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Friday dawned sunny and with little wind when we arrived at our Rally site located by the Derwent river at New Norfolk, Herb was on hand to welcome and park us up. Being early morning it was surprising to see so many motorhomes along with the yellow canopy "Bee Haven" in the process of being erected. Members were gathering in groups talking about their experiences in the last month and it was good to see we had members attending that we had not seen for some months. Light showers of rain were predicted for later in the day and they were to prove not quite true for it rained steadily all afternoon and night. This didn't deter us for as a family we gathered under "Bee Haven" our yellow canopy and whiled the hours away. |
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"Bee Haven" in the distance |
Motorhomes parked up |
Brian & Christine relaxing during afternoon |
Happy hour arrived and several announcements were made on entertainment plus we welcomed four mainland members of the club and then we sang a hearty rendition of happy birthday to those celebrating the occasion. We also had two couples celebrating their wedding anniversary. Herb announced there would be a sausage sizzle later on which was met with much applause and then we settled in to enjoy ourselves given that the rain was now falling steadily. It was obvious by the condition of the countryside that the rain was a welcome addition and it certainly did not dampen our resolve to enjoy ourselves over the weekend. |
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Jim & Mick cooking sausages |
Murray & John on onions |
Enjoying the meal and a bit of a chat |
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Bob & Alf fishing |
Rowing sculls on the river |
Feeding the ducks |
Bob and Alf were to try their luck casting their lines into the Derwent river with the hope of catching a fish or two. Though as the morning wore on it was obvious that their luck was not all that good,other members wandered along the river board walk watching the morning rowing sculls go through their paces and take in the general ambiance of the area. As there were quite a few ducks and their young on the river many of us were to use our old bread to attract and feed them, the plume of the various ducks were very colourful and the antics of the ducklings bought forth much laughter, they would not be bullied out of their share of the bread. Though overcast the rain was keeping away and there was very little wind as a group of members headed off to attend the New Norfolk flower show. |
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Our ladies smelling flowers at the New Norfolk flower show |
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By all reports the "Flowerama" was an excellent way to spend a few hours admiring all the flower exhibits and craft exhibits with many of our ladies smelling the roses, so to speak. The judging had already taken place and it was interesting to note the winners and runners up.Our ladies thought that a few others should have at least received an honorable mention. There were "Fascinators" purchased for later use, in all they were very beautiful and the whole show was enjoyed by all, especially as the entrance fee was only two dollars. |
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Competition at Bowls Club |
Our disc bowls in action |
Merv in fancy dress |
Meanwhile many of the men were hanging over the fence watching the bowls competition between New Norfolk and Orford, it was interesting to see how they achieved bending the bowl to gain the right line. One of the bowlers was to explain the differing bias on the bowls that could be used. We challenged them to a game of disc bowls which they declined, meanwhile a few were playing disc bowls on the two rinks that were set up. We suspect that they are practicing for the Combined Chapters Rally next year and good on them who knows we may win the overall championship. Merv was then to entertain us with his bunny ears and fascinator and strange stories which caused plenty of laughter, happy hour arrived and all had returned so some of the housekeeping was carried out and then it was off to get prepared for our evening meal at the local hotel. |
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Happy Hour |
Our meal at the Hotel |
Plenty to eat |
We were to walk up to the Bush Inn, which is a very old hotel that has been operating continuously for over one hundred and fifty years, some of us were to check out the old cellars that are still in use. The workmanship has stood the test of time and the building's today, we believe, are not as substantial as this building. The meals were extremely good quality and plenty on the plate and even those few that ordered a half serve were were somewhat taken back by the size of the meal. Those who has sweets certainly tucked away a rather large meal overall , thankfully we had a downhill stroll down to our rally site. Most of us gathered under our canopy for further companionship before heading off to bed. |
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Bobybago under tow |
Folding our wind break |
Down comes our beloved "Bee Haven" |
Sunday arrived very sunny with a few clouds in the sky, this was fine for it assisted in drying our gear before packing it away in the Chapter trailer. When Bobybago attempted to start his motorhome there was no response so Murray backed up hooked up a snatch strap and towed him until the engine started, needless to say Bob & Carol said their farewells and headed off home to find the problem with the starter and get it fixed. Our next rally is at Bishopsbourne being our Christmas Dinner rally which we are all looking forward to. We must thank Herb & Sue for such a wonderful rally given the trying and testing conditions. Once again we said our farewell's to all and by lunch time the rally site was clear, a group of members headed off to the west coast for a week before retuning home |
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| Rows of bikes | Bikers by the waterfall |
Two other groups headed for the Lake country with some electing to stay at the rest area half way down Poatina hill, whilst there sitting by the fire a group of mainland off road bikers came in for a rest and some were to dip their head under the very cold water from the waterfall, we had a chat and found that they are visiting different parts of the state to enjoy their sport. |
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Out came the barbecue and there were absolutely heaps of sausages being cooked by Jim & Mick with the mandatory onions being cooked by Murray and John. Members supplied there own side dishes with a few opting for snags in bread with onion smothered in tomato sauce, yummy or yucky dependant on your taste.