IntroductionAn idea that was hatched by Eric and Lyn, turned into the biggest get together we have had. The destination was Robe, with a weekend of sand driving, swimming, fishing and drinking planned. The weather was looking to be on our side as people left their respective bases and headed towards Robe South Australia. The list of people who attended were as follows: Glenn and James Al, Lyn, Tegan and Callum Jim, Tab, Cristi, Ashleigh, Penny and Diamond Paul, Helen and Kiralee Willem and Milton Andrew, Jen, Luke, Lachlan and Kaitlyn Alan and Elaine Brendan, Corinna, EJ and Dash Peter and Leslie Eric, Jiota, Natalie and Dean Nick, Antigone, Dillon and Andria John R and Heather Jimbo and Stephen Ken and Deidre Bill and Bev Muddy Fat Controller Brew, Dawn, Sarah and Jessica Anni and Tony Rick and Sarni Bonz, Marie, Imogen and Paul Warren, Barb, Warren Jnr and George Pat, Nick and Alex Day One Friday 29th October 2004 – Romsey to Robe: Last night, James and I had driven up to Romsey to stay at the Grierson's residence. This meant that at least two hours were cut from our travelling time today. Everyone else was up when the alarm went off at 7.00am, and after a shower and breakfast, we were all ready to leave by 7.45am. We headed to Ballarat via Gisborne and Bacchus Marsh, where we topped up the fuel tanks before continuing on our way. Skipton was the next stop for the kids to have a toilet break and a run around on the play equipment. We were making very good time, and reached Hamilton by 11.30am, though no one was ready to stop for lunch, so we kept on driving. The bellies were beginning to rumble at Casterton, but Callum was in the land of nod, so we continued on, arriving in South Australia and soon Penola by 12.45pm. The bakery plied us with sandwiches and sausage rolls before completing the final 100km leg to Robe in quick time. We arrived in Robe at 2.00pm and checked into the Lakeside Caravan Park to find a few others had already arrived. Willem, Milton, Andrew, Jen, Luke, Lachlan, Kaitlyn, Jimbo and Stephen had their camps set up, but had left to explore the region. We settled into the cabin and met Warren, Barb, Warren Jnr and George from Port Vincent on the York Peninsula, and it wasn't long before others started arriving: Alan and Elaine, Paul, Helen and Kiralee, Muddy, Brew, Dawn, Sarah and Jessica, as the others returned from their beach run. Dinner was consumed as the sun disappeared from the sky and the mozzies came out to play as we all settled in around Andrew's Tvan with a few beverages. The Diamonds arrived a little after 9.00pm as people started heading for bed, preparing for a day of fun tomorrow. I stayed up with Jim, Tab and Brew switching to quiet bourbons as we waited up for the Fat Controller to arrive. The clock struck midnight, and it was time to hit the hay as it was an expected early start in the morning.....oh, and the Fat Controller hadn't arrived. Day Two Saturday 30th October 2004 – Robe: The body was fine, and mind willing when I finally crawled out of bed this morning. Again I was the last one up for the morning. After a tomato juice for breakfast, Jim, Tab, Lyn and I headed into town to purchase some supplies, our timing was impeccable, as the bread had just been removed from the oven and was piping hot. On return to camp, I feasted on fresh hot bread filled with ham and chicken meats.....perfect start to the day. Two trips had been organised for the day, and the first group left early to explore Canunda with Willem as trip leader. We decided to join the trip along the beach from Robe to Beachport with Rick as trip leader and the Fat Controller Tail End Charlie, just the way he likes it. We hit the road at 10.00am and headed towards the Robe tip to reach the beach from there. As passenger, I was given the task of minding the beer in the rear passenger seat. I ensured that the cans were cold by cracking the first one before we left the Caravan Park. With tyres deflated at the tip and a quick pep talk from Rick, we hit the beach with a few nerves. Our group consisted of Rick, Lyn, Al, Tegan, Callum, Jim, Tab, Cristi, Ashleigh, Penny, Diamond, Brendan, Corinna, EJ, Dash, Paul, Helen, Kiralee, Pat, Nick, Alex, Fat Controller, Glenda, Muddy, Brew, Dawn, Sarah, Jessica, James and I. We headed along behind the dunes and stopped at a great place that allowed the kids (and Muddy) to climb to the top of a massive sand dune, and then either roll, slip, fall, surf down to the bottom again. The kids had a ball and were reluctant to return to the vehicles when it was time to head off again. We continued on behind the dunes through Stony Rise before hitting the beach for the first time. The sand was easy going and Al soon gain confidence in his and the trucks abilities. We headed back off the beach and drove slowly to the hamlet of Nora Creina. We had lunch on the beach here, and Brendan had a quick go at catching a fish, but it was time to hit the track again before the fish had decided to bite. Up along Stinky Beach we continued on our way, but were held up by three Toyota Landcruiser Club vehicles, with a Prado having trouble getting up a steep dune. Eventually they all made it over before our troupe had a go. I gained a good vantage point and videoed everyone getting up the dune.
The next stretch of beach was a real test for everyone. We came across one bloke in a Jeep, who's radiator had given up, and the recovery vehicle had also gotten bogged, so we had to watch and wait for some serious winching to extract both vehicles and allow us to continue on. A little further up the beach we came across a troopy who was well and truly buried to the boards, and a handful of people were busy with the shovels. We were called through, and nearly whacked a GQ that some moron was driving back up the beach to assist the troopy. The moron blocked the way of four of the vehicles, and so they had to wait until he had moved before they could come through. The last stop was a nice little dune that had full access to drive up and down it. Most vehicles had a go, with Al sending his number plate into where the winch should have been, and Jim trying many tactics to get up the steepest sections. By the time we moved on, up to 40 vehicles were having a play on the one dune....good timing on our behalf. We left the sand a re-inflated our tyres and headed into Beachport for ice creams before returning to Robe.
There were a few birthday celebrations to be held tonight, so after dinner we all gathered around the nominated area ready for some fun. It all started off with Alan welcoming all of the Mexicans to South Australia. Andrew was presented with a 2 day visa, and sombrero before he attempted to crack a 4wd piñata hanging from a nearby tree. As he was blind folded, Alan had great fun moving the piñata around until Andrew finally whacked it off the string. It was like a frenzied feeding frenzy as the kids dived searching for all the lollies. After things had settled down, Milton took centre stage and wowed us with his joke that involved him portraying three personalities, with a different hat for each one...what a scream. Birthday candles and cake were next and then everyone settled down for a chat and beverages. I lasted until around 11:00pm before I snuck off to bed. Day Three Sunday 31st October 2004 – Robe: It was another perfect day as again I was the last one up. I was turning 35 today, so I was in for a big one. A few people were leaving today, whilst a few were going on the Robe to Beachport beach run. For those of us not going on the beach run, we had a leisurely morning, before going into Robe for lunch. We parked the car and bumped into Andrew who informed us that lunch was at the end pub, so we strolled up the road in the glorious sunshine. The pub was busy, even more so with so many of our group in there. Once lunch was over we walked across to the playground to allow James, Tegan, Callum and Kiralee to burn off their lunch. We popped into the other Pub in Robe for a Guinness before heading back to camp to pick up some swimming gear for the kids. We drove down to Long Beach and relaxed as James, Tegan and Callum played in the sand and the small waves. After awhile we were surprised to see a convoy coming up the beach, that had the Fat Controller and Glenda, Bonz, Marie, Imogen and Paul, Eric, Jiota, Natalie and Dean, Nick, Antigone, Dillon and Andria, JohnR and Heather, Alan and Elaine, Warren Barb, Warren Jnr and George. They had had some fun further up the beach and were heading back to camp. We decided to head back also and the kids had a bath to remove all the sand from their bodies. After dinner it was time for the kids and Lyn and Al to dress up for Halloween as the sun went down. The kids were dressed in an array of scary costumes, whilst Lyn looked great as a wicked witch, and Al as the grim reaper from Scary Movie. The bags of lollies were handed out to the kids and the beverages flowed. Warren whipped out his laptop and showed a video of John R being rescued from their early morning beach drive. The extraction took 2 hours, so they had spent the afternoon driving on the easy beach. After a while it started to get a bit chilly and the mozzies were swarming in droves. It was getting late so I decided to sneak off to bed to sleep off a hard days work. Day Four Monday 1st November 2004 – Robe: I awoke feeling very refreshed and with the numbers down, we declined to go on a beach run with Eric and Co as they were doing the same trip we had done on Saturday. Al, Lyn, myself and the kids packed into the 100 Series and headed off to Kingston SE. We arrived to find it overcast and windy, and the lighthouse was closed. We drove to the pier and were half way down it when the rain started. We rushed back to the truck but not before I nicked into the seafood shop and purchased a crayfish. We visited the Giant Lobster for photos before heading to Cape Jaffa for a picnic lunch. It was hot and sunny again in Cape Jaffa and the kids had a bit of a run around before we decided to make our way back to Robe. We detoured via the Cape Jaffa Winery for Lyn to make a customary purchase, and on returning to Robe, sought out the Ice-cream Shop. I was delighted to be able to have a double scoop of lemon and orange gelati. After the ice-creams had been demolished, we headed back to camp. We were the only ones there, so after cracking a bottle of chardonnay, Al, Lyn and I got stuck into the crayfish. No sooner had we started, than the beach drivers returned and drooled as they watched us eat. It was another quiet night, and the mozzies were again making it difficult once the sun went down. The chats around the "camp fire" continued for a while, and the weekends festivities finally took its toll on me and so James and I headed off to bed at the same time.
Day Five Tuesday 2nd November 2004 – Robe - Rowville: Well the long weekend finished with a cold and miserable day. The rain had started around 5:30am and was still falling in patches as we were packing up. A few headed into town as we headed off, and once we were on the Penola Road the traffic eased, but not the rain. The rain continued as we reached Victoria again, a bit of dejavu actually, as conditions were similar last time we headed home from Robe. Lunch stop was Hamilton, but instead of the usual bakery stop, we pulled into the very busy KFC. Being Melbourne Cup day, the radio was on and James as I listened as we heard the reports of the shocking weather hitting Flemington Racecourse. We were on the Melbourne side of Ballarat when the Cup was run and farewelled the Grierson's via UHF as I was keen to get home. It was 4.00 when we pulled into the driveway and another trip was over. It was great to catch up with so many friends, and also make a few new ones. James enjoyed himself in a fun packed weekend, and certainly had lots of other kids to play with. All I can say now is...I can't wait for the next get together.
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