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introduction
The Australian CamperTrailers Group's
12th national meet was held in the Ganmain Showground, sixty kilometres northwest of Wagga Wagga on the New South Wales Riverina,
over the week from Monday 26th to Friday 30th September 2016.
The meet attracted ninety-four camper
trailers, caravans & tents with over two-hundred & seventeen
people from as far a field as the South Australia,
Victoria, Queensland & Western Australia. 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.
This years national meet was the
dampest held to date with the wettest winter in the region for sixty years, however
with the amount of rain in the surrounding districts we were lucky that
the showground was high enough not to be flooded & the week cancelled. The ground was
saturated from months of constant rain & it didn't take much more to turn the
ground soggy again.
A big thanks goes to
the Ganmain Showground Trust for supplying the much needed firewood to
keep us warm during the cold evenings. The new amenities in the
showground were only just being completed as members
arrived thanks to a grant. They did well seeing they had to
work in the rainy conditions during the weeks beforehand to make sure it was
completed in time.
sunday
opening
Sunday evening saw the start of
the week with the grand opening in the showground sheep pavilion due to the
inclement weather. Kathleen opened the proceedings by ringing her
birthday bell. Kevin Phillips welcomed members & went on to
tell of the groups beginnings in September 2001 & how the group has
grown to the present day, owing to the popularity of camper trailers. The campertrailers.org now has three medias for members to exchange tips,
tricks & travel information, the long running Yahoo Group, a Forum
& a Facebook
Group.
The Coolamon Shire Council Mayor
John Seymour welcomed the Australian CamperTrailers Group & wished all a
pleasant visit to the region. Stephen Hatty from the Ganmain Showground
Trust hoped members enjoyed their stay & went on the thank the group for
choosing Ganmain & in particular the showground as the venue for our
12th national meet. Roy Hatty from the Ganmain Mens Shed spoke on behalf
of their members also wished everyone an enjoyable stay.
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.
Jason Cox outlined the events
happening on Wednesday's Ganmain Day. The day would start with the
Ganmain Mens Shed cooking breakfast
followed by a number of community based stalls in the main street,
ending with an
evening ghost tour of the town.
Joy and Dave Wilkinson
finished the opening by hosting a
'Getting to Know You' session with members
attending their first national meet introducing themselves.
The Australian CamperTrailers Group's 12th national meet was declared
officially open.
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