Australian CamperTrailers
national meet at Ganmain 2016

the week

workshops & activities

The workshops & events began from the Monday morning with members & invited guests hosting a number of workshops on a variety of subjects relating to camper trailers, travel & camping in general. Being an internet based group there are subjects where the information cannot be easily exchanged through typing & this is where the national meet gives the perfect opportunity for face to face workshops.

Workshops by members included a session by Jenny Peisley & Donna Zwerus showing the use of the Dreampot as they prepared the nights meal, while Jill Skinner showed how the popular Cobb Cooker can be used as an alternative for cooking a range of meals instead of using the traditional camp oven or pots & pans on a gas stove. A ladies morning tea was hosted by Carol Sanderson. Some arrived with a cuppa & cake in hand, while others were keen to show their craft projects they had been working on. Carol also hosted a ladies pamper session.

Taking photos is a big part of any trip for most & Greg Conlon shared his knowledge hosting two photographic workshops, basics & intermediate, via a slide show presentation. David Cook spoke on how to go about writing for magazines. David also hosted the popular camper trailer walkabout once again, where members gave a brief talk on what they liked about their camper trailer.  Kevin Phillips presented a technical workshop on tow weights & limits via a visual slideshow, while Craig Quin gave a practical hands on lesson showing various knots used when camping.

Invited businesses asked to attend & host information workshops included Colin Hopgood, manufacturer of the Australian made BEST Water Filter, who spoke about the importance of having safe reliable drinking water while travelling. Colin & Natali Hopgood also entertained the kids with several movie nights.

Peter Schultz & Wendy Donovan demonstrated their unique Boomerang BBQ & portable firepit. Wayne Wall & Josh Evans from Redarc gave three information workshops, the first on the subject of brake controllers, in particular the unique Redarc Elite. There was a look at inverters & also DC-DC chargers. At the end of each Redarc workshop Wayne asked a question with a member receiving an Elite brake controller for the correct answer. Those lucky enough to get a Elite brake controller were Shane Worth, Justin Shumack & Greg Conlon.

Dave & Jan Cook with Dave & Joy Wilkinson held a trivia night in the showground sheep pavilion. The popular event was well attended & once again a great success with plenty of friendly rivalry between the tables as teams sort the perpetual winners trophy which was donated by Jamie Hazelden of Jamie's Touring Solutions. The $301 proceeds of the gold coin donation went to the Advance Ganmain Committee.

The auction night has now developed into its own night after starting as an idea during the bands break at the Nyngan national meet. Local auctioneer Will Stoddart provided an entertaining night as close to seventy items donated by members & businesses were bid on. Proceeds totalled $3,460 & was in aid on the Advance Ganmain Committee. Money would be directed into community projects in the future.

A big thanks to Australian CamperTrailers Group members who bid & to those who donated items, Matt & Wendy Stone, Dave & Dianne Griffin, Frank & Patricia Austin, Darryl & Barb Walker, Barry & Margaret Pierce, Ken & Joy Johnstone, Peter & Karen, Peter & Karyn Sluyter, Keith & Carol Brown, Doug & Jenny Peisley, Marty & Sue Alford, Kevin & Kim Sutton, Robert & Eveline Vandervloet, Rudi & Ans Lukkien, Phil Selman, Mal & Cyan Lacey, Tim & Julie Howard, Bob & Julie Kent, Dale & Bernadette Alford, Chris Lawler, Phil & Myrna Chandler, Andy Dale, George Mavros, Justin Shumack, Lindsay & Sandra Rohleder, Phil Reid, Roger & Caroline Duck, Craig Quin, Jason Cox & Sue Christie-Cox & Rob & Carol Sanderson. Also items were donated from the local community by Val Brill & Heather Kember. Businesses donating goods included Redarc, Mark & Fiona Stagg from Outback Now & The Licorice Shop.

There were a number of tours into the surrounding area with local guides. These included shearing shed & modern farming tours with Stephen Hatty & a hay & chaff industry talk by Brian Johns. Unfortunately a couple of the tours were cancelled owning to the wet conditions.

wednesday community day

Wednesday was Ganmain community day with breakfast cooked by the Ganmain Mens Shed. The mornings activities were focused in the main street with stalls, a Ned Kelly information display in the community hall, an open day in the Mens Shed while the Pioneer Museum also opened. Most treated themselves to a famous Ganmain Pie while in town.

It was great to see the local school kids had been busy making welcome posters which were displayed in the shop fronts down the main street.

The annual soft floor (softies) V's hard floor (tin billycans) camper trailer boles competition was played for the Nyngan Cup trophy hosted by George Mavros. Spectators cheered and booed each and every shot, sometimes accompanied by spectacular mexican waves. After strenuous struggles on both sides the winning team for the softies were Jim & Joanne Roche defeating Jan Cook & Kevin Beckwith representing the hardies.

The day was concluded with a ghost tour around town with Howard Holgate.

closing ceremony

Friday afternoon saw the closing ceremony held in the Luncheon Bar & Booth owing to the approaching rain. Kevin Phillips thanked everyone for their attendance, the fantastic time we had over the week, the friendships formed & the positive feeling of the event despite the wet conditions. He went on to thank the Ganmain Showground Trust & especially Barry & Val Brill along with Marianne Burrows-Nobbs for the upkeep of the amenities.

Stephen Hatty from the Ganmain Showground Trust hoped members had an enjoyable stay in Ganmain & thanked everyone for choosing Ganmain as a venue for the national meet. Stephen accepted a certificate of appreciation from Rob.

Barry Brill on behalf of the Ganmain Mens Shed also hoped members enjoyed the visit to Ganmain & the community interaction over the week. He wished members a safe return journey home & hoped to see them back in town again soon.

Bronwyn Hatty, Mel Corbett  & Val Brill from the Advance Ganmain Committee drew the winning tickets of the raffle held over the week with the $557 proceeds going to the Advance Ganmain Committee. First ticket out was Doug Peisley, the second Andy Dale with the third draw going to Brenda Hamilton. Val went on to thank everyone for the kind donations. The money raised would be directed to community projects. The ladies accepted a certificate of appreciation from Rob.

Roger Duck had offered a knife sharpening service to members with the $28 proceeds also going to the Advance Ganmain Committee.

Rob Sanderson then thanked those who had presented workshops or activities during the week & personally gave each a certificate of appreciation. Local guides who had conducted tours of the surrounding area were also thanked & given a certificate of appreciation.

Spirit of the Group is awarded to a person who is brought to the attention of the CamperTrailers Group co-owners for a good hearted deed or generosity helping others during the week long meet. This year the award was presented to Allan & Mary Anne Randahl. Allan & Mary Anne were driving around Ganmain when they noticed local farmer Warrick Smith bogged in his paddock with both his tractor & 4wd. They stopped to offer their assistance & it wasn't long until the vehicles were free. Warrick was very grateful. Please find a photo of Warrick, Allan & Mary Anne. No this wasn't the truck they recovered. 

The Ganmain Bloopers award is for the funniest or most embarrassing moment over the week. This year it was awarded to Barry Collier. Barry drove to the dump point in the showground, but misinterpreted the directions on how to get there. Instead of driving to the new amenities & simply walking around to the back, he drove out of the showground & down a bush track. It started to get a bit soggy so he turned around, however he became bogged to the axles within sight of the tar road.

His wife Elaine asked Rob if he could help. Rob hooked up his winch & managed to get the vehicle closer to the road but unfortunately the more he winched the deeper Barry became. Rob headed off for help. Andy joined two snatch straps together & with the weight of his Patrol soon had the Land Rover on firm ground.

The story does not end there. Barry & Elaine headed for home & arriving at Coolamon followed the directions to the caravan park & their dump point. They missed the sign & when turning around became bogged again on the shoulder of the road. They rang the NRMA but there was no local help handy, they would have to wait. Two passerby's stopped to see if he could help but seeing they were in such an awkward angle on the road they decided there was not much they could do. Barry & Elain waited for the NRMA. Elains photos can be seen here

Rob told the story of how members Bob & Julie Gill had taken home a large firewood log from the 2012 Wellington national meet & then took it along to the members Flinders South Australian week long meet hosted by Mike Fretwell in May 2013.  After the log was burnt, affectionately known as 'Big Bertha', it was decided the ashes should be taken to the Batlow national meet where it would be presented to the Groups co-owners at the opening ceremony. In the meantime Phil Reid had turned an 'ashes' replica urn on his lathe to hold the remains. Since then ashes from the national meets have been added. Rob then added the ashes of the Ganmain campfires.

Kevin then announced the 13th Australian CamperTrailers national meet would be held at Peak Hill which is located on the NSW Central Western Slopes & Plains along the Newell Highway between Dubbo & Parkes over the week from Monday 25th to Friday 29th September 2017

With that Kevin declared the 12th national meet closed & hoped to see everyone again next year.

See you all next year at Peak Hill

Rob, Kevin & Jason

write up from Rob