich with about 20 old tent pegs being dug
up, unfortunately the ‘golden peg’ still remains to be found. The creek
certainly was great towards the end of the day when the humidity peaked,
most folk went for a refreshing swim each day.
The Canungra Scout Group sent a message of gratitude to everyone who
assisted with repairs and cleaning and warmly welcomed the group back for
the Australia Day weekend each year. We did discuss, around the campfire,
that if a ‘working bee’ was held at some point later in the year, some
campers would certainly return to give assistance. This idea was welcomed by
the Scout Group who are certainly grateful to bring the grounds and building
back into working state.
Thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding over the weekend.
Possibly this will be one of those write-ups that won’t contain the full
verse of the weekend, as said many times before, what happens on camp, stays
on camp.
Matt & Wendy
photos
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