The meeting place was at the Munno Para shops on Main Nth Rd around 10 am on Friday. Shelley & I arrived there near the time & found Alan & Ineke enjoying some Macca’s breakfast. Over the next 30 odd minutes Bruce & Jill, Garry & Cathy, Terry & Gill and of course, our wonderful trip leader J.C. After some Macca’s hot chocolate or coffee and a head count we hit the road. This was going to be a good weekend.

We followed J.C. north to Clare and onto Jamestown where we threw out the anchors for lunch. At Jamestown some of us stayed with the vehicles as we supplied our own lunch while the others went for a walk to find a bakery. After about 30 minutes we were on the road again heading towards Orroroo where we were to meet up with Jenny. We didn’t have to wait long in the town as Jenny was nearby, so after a quick intro we were mobile again.

Our next stop was in the town of Carrieton where J.C. had a great idea. "Let’s go into this building." So like good little Wanderers, we obeyed. There were 2 reasons for going in. The first, J.C. could sense our thirst. The second was to meet up with Phil Fisher, our host for the weekend. The stop was brief but welcome and time was getting on so we made our way out and this time Phil took the lead. We soon found the dirt. Yippee! First right hand turn out of town and we were off the bitumen.

It seemed that every time we found a right turn we followed it. I thought we were going to end up back at Carrieton, but our troop leader wasn’t going to let that happen. After several kms and one gate through another property we made it to Phil’s camp site.

We were all given the housekeeping rundown and headed off to find a suitable piece of ground to set up our camp.

During the course of the arvo, more company arrived. There was Dean, Debbie & Chelsea, Geoff & Jeanne, Stuart & Karyn, Chris & Margie & J.C.’s fellow firey Jason. Later Phil and Jayne provided us with a delicious meal for dinner around a roaring campfire. We needed it. The wind and cold had to be kept out somehow. Keeping the evening going we were entertained by Alan, Jason and Bill and Colleen with songs & guitar playing.

Supper was supplied by Phil. The scones with jam & cream were a wonderful end to the day. Saturday started out as normal. A run to that place, followed by breakfast, coffee and a chat with whoever walked by.

During the morning John & Kym and Andrew & Sarah arrived still loaded up from their trip to Birdsville. After the new arrivals had set up, it was time for the fun. We fired up the vehicles, formed a queue, & followed Phil for the magical mystery tour. It was great. There were hills, gullies, lots of rocks and trees.

As usual there were a few mishaps along the way. Alan pulled out of the queue early in the trip with a suspected broken suspension. He and Ineke climbed in with Dean and we were off again, leaving his vehicle behind for later inspection. Chris had a flat tyre and I managed to get myself wedged in a ditch. Thank heavens for travelling in a group. Jenny came to my rescue. Thank you Jenny.

During the day we arrived at our destination and were treated to another display of Phil’s hospitality in the form of a sausage sizzle. We had to walk a short distance to the BBQ and it was well worth the walk. While the BBQ was cooking, J.C. led us on up the path to some rock paintings.

On our return to camp, we found that the wind had played merry hell with several tents and some minor adjustments were necessary. Alan and J.C. went back up the track to rescue the stranded vehicle from the terrors of being left alone.

Rob and Justin arrived after our return from running amuck. Shame they missed a great day.

Another treat for dinner. Gee, this is just too good. I’ll be forgetting how to cook a BBQ before you know it. Then the missus will be looking for a new cook. Phil felt sorry for the late arrivals that missed the scones so he produced still more on Saturday night. Some satisfied customers left early Sunday morning, including Alan and Ineke who had a very slow creep home, from what we heard. Some of us were happy to stay on and left after a quiet lunch. All in all, we think a great time was had by all. We’ll see you all there again next year.

Eric & Shelley



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