australian campertrailers national meet at peak hill 2008

past events

Peak Hill national meet 2008

Australian CamperTrailers Group

national meet Peak Hill 2008

Peak Hill campsite panorama by Kevin Phillips
please click to enlarge - 500kb

introduction

The Australian CamperTrailers Group's 2008 national meet was held over the week from Monday 29th September at Peak Hill Showground. Peak Hill is located midway between Brisbane & Melbourne on the NSW Central Western Slopes & Plains along the Newell Highway between Dubbo & Parkes.

The national meet attracted 74 camper trailers from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia & Tasmania, with a number of local members dropping in for the day to say hi & take in the workshops held by members. Overall numbers attending were 137 adults & 42 kids. The groups national meets are just one of the many local state get togethers which are held during the year offering a chance for members to meet each other in a relaxed atmosphere around the campfire.

Although the official first day of the meet was on the Monday, members started to arrive as soon as the showground gates opened from midday Friday. In fact 25 camper trailers were set up by sunset enjoying the warmth of the open campfires.

The weather threw the four seasons at us in the one week. From single figure nights to mid thirty degree days, strong wind raising the red dust to a good shower of rain. When you get some of the best rain makers, (it always seems to rain whenever they open their campers) in the one location anything can happen.

Peak Hill may only have a small population of around 1500 people, but the people there have a big heart. Unofficial Lord Mayor, Tonia Francis the town beautifier decorated the main street with balloons in our honour & encouraging shop owners to display posters welcoming our camper trailers to town. What a sight that presented as we walked down the main street.

Many of the blokes paid a visit to one of the towns living legends, Cecil the 87 year old barber for a $5 haircut. It wasn't long for word to get around the Philipino take-away had some mighty fine homemade springrolls either. Dave Sharkey the butcher had some excellent meat which proved that good some members dropped in on the way home & loaded up their fridges. Dave told me he had to steal a couple of sheep to keep up with the demand. The Peak Hill RSL also provided a night out for some of the families & an evening meal.

Leighton Davies owner of the Peak Hill Caravan Park, was our local contact behind the scenes who organised the many jobs to be done before our arrival including providing firewood for the campfires, Brian Napthali mowing the grounds & cutting a number of 44 gallon drums in half, welding on legs to make them stable for the many fire places. We appreciate the work both Leighton & Brian did to make our stay an enjoyable one. Nothing was an effort & when we had trouble with the septic overflow, a pump was provided in double time.

We had many locals dropping into the showground to see what all the fuss was about. They were very interested in our camping lifestyle & in the campers themselves. Some even attended the many & varied workshops held during the week.

With a new amenities block to be built soon, I'm sure the Peak Hill Showground will be utilized by other camping & caravanning clubs & groups as a suitable venue for large gatherings in a central location & boosting local economy. There are plenty of 240 volt power outlets, suitable drinking water from a number of taps & shady campsites. Best of all the locals are friendly & will go out of their way to make sure you have a pleasant stay. It isn't far into Dubbo or Parkes for sightseeing. To the east is Goobang National Park, a real asset to the town.