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Island
Reach weekend camp
The weekend of Saturday & Sunday 4th & 5th of February 2006
A fine, albeit warm
weekend greeted group members to the first South East Queensland get together
for 2006.
Island Reach Camping
Resort on the main road just before the township of Imbil, 20 minutes west of
the Bruce Highway provided the perfect venue with open, informal, shady grassy
sites right on the banks of Little Yabba Creek, allowing for a cooling swim, a
spot of fishing, or a trip in the kayaks and canoes. Toilets, showers, fresh
water, firewood, and the close proximity to town make this ideal for a quick,
and comfortable getaway.
A large group gathered for
the weekend with 22 camper trailers and close to 75 people (including kids and
day trippers) making the most of the warm weather. Morning tea on the Saturday
morning was an informal affair, with a few new faces being made welcome to the
group, and everyone enjoying the lamingtons provided by Sue and Kim. (They
slaved for hours in the kitchen)
The major drawcard for the
weekend was the solar and 12 volt demonstration by Jamie Hazelden from Solar
Panel Xpress on the Saturday afternoon. A Cape York camper trailer had been
retrofitted to run purely on batteries charged by various sized output solar
panels, and was wired so the battery input from each panel was measurable and
displayed for all to see. The ability to run 12 volt bug zappers (they sold like
hot cakes!) conventional and LED lighting, TV and DVD players, radios, inverters
and 240 volt cooling fans all off battery power provided some questions and
answers from many. Jamie certainly knows his stuff and happily answered all
questions, checked wiring and charged flat batteries all weekend. The advances
in solar, regulators, batteries and 12volt gadgets and technology certainly
opened some eyes (and a few wallets!)
Sunday provided a cloud
cover that gave a little relief from the heat, and campers casually spent the
day socialising, checking other setups and swimming until it was time to depart.
All in all, a top weekend was had by all, and everyone left with renewed vigour,
and hopefully a little better understanding of the possibilities presented by
investing in a solar setup.
Thank you to all that
travelled from afar and to those that helped make the weekend enjoyable for all.
Thanks to Tony Bird for the report.
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