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easter 2010 at
homewood
on
private property near toowoomba
Rex and Anne arrived late morning on Wednesday. Spent most of
the afternoon setting up. Weather forecast was for a few showers but
that night received a good downpour of 18mm – luckily the main storm
dropped 75mm about 10km away in Crows Nest. I think it was Rex’s
satellite dish causing some kind of vortex.
Rick and Carol then Allan and Cathy arrived Thursday arvo with Gus,
Jayden with Bree arriving around dusk and set up not long after –
this was the quickest anyone had seen the Skinner Rig set up,
perhaps Jill and Clancy should come later more often. A quite night
was spent around the fire with the main stay to arrive on Friday.
The following arrived Friday in no particular order:
Graeme + Helena + Amelia + Lauren + Elanor
Robyn + Lindsay
Peter + Tina + Damian
Kevin + Kathleen + Courtney + Daniel + Paul + Cheryl + Francis
Colin + Jenny + Henry + Bess + Holly
Paul + Wendy + Simon + Carol + Ashley + Rachel + Brooke
Col + Paula + Tamara + Jono
Glen + Andrea + Sam + Poppy
David + Janet
Michael + Mary + Rachel + David
Peter + Gerelle + PJ + Chris + Shelly + Ben
I was told someone turned a two hour trip into five to get
here – but we were assured the scenery was lovely. Also had to slash
a little more area as Carol thought there wasn’t enough room.
Happy Hour saw nearly everyone together for a short introduction to
the property and the local bities. The usual introductions were done
but with the numbers there it was a little difficult to remember
all. Later a few fires were lit and the highlights of the day and
plans for the next were discussed over a few drinks.
Things to note for the day:
• Fascination the kids had for the composting toilet – better than
any playground
• With the quote of the day being “But how do you flush it?”
• Mmmm – late night cake by Robyn
Saturday saw the arrival of the last campers Jill, Erin and
Clancy after their efforts to keep Moree McDonalds staffed over
Easter.
Morning tea was held under the trees with the usual scones, cakes
etc and a special treat of savoury sausages by Rex hot off another
gadget – the BBQ Webber look alike. Rex also presented Rick with a
solar light for the toilet – installation will wait until the toilet
is completed – thanks Rex, and for supply the light for the toilet
during the meet until I do (ahhh more work).
Our day visitor Shane turned up but could only stay briefly due to
family commitments. Hope all his questions were answered. Quite a
few campers made some excursions to the sights around the area or
just mingled and checked out other setups and gadgets. Before long
the afternoon slipped away and it was almost Happy Hour – but it was
also milking time so two families went off to the neighbours and saw
the process first hand. I must thank my neighbours Colin and Violet
for their efforts. I was expecting perhaps a ten minute walk through
but Violet had the kids in the milking pit with her and gave them a
look up close – including the splatter from the southern end. Colin
then took the kids to feed the calves and hopefully Mary will send a
few photos to Rob to include in the report. All up over an hour and
sadly I missed Happy Hour so not sure if anything reportable
happened there.
Most campers slipped away for tea and being such a large group split
into a few fire rings again. The trips done and places seen were
discussed and a few broader subjects (no not 12V again..).
Highlights for the day:
• The dairy
• Someone who didn’t walk the distance to Crows Nest falls – the
picture of it was good enough they said
• no cake
A few late stayers around the fire got to reminisce what it was like
to attend to the children when they became disturbed during the
night. Drink more rum – who needed Happy Hour.
Sunday threatened a few showers late in the day that didn’t
eventuate. However, this didn’t stop some from venturing forth to
see the sights. Happy hour was fast approaching and a few more kids
for the dairy (just wasn’t going to get to Happy Hour was I). Around
the fire that night the following was noted:
• Turtle (when discussing behavior) “When I was a young lad Grandma
just took me outside and toed me up the backside” with the response
from Robyn “It didn’t work then?”
• Robyn making Lindsay cook the cake twice – once on the fire to
burn the outside and once on the gas to cook the inside – yum cake
and no Noel here to eat all the burnt offerings
• Peter keeping warm beside the fire with Damian as his chest warmer
• Jenny sound asleep beside the fire
• The sad tale of no port until Robyn located her stash
Monday dawned with the inevitable thoughts of pack up and
facing the traffic for some. All too quickly it had concluded. Hope
everyone had a safe trip home. The five hundred metres home was
uneventful for us. Turtle and Helena stayed until Tuesday with Rex
and Anne to go Thursday. Rex promised to show me his Mercury shower
setup again and I bet there will be some other gadget he has hidden
away he can pull out.
I probably missed many an incident on the weekend due to the size of
the camp but this can’t be avoided. Hope the newer campers to the
group enjoyed it and will come to a few more (perhaps even hold a
meet?). For the first time campers it is just the beginning for
you..
Other highlights:
• What did this lot forget – they left half an hour ago – thanks for
the bottle of Bourbon but not necessary
• Rick thinking the toilet was full and wondering how it filled so
quickly - when it wasn’t
• The total lack of any wildlife at night (apart from the bull ants)
– the camping noise was just too much for them
• The neighing horses and the roundup party
• The queue for the toilet in the morning
• The energy children can have
• The day trippers who left a thirsty man behind – should have got
the fridge out of the car
Rick & Carol
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