Twelve months ago (July 2009) and for the first time, we made the trip to Aberdeen for the Highland Games and in spite of “He” being sick with the flu, we both enjoyed the weekend so much that “He” applied for annual leave immediately upon our return to Sydney to allow us to attend the 2010 event.
Unfortunately this trip was also under a cloud as both “He” and “She” had been sick for the six weeks leading up to the departure date with a flu like condition. Fortunately we both improved enough to go on the trip.
We intended to depart at 7:00am and actually left at 7:20am. Unlike 12 months prior, the Sydney peak hour did not provide any major delays and we were heading north on the freeway as the 8:00am news started on the radio. Without the traffic, we would have been on the freeway at 7:45am.
We stopped at the “twin service stations” near the Wyee exit and enjoyed a late breakfast and beverage. Next stop was Singleton for fuel (overall average since the last fill at Canberra was a surprising 13.61lites per 100k’s) and then directly on to Aberdeen where we arrived just before 11:30am.
We were the fourth motor home to arrive and that allowed us to choose a spot well away from the local golf course that ran adjacent to our camp area and also close to the area that the “Hut” would be setup for our social gatherings.
As we said in our blog 12 months ago, “one of the benefits of being a member of the Winnebago RV Club is the opportunity to attend various club events and enjoy the companionship of other club members as well as attending the relevant local event. The venue this weekend was the small town of Aberdeen which is located in the Upper Hunter Valley of NSW.”
This year was the 11th time the annual Highland Games had been held. For reasons that are unexplained, only 15 rigs attended the event (in 2009 attendance had to be limited to 30 rigs).
The annual Highland Games are held on the first Saturday in July and are reported to have become Aberdeen’s most spectacular event, drawing hundreds of people to the township to enjoy the festivities. This was the fourth time that the Winnebago RV Club had attended.
Immediately upon our arrival it started to rain. Fortunately it was only light and much to our surprise, the rain ceased precisely at 5:00pm, the time for “Happy Hour”.
After happy hour we had a BYO BBQ followed by several hours of discussion around a couple of camp fires.
Once again the Webasto heater took the chill off the cold air in the motor home and we were afforded a great night’s sleep.
Saturday started with a continental breakfast after which we headed into the adjacent grounds to watch the commencement of the festival. The Games began with a parade of bands followed by an address that officially opened the day. This was followed by numerous events including strongman events (lifting of the stones, hay bale throwing and the caber toss).
The Australian tug-o-war championships were also conducted and the Winnebago RV Club entered a team. The first round consisted of “best of three” and as was the case 12 months ago, the Army was the opponents. 12 months ago we beat the army in the first “tug” and our team members were adamant that the fact that the Army had less people had nothing to do with the result. This year the Army was in full force and looked mean. We attempted to bribe them with our offer falling $5 short of what was required to have them remove their boots. Ever type of abuse we could think of was thrown at them and they did struggle for several seconds before they defeated the might of the Winnebago RV Club. It was almost certain that our team suffered from the lack of appropriate footwear as sneakers and joggers as no match to army boots that can be dug into the ground to gain a firm foundation to pull from. Next year we will take the appropriate attire and footwear and you never know, the Winnebago RV Club could become the National Champions (in our dreams!!!).
In addition to the spectacle provided by the bands, the Department Of Defence Federation Guard also entertained those attending.
After the conclusion of the games, we headed back for happy hour before departing by bus at 6.00pm to the local high school where we all attended a Ceilidh dinner which included a full Haggis Presentation.
Once again, many of the RV club attendees tried the Haggis. We both passed!
The entertainment provided this year was excellent. The Federation Guard performed their routine again (the effect indoors where the sound can be contained adds greatly to the performance) and we were treated to another performance by the Lithgow City Pipe Band who had won the competition at the games. We left the dinner around 10:30pm and headed back to a very coll motor home (we had chosen not to let the heater run whilst we were away).
After another good night’s sleep, we started the day with bacon and eggs. “He” assisted with cooking breakfast.
After saying farewell to those who were leaving, we headed out to Glenbawn Dam and the recreational area where we would spend the night. After arriving at the dam site, we took up camp around a cricket ground in the same area we occupied 12 months earlier. We had a “sausage sizzle” for lunch, played bingo and then with several other members, we climbed to the top of the dam wall.
Happy hour followed at 5pm after which we had a BYO BBQ and then we participated in a trivia night (we actually won the night after getting the 10 questions in round 3 correct).
Once again, the Webasto heater worked its magic and the motor home was nice and warm when we returned after the evening entertainment.
Monday started with a continental breakfast after which we said our goodbyes. We departed at 9.30am and headed back to Aberdeen where we used the public dump point.
We made several stops whilst returning to Sydney and arrived home just after 3.30pm.