We slept in! The alarm had been set for 7.00am and we were in no hurry to rise as the only planned function today was the Presentation Dinner and that was in the evening. The final UHF radio broadcast took place at 8.30am and we were informed that the local museum would be open and the arrangements for the evening were confirmed.
We spent the day in and around the motor home. We set up the compressor and ensured that the motor home tire pressure was correct, did some washing and took care of some minor maintenance items. The day was extremely hot and it was a challenge (that we lost) to keep the motor home cool. We ran a small fan and also used the roof fan to extract the hot air. Today we saw the real benefit of solar power. We used the television for the entire afternoon accessing our satellite connection via the inverter. With this plus the fan, we made power all day. We had visitors just prior to happy hour.
The evening finalised the safari with various presentations and an excellent meal in the Nildottie community hall. The final of Safari Idol was held and we all enjoyed the seven acts. We sang Advance Australia Fair and then our UK friends plus “He” and “She” (the Lord and Lady) lead “God Save the Queen”.
The safari made around $30,000 that will be shared by the chosen charities plus the local communities who benefited from the safari being in their towns. It was indicated that in 2010 there may be two safaris, Tamworth / Gunnedah to Seymour in Vic and another one after the CMCA Hobart rally. We indicated that subject to all being well, we would attend the mainland safari.
We have made lots of new friends and we shared eleven fun filled days with a wonderful group of people. There were a couple of tragedies during the safari, one family lost their son to cancer (they did not make it home to see him) and the Road Boss advised that a friend associated with the Kidney Foundation had also lost his battle with cancer. Hearing of these events will only encourage us to continue with fund raising to support various charities.
Once again, a big thank you to our major sponsors, Gateway Credit Union (thanks Paul), Sydney RV Centre (thanks Jeremy – we flew your flag) and Chiswick Plumbing (thanks Laurie).
We will be heading out early tomorrow toward Melbourne to catch up with some friends.