Lake Tooliorook lies about 5 km from the small country town of Lismore in
central-west Victoria, an easy 2 hours drive from Melbourne CBD. The group
has held a meet here in the past (Australia Day 2007) but at that time the
lake was almost completely dry, and it was nicknamed “Stinky Lake” due to
the smell of the dry lake bed. When Doug and I started planning a meet for
Easter earlier in the year, this wasn’t our first thought for a venue, but
friends told us that the lake had water in it once again and a Sunday
afternoon drive in January for a recce confirmed this. What a beautiful
setting! Right on the edge of the lake, with great facilities and the help
of the campsite management – we knew this was the spot.
It had been a long time since the last Victorian meet, and with work and
school commitments, Doug and I hadn’t been out in the camper as much as we
would have liked, so the longing for a camping trip was almost a physical
ache. We were really looking forward to our long weekend, and with 19 other
camper trailers/tents/caravans attending, we hoped all would go well. We
were lucky enough to have some extra time so we headed off on Wednesday
afternoon, and joined the other early arrivers, Paul and Leanne, Jeff and
Karen and the boys and Paul and Annie for our first night in camp. The
weather was a bit questionable, but it didn’t matter – we were camping!!
Just as we arrived, local wood supplier, Jim, arrived with a ute-load of
firewood for us. We knew we would be warm now. We had the pleasure of
sharing our fire that night with a couple passing through with their Trayon
slide-on camper and spread the word about Campertrailers.org.
Thursday dawned a beautiful sunny morning, with a cool breeze. Breakfast was
had and as we enjoyed another cuppa, we took bets on when the first of the
days’ arrivals would appear. Right on the money, Jayne and Serena pulled up
with their new baby, the Ultimate X-Trak, having had an early start. Hubby
David and son Ryan had to work an extra day, so the girls were “doing it for
themselves”. We were expecting about half of the campers to arrive today, so
the day was spent round camp. People arrived throughout the day and found
their chosen spots to set up and it was great sport to watch them!! Paul Mac
was busy doing guided tours of his Bolwell Edge camper, but took time out to
wash the dirt from the entrance road off his Pajero – wouldn’t do to have
the 4WD dirty, would it Paul?? The weather had turned cloudy and windy and
warm coats were definitely needed – hard to believe after such a
crystal-clear morning. Our original plan was to have one big central fire
pit down by the lake, but with the wind whipping off the water and going
straight through you, that plan was revised to two more sheltered spots down
the back of the site. The fire was lit and that was the cue for what was to
become our obligatory 4 o’clock happy hour. Unfortunately, at exactly that
time, the rain started – but we campers weren’t to be put off – the nibblies
were put under cover and the umbrellas came out and happy hour continued.
David W seemed to be having trouble with his wine glass over the weekend –
it appeared it had a hole in it, and the wine kept leaking out!!! Last to
arrive on Thursday was Janet and Russell from Mt Gambier in their Kimberley
Kamper, and it seemed they brought the rain with them. After a wet dinner
(well ours was – we BBQ’d in the rain), the rain abated for a while and we
were able to enjoy the fire until bed time.
We were awoken on Good Friday by rain on the camper roof so no-one was in a
hurry to get up and about, but some were on the road early, as our first
arrivals, Jason and Rachel and the kids, were with us at 8.30am. Some others
in the campsite arrived even earlier. A group of young people arrived at
6am, and sat in their cars waiting till the sun came up. Where they hoped to
camp was right on the lake’s edge, very picturesque, but they would be blown
away, so they retreated to another section of the campground. The rest of
our group was due to arrive over the course of Friday so another day was
spent close to camp enjoying cups of tea, Leanne’s Chelsea bun and or
course, the fun of watching others set up. The wind kept up all day, so warm
hats were the headgear of choice – some group members looking more like
garden gnomes than campers (no names, no pack-drill!) Our last arrival,
Dave, Sue and Alana arrived just on happy hour. It was planned that the
whole group would bring their chairs to sit and watch them set up, but the
distraction of happy hour was too great. And as if on cue, the rain started
once again as the tables came out for nibblies. Like a well-oiled machine,
tables were moved and glasses were raised to say “Cheers” to another
successful day. Dale A was a hit with everyone today, as he produced a box
of 12V worklights and proceeded to hand them out to whoever wanted one. It
seems they were damaged stock from a friend’s warehouse, so the campsite was
aglow with yellow work lights all evening. Thanks for thinking of us all
Dale, it was great. Two fires were burning brightly this evening (good thing
we had another load of wood delivered by Jim) and people moved freely
between the two, ensuring a good mix of friends and conversation. There was
a down-side of moving around a dark campsite at night though, with Leanne
getting lost going from fire to bed (no alcohol to blame either!) and me
doing a swan-dive over an unused fire drum in the dark. I’m still finding
bruises in unusual places and have learnt never to move around at night
without my headlamp!!
It was an early start on Saturday morning. As there were activities going on
in town that morning, it was decided last night that a group of us would
make an early start for the walk into town. So at 8.30am, about 15 walkers,
including kids and dogs, set off for town. What we thought was about 5km
turned out to be about 6.5km and it was fun to see how the various walkers
fell into groups according to pace. The group spread out over about a
kilometre and the cloudy but fine morning meant it was a pleasant walk that
took about an hour. There was a car boot sale in the centre of town,
offering all sorts of goodies from flowers, local produce and all sorts of
treasures from attics and cupboards and then the majority of us descended on
the local café and bakery for coffees and goodies – I don’t think the poor
café owners knew what had hit them and the lattes were being churned out in
great style. For those who had had enough walking, there were lifts back to
camp, but a brave few started out on the walk back. They were saved by a
rain shower, which sent rescue vehicles out to pick them up. Unfortunately
we had to bid farewell to our South Australian members, as they packed up
and headed for home today. Poor Janet had given it her best shot, but was
overwhelmed by the dreaded lurgy and they decided she needed to be home to
recover. Thanks so much to them for making the trip to Lismore to join us
and we hope we see them again soon. Our planned walkabout was delayed till
after lunchtime, but when it came, it was great to see all the participants
getting excited about showing off their set-ups and getting a chance to have
a good look round others. We were lucky enough to have a visit from
representatives from the local historical society in the afternoon, who gave
a very interesting presentation of the history and stories of the local
area. Thanks very much to Lorraine and her friends for giving their time so
willingly to share their love of Lismore and its surrounds. Our afternoon
passed happily, with the kids having a session making Easter baskets, and
before we knew it, it was happy hour once more. And you guessed it – the
rain started. Not to worry – we were experts now. A different slant on happy
hour today was the slightly delayed presentation for Peter’s birthday –
Jill, his sister is never one to miss out on a practical joke, and the
contents of his box were illuminating to say the least – it warmed every
“little” part of him!! Another warm night was spent round the fire and
slowly people drifted off to bed. Funnily enough, no one was moving around
in the dark tonight.
At last we had a sunny morning to greet us when we got out of bed on Sunday
morning. The Easter Bunny had been up early, and visited all the campers in
the group. Breakfasts were had and coffee smelt good around the campsite as
we spent a leisurely morning chatting and enjoying the sun. It was the
morning for the fishermen (and women) amongst us to try their skills and
before long there were tales of wonderful catches, most of which were caught
and released. Jason was particular successful and kept coming back with some
beautiful trout and young Andrew had a smile from ear to ear when he caught
his trout. Karen told me it was beautiful eating. In the afternoon Leanne
and Paul led a small drive to Lake Goldsmith, about 60km to the north of us.
This is another of the lakes in the area that have filled with water over
recent months and it was lovely to see all the birdlife enjoying it. We then
detoured to Smythesdale to visit Nimmons’ Bridge, part of the
Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail. Our little outing gave Ryan the chance to test
his four-wheel driving skills, if only to drive through a puddle! Ryan’s
pride and joy is his early model Land Cruiser and it provided interest for
all the guys over the weekend whenever the bonnet was up for some tweaking.
It’s lovely to see that the young people still want to come with their
parents to meets and we hope that they continue to do so, they’re wonderful.
Sunset tonight was spectacular, and attracted a lot of attention. And it was
the first happy hour that didn’t attract rain – things can only get better!
The highlight of tonight was our “Long Dinner” with a Mad Hatter theme. It
was a chance for the whole group to come together to share a meal together.
The amount of effort and ingenuity that went into everyone’s hats was
amazing and brought everyone together for a fun evening. Thanks to all for
your participation. The fires were ramped up after dinner, and when the
dishes were done, there was a good atmosphere around the fires. So much so
that Doug and Dale B felt so comfortable that they went to sleep. And
there’s photographic evidence guys, so don’t try to deny it!!
Overnight was a cold one, with hot water bottles and thermals being brought
out to keep out the cold. Monday morning brought a thick, dense fog, which
blanketed the campsite with dew. Everything was dripping and damp! Later in
the morning, the sun came out and the day turned into the best day yet,
bright and sunny and warm. With the sun brought the first of our departures,
with both Peter and Mila and Ryan packing up and heading for home today.
Such a shame that they were going just as the weather was improving. The
morning’s serenity was broken by the noises coming from Jill and Gary’s
Ultimate. As with a lot of parts of the country just now, there seems to be
an abundance of mice in Lismore and a few of them had made their way into
our campers. Jill and Gary had heard noises through the night, but during
the morning, they had found the little critter and were busy chasing it
round the inside of the camper. It looked like a scene from a cartoon, but
they managed to chase it out of the camper and outside. There were a lot of
us more vigilant about open doors from that point onwards, let me tell you.
The campsite had good facilities, but their hot water system wasn’t amongst
them, and for those that didn’t bring their own camp showers, the trip to
the shower block was not one that was looked forward to, with the majority
having “brisk”, short showers. More pleasant was the hot showers to be had
in our own shower tents, but one should always remember to bring a towel
with you, shouldn’t one Sue? The highlight of today was our planned walk up
nearby Mount Elephant. We are appreciative to Stan, the President of the
Management Committee, who made himself available to give us access to the
mountain, and to offer information about it’s history and advice of the best
way to approach the climb. It took just over an hour for us to climb to the
highest point of this ancient volcano and back down again, and the climb
wasn’t for the feint-hearted. Alright, it made me feel like an old woman
when young Joel went bouncing past me wondering what I was huffing and
puffing about. A group photo of the intrepid climbers was taken, just to
prove we had made it. Even pint-sized Princess Molly the dog made it to the
top. What a perfect day to do the climb, we were very lucky. Back to camp,
and jobs to do before happy hour and dinner. One of the catch-phrases of the
meet has to be one that Karen B started, but rubbed off on several of the
rest of us……”Dale, you might want to……….”. Trust me, you had to be there,
but it was funny! I think a lot of us were feeling the effects of our climb
as the evening was a very quiet one, with two wonderful fires.
Another cold and foggy morning on Tuesday, but we knew it would burn off
before too long so that was ok. And true to form, the sun came out and it
was another glorious day. Unfortunately today was the day that the majority
of our crew was packing up and leaving, although no one seemed in too much
of a hurry to do so. There was lots of slow, leisurely pack ups over cuppas
and conversations. It’s great to see the sharing of ideas and advice when
this group gets together and people see what others have done, and how
they’ve done it. Poor Doug has come home with quite a long list of projects
for our camper and 4WD. Then there were lunches to be had. Hmmmmm, trying to
delay the inevitable I guess. Another mouse was found in Dale and Karen’s
camper, with much noise from the girls, but Missy the Wonder Dog proved to
be a wonderful mouser and was deployed to find and dispatch the invaders. By
mid-afternoon the last of those leaving were on their way, with sad
farewells and promises of doing it all again soon, and then the remainder of
us settled down for some quiet time before our last happy hour. It was
strange when only a small group of about 10 of us gathered, after the large
crowds that had mingled over the weekend. We had a monster fire tonight,
trying to use up the last of our firewood, and it kept us toasty warm, but
it was early to bed after a busy weekend.
We counted ourselves lucky to have an extra day to add onto the weekend and
enjoyed our Wednesday in an empty campground. Wednesday morning was yet
another foggy start, but the sun came out much earlier, and again, it was a
stunning day. The canvas was drying nicely after the morning dew, but nobody
seemed in any hurry to pack up. Do a bit of work, have a cuppa…………… do a bit
more, have a chat……..do a bit more, have some lunch……………do a bit more, oh
nearly finished!! By early afternoon, the last of us were packed and were
heading away, wishing that we could all just keep going and head to
somewhere other than home and work!
I’m not really sure where to start with our thank-you’s and
acknowledgements. This meet was probably the best that we have hosted, and
it is only made possible by the great group of people that make up the
CamperTrailers Group. We had some “old-timers” who’ve attended far more
meets than us, and some brand new members who were attending their first
meet, we had young children, teenagers and young adults, young families and
those who would prefer I didn’t mention their age, and everyone seemed to
mix well and form a lovely group of like-minded souls. You all made it very
easy for Doug and I, and we thank you for that. Our thanks also must go to
Geoff Campbell, of the campsite management committee, who assisted us with
all the organisation, to Lorraine Graham of the historical society for her
presentation and to Jim, the firewood provider, who kept us all warm.
Now, who’s doing the next one????
