Australian CamperTrailers national meet at Batlow 2013

introduction

The Australian CamperTrailers Group's 9th national meet was held in the Batlow Showground on the New South Wales, South West Slopes over the week from Monday 30th September to Friday 4th of October 2013.

The meet attracted 97 camper trailers, caravans & tents with over 220 people from as far a field as South Australia & Queensland. It was great to see such a diverse group of people attending, from young couples, families, retirees to grandparents with their grandkids, all enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded people.

The weather threw everything at us from rain, hail to gale force winds & overnight temperatures down to two degrees, however the glorious mid twenty degree days made the bad weather only a memory for most. As usual the campfires were the hub of the evening & a big thanks goes to the Batlow Rotary for supplying the much needed firewood.

With gates opening on the Friday we had around fifty camper trailers roll in to the showground during the day in anticipation of the week to follow. Somehow we managed to fit everyone in over the next few days & even accommodated all those who needed a powered site. 

 sunday opening

Sunday evening saw the start of the week with the grand opening in the showground pavilion. Among guests was James Hayes - Tumut Shire Council Deputy Mayor, Margaret Isselman - Tumut Shire Councillor & Batlow Rotarian, Alby Haynes - President Batlow Rotary Club, Peter Firli - Secretary Batlow Rotary & Iola Robson - Treasurer of Batlow Rotary who had made up the tourist information bags for us along with husband John.

Australian CamperTrailers Group co-owner Kevin Phillips welcomed members & official guests to the 9th national meet & thanked the local council & rotary for the organisation that went into the preparation before our arrival. He then went on to tell of the groups beginnings in September 2001 & how the group has grown with the present day owing to the popularity of camper trailers.

The Tumut Shire Council's Deputy Mayor, James Hayes, welcomed the group to the region & wished all a pleasant stay. Margaret Isselman, Tumut Shire Councillor & Batlow Rotarian also welcomed the group. As a local she pointed out some of the sights worth looking at both in & around the Batlow area. President of the Batlow Rotary Club Alby Haynes spoke of the commitment the Rotary had taken & the work over the last year that went into the events preparation before our arrival & the week ahead. Australian CamperTrailers Group co-owner Jason Cox presented Alby with a certificate of appreciation.

Phil Reid presented the co-owners with an 'ashes' replica urn he had made that held the ashes of 'Big Bertha'. Phil told the story of how members Bob & Julie Gill had taken home a large log of firewood from last years Wellington national meet, which ended up at the CamperTrailers Group's week long meet in the Flinders hosted by Mike & Leonie Fretwell. After the log was burnt, affectionately known as 'Big Bertha', it was decided the ashes should be taken to the Batlow national meet.  

Group co-owner Rob Sanderson went on to outline the itinerary for the week with workshops held by members on a variety of subjects relating to camper trailers & camping in general. Being an internet based group there are subjects where the information cannot be easily exchanged through typing & this is where face to face workshops come into their own. A number of invited guests would present information workshops including well known RV & solar author Collyn Rivers & also Roger Fagan president of the Australian Camper Trailer Manufacturers Guild. Nominations for the person who most represents the group trophy would also be up for grabs as was the Batlow Boofheads award for the most funniest or embarrassing moment over the week.

Group co-owner Jason Cox outlined the events happening on Wednesday's Batlow Day. The day would start with the Rotary cooking breakfast followed by a number of community based stalls, displays by the Batlow Rescue & Gundagai Antique Car Club. There would also be tours of the Batlow fruit co-op, helicopter joy flights, barefoot bowls, darts & happy hour at the bowling club as well as George's hardy's V's softy's bolle competition.  The day would conclude with a local band & an auction in aid of the Batlow Rotary.  

Joy and Dave Wilkinson finished the opening by hosting a 'Getting to Know You' session with members attending their first national meet introducing themselves.

from cameron aged 9

On Friday we went on holiday to Batlow by car. The trip took 5 hours and we took our bikes. There was a skate park. My bike fell over 8 times but I didn't touch the ground. But one time I hurt my backside and my knee and it is shaped like Australia (the scab on his knee I presume).

We stayed there for a week. We went to a waterfall and it was beautiful, the water was rushing fast. We also saw a pine forest. The trees were as tall as 10 metres. We also went really high to see the whole town. It was very cold. It even snowed. I liked it because we only had to pay $5 to get in and we can eat as much as we want

newspaper articles

Tumut and Adelong Times and Batlow District News Tuesday, October 1st 2013
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Tumut and Adelong Times and Batlow District News Friday, October 4th 2013
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itinerary