5 April 2017 (Wed) – Sydney to Jugiong NSW
Our last trip in the caravan seems to be so long ago and in reality, it actually was.
The caravan has been in our driveway for the past 4 months with the last “tripping” use being a trip to Budgewoi for our ACC Branch Christmas Party in late November. The van had left the drive a couple of times and that was to address further hail damage and the annual chassis and house service.
As a direct result of the weather in Sydney (rain) for the past several weeks, we had started to pack the caravan several days ago. We had very little to do before departing and for the first time, we had not parked the Nissan Navara outside to secure a safe exit from our drive. For the first time since having a caravan, we had on vehicles parked on the opposite side of the road so our departure was stress free.
Our exit from Sydney was uneventful and the traffic was kind to us. The only issue experienced during our trip south was the failure of our CB radio. There had been doubts about the radio since of trip to Shepparton and there were other indications of pending failure during our big trip last year. The radio needs to be replaced.
We stopped for an early lunch at Heatherbrae’s Pies at Sutton Forest (pies were great and so was the coffee), and took the opportunity to add fuel to the Navara.
We continued onto Jugiong without further stops and we had found a suitable site to park by 2:00pm.
“He” setup the satellite dish (took 30 seconds with the satellite finder we purchased last year – email us for details) as we wanted to watch a couple of television programs in the evening.
Later in the afternoon we visited the “Long Track Pantry”, this was the first time we had been in Jugiong when the café was open, and purchased some local produce.
We left the caravan just after 5:00pm and went to the “Sir George” hotel for a drink prior to our evening meal. The hotel reopened last December and we were impressed with what had been done to improve the overall appearance of the establishment. Their menu for food was simple and the meals we ordered were very enjoyable.
We returned to the caravan and watched television until 11.00pm. The night was cold and we probably need to purchase some polar fleece to use as an additional blanket.
6 April 2017 (Thur) – Jugiong to Wagga Wagga NSW
We were awake just after 6:30pm and witnessed a beautiful sunrise.
We were on the road heading to Wagga Wagga just after 8:00am with our GPS indicating an arrival time around 9:30am. The traffic was light and we arrived at the predicted time.
We have travelled to Wagga Wagga to attend the Stone the Crows Festival, a festival we have been to since it started. We are both involved as volunteers. “He” does siting and audio visual and “She” is involved in the administration of “Daddy Day Care”, a woodworking activity that is very popular.
We were not able to access our site allocated for the festival but we were able to park on a site with access to both power and water. We will have to relocate n the weekend.
It was good to see familiar faces again as there is a core group of volunteers who attend this festival. Later in the morning we attended a couple of meetings relating to our duties during the festival and some changes in procedures relating to volunteers.
Later during the afternoon “He” visited Wagga Car Radios where a new CB radio was fitted. The radio was the same size as the failed unit so installation was relatively easy and quick.
We had happy hour before heading back to the caravan for our evening meal and then a quiet evening.
7 April 2017 (Fri) – Wagga Wagga
We were up just before 7:00am as “He” had to commence siting duties at 9:00am. “She” assisted with various tasks to prepare sample bags for those arriving in a couple of days.
The marking up of the entire site was undertaken by 16 volunteers working in two groups which were divided into teams of 4. We stopped for morning tea and lunch and finished the layout of our part of the site just before 4:00pm.
To say “He” was tired was an understatement.
“She” spent a good part of the day assembling devices to be used in one of the games planned for the festival.
Later in the afternoon and without any encouragement, we enjoyed a long happy hour before returning to the caravan for microwave meals.
We both slept very well.
8 April 2017 (Sat) – Wagga Wagga NSW
We started the day with a trip to Bunnings and then Coles for grocery shopping.
After returning we moved our caravan about 50 metres to the site where we will stay for the remainder of our visit to Wagga Wagga.
“She” spent most of the afternoon painting a sign whilst “he” was involved in the commencement of the assembly of the infrastructure for the evening entertainment.
We had a very late happy hour with one of the other campers and then enjoyed kababs for our evening meal.
9 April 2017 (Sun) – Wagga Wagga NSW
The BOM had forecast rain and that started around 2:00am. There were several showers before sunrise and we could hear distant thunder.
It is now 8:15am and we have been up since 6:30am. “She” has a 9:00am meeting and showered after breakfast.
It is now raining and there is the sound of thunder overhead. Hopefully the rain will subside as the site that the festival is being held is mostly exposed earth and a large volume of rain will cause big problems with just under 500 vehicles coming onto the site on Tuesday. The is further rain forecast for the remainder of the day but the weather radar indicates clear sky between the showers. There is a cold change expected later today.
At 9:00am “She” attended a training session to learn how to use a credit card machine. “He” cut foam to be placed over ropes holding up the covers over a large area.
Later in the day “He” help with the final installation of the lighting and sound equipment.
We all attended a meeting in the evening where we were given our festival bags, name badges and volunteer shirts. A BBQ hamburger and desert was provided.
10 April 2017 (Mon) – Wagga Wagga NSW
Again, up early and then assisting with the preparation for the arrival of about 350 RV’s on Tuesday.
We took the opportunity to do some grocery shopping expecting that time to leave the site during the festival would be premium. We also needed to think about shops being closed on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Some of our friends were able to arrive early so we joined them for happy hour. We purchased our evening meal from one of the food vendors.
11 April 2017 (Tue) – Wagga Wagga NSW
The alarm was set for 5:30am. “He” was part of the siting team and the first vehicles were due from 7:30am. “She” was involved with the registrations for one of the activities (Daddy Day Care) available during the festival.
Siting was finished by 2:00pm as were registrations.
We attended a happy hour with some of our ACC friends before attending the evening entertainment which was provided by Darren Carr and his friends. The performance was outstanding and enjoyed by everyone.
As has been the case in recent years, “He” operated a video camera and projected the concert on a large screen. Permission was also obtained to record some of the concert with the footage destined for a promotional video that will be prepared for Stone the Crows.
We slept well.
12 April 2017 (Wed) – 17 April 2017 (Mon) – Wagga Wagga NSW
The daily routine varied little over the week of the festival.
Our day started at 6:30am and usually concluded somewhere between 9:30pm to 10:00pm after we packed and returned the video and projection equipment for storage.
When we were able to, we attended the 8:30am morning show which featured during the festival, Darren Carr, Greg North, Bob Magor, Jim Haynes, Grant Luhrs and Bill Daglish. Marcus Holden also made some cameo appearances.
During the day, “She” was involved with “Daddy Day Care” whilst “He” assisted as required with video and audio requirement as well as continuing to video different aspects of the festival. At the request of the organisers, video footage of the site and attending vehicles was obtained using the quad copter. A slide show was presented to one of the evening performances.
At 4:00pm, we managed to join friends on most days for happy hour.
Each evening, a different show was held. Details of these shows follows;
11 April 2017 (Tue) – Darren Carr & Friends
12 April 2017 (Wed) – Darren Carr and Mike McClennan
13 April 2017 (Thur) – Stone the Crows Concert – Marcus Holden, Jackie Kerin, Sarah DePasquale, Rob Nichols and Jim Haynes
14 April 2017 (Fri) – Trivia Night
15 April 2017 (Sat) – Lisa Crouch “Powerhouse Divas”
16 April 2017 (Sun) – Talent Quest and various awards
17 April 2017 (Mon) Jamie Way – Pelvis the Man Who Would be King
On the final night, “He” was asked to record the performance by Jamie Way. We used our video camera to both record and project and received the audio feed directly from the festival sound system.