Nine members camper trailers turned up for the weekend camp at Budgewoi on the northern end of the Central Coast NSW. We camped at Budgewoi Tourist park which was mostly filled with on site caravans. Having booked our sites early we all  managed to get grassy sites side by side amongst the trees. Barry & Janet had the prime campsite under a large shady tree.  

The majority of us arrived from after lunch till the evening on Friday with only a couple of families turning up on Saturday morning. It was great to catch up with friends we had made from previous get togethers & also to meet new friends. It certainly makes a difference to finally meet people face to face after months of typing via the group or on the Thursday night group chat.

There was not much in the way of breaking the ice as we all sat down to chat. It was funny to see how much we all had in common & other interests other than just camper trailers.

 This was one weekend get together we had not planned any activities & decided to let things take their own course. Saturday morning saw some taking off for the nearby beach or sightseeing, while others sat under the shade of the trees to chat. 

 The day was sunny & hot with a nice ocean breeze to cool things down. Late evening on Saturday night we had a thunderstorm move through with lightning & torrential rain. This sent everyone for cover with quick sprints between awnings for a chat. Plans of our usual Saturday night around the campfire entertainment was drowned.

Steve, Julie & James had a chance to season the canvas on their newly acquired Trak Shak. Water restrictions had prevented them doing the usual hose over. I was very impressed with Steve's easy nature as he worked outside in the rain trying to prevent the pooling of water on the roof. Julie decided to give the bulge in the roofline a push with the broom & sent a gush of water right over Steve. Without a word he kept on working away. Julie said if he had done that to her she would have blown up.

The rain also gave Kevin the chance to season the awning on his & Karen's new Aussie Swag Rover, while others checked where they may have to apply waterproofing before the next trip.

Next morning we all met for morning tea under the shade of trees on the shore of Lake Munmorah before some left to return home. This was the best we could do as a stand in for the washed out Saturday night round the fire. The day became hot & very humid. Again we had an onshore sea breeze to cool things down.

Those who left on Sunday missed out on another downpour which was worse than the night before as it was also accompanied with strong wind. We all survived & woke to a bright & sunny day. By mid morning canvas was about dry & we decided to pack up. We were the last to leave at about one o'clock.

Again we were unable to catch those responsible for throwing empty bottles under Barry & Margaret's Ultimate, despite a surveillance roster & a camera operated by a trip wire. We may have to hire a private eye for the next event.

Members who attended were...........

Neil, Tania, John-Luc, Taylor & Lauren with their magna wagon & 3 Dogs Rover Camper Trailer

Ed, Donna, Savanna &  Courtney with their Ford Mondeo & CampAtrek on-road camper trailer

Richard & Robyn with their Prado & Trak Shak

John & Ann with their Jackaroo & Cub Rover

Kevin with his Nissan GU Patrol & Aussie Swag Rover LX

Steve, Julie & James with their Landcruiser 100 & new Trak Shack

Barry, Janet, Thomas & Janet's sister Leah with their Land Rover Defender & Kimberley Kamper

Barry & Margaret with their Prado & Ultimate

Rob & Carol with their GQ Patrol & Track Trailer Eagle

It was interesting checking over Kevin's new Aussie Swag Rover LX. Steve & Julie had a good chance to compare Trak Shak notes with Richard & Robyn.

Thanks to those who attended with their friendliness & open attitude. You really made it a pleasure to meet you all & we enjoyed your company over the weekend. We will remember this meet for some time to come.

Looking forward to the next one.

                                                               Rob & Carol

Neil & Tania's	Ed & Donna's	Richard & Robyn's	John & Ann's	Kevin & Karen's
3 Dogs Rover	CampAtrek	Trak Shak	Cub Rover	Aussie Swag Rover
Steve & Julie's	Barry & Janet's	Barry & Margaret's	Rob & Carol	surveillance roster
Trak Shak	Kimberley Kamper	Ultimate	Track Trailer Eagle	scene of the crime
Sunday morning tea	Lake Munmorah

Well, it was our first group event, and our third time out with the camper, so far, 2 caravan parks and one bush camp done. We arrived just before lunch where we were greeted by the group and we set about looking like we knew what we were doing. After a while, a big blue camper magically appeared.

We had to eat so cooked up some snags and then yakked for a while and set out for a bit of a drive around the area (Ok, so we went geocaching) We returned after 5pm and the skies were getting really ugly and some spectacular lightening was being put on show for us to the south. We decided that we would put the right hand side and front walls on the annex as that was the direction the storms appeared to be coming from. Later that night as it really started to come down, we also attached the left hand side wall and put the floor down as well. The child bride and I got quite soaked trying to get this up and add some guy ropes to the support poles for the side walls.

We had an early night as the rain pounded away on the canvas. Some seam drips were noticed, and the odd drop here or there, but we were more than happy with how it held up under such a storm.

The next day, with clearer skies, we managed to get a gander at I think nearly everyone else's trailers, and of course, paid a visit to the bottle pile under the space shuttle.

Come pack-up time, most of the canvas was pretty dry, though, we will dry it properly in the next day or so. We said our farewells around 2pm and headed down to the Entrance for lunch, but my fav pie shop, curse them, is only open on weekdays, not weekends. ;-(

We then made our way south back home slowly, in no particular hurry, cut across through Galston Gorge and not long after that, the heavens opened up again. Giving the camper cover a good wash.

Thanks for organising a great weekend and can't wait to see the photos u took of our camper in messy dry-it-all-out state of disarray. ;-)

      Cheers Neil, Tania and the tribe.