At Bellingen markets we got to park on the showground
Well Sunday got washed out
Photos at the bottom of the page
Pulling into the Sawtell Caravan Park and finding our cabin was very welcoming after having travelled almost 1,500 km since leaving Sydney the weekend before. Taking in the sights of Dubbo, Uralla and McLean, before heading south to Sawtell, we'd caught up with family and friends as well as spending two amazingly peaceful days at Cruickshank's Cottage just south of Uralla. With cows and horses literally at the front door, and the biggest starry night sky imaginable, it is a place truly worth checking out if you want to escape the rat race of Sydney.
On arrival at the caravan park in Sawtell, the usual suspects were already there, having made the early pilgrimage in the wee small hours of Friday morning. Steve and David Carter, Leigh & Belinda and her mum Juliet and Michael, and Bill had accompanied Bob in his new Seat GTI. Steve & Meredith were also there in the Notch as were Brian & Ray and Chris & Heather Pascoe, and a few other faces I'd not seen before. Once everyone had stopped laughing at my choice of clothes, and watched me nearly lose my beanie to the over-protective bird on the green, we all stood around exchanging stories about our trips to Sawtell.
Not long after arrival, a Prime TV crew had appeared and asked for several examples of VWs for a display on the green, so the first 'show' of the weekend was the dozen cars of varying eras parading before the camera. From Andrew Dodd's 1951 Belgium import through to Michael's 2007 Golf GTI, there was a great spread of VWs for the news to capture. On top of which, Andrew Dodd, Rose Merrett, Steve Carter and myself were all interviewed and featured in the news article on Prime later that evening.
The stories continued that afternoon over prawns and beer in the Community Hall before everyone freshened up for the first night out. For a small town, Sawtell has some great restaurants on offer, from cafés to the Indian, from the Italian to the good old RSL, where a small group of us headed for the bistro.
The next morning we were all up early with VWs assembled in the carpark, to prepare for our convoy to Bellingen and the markets. The wife and I had visited Bellingen on our last Sawtell trip so we knew what a quaint little village it was. What we hadn't bargained for was the throngs of people who had turned out for the markets and what they probably hadn't bargained for, was the 65 Volkswagens which rattled into town and proceeded to park in the middle of the village green. With almost 4 hours free to roam the markets and elsewhere, I'm sure none of us objected to being 'locked' into the green until 2.30pm. And from what I observed during the drive into Bellingen, the locals were all supportive of the exhibition being put on for them.
Shortly after returning from Bellingen, a few swap meet stalls were set up in the Community Hall including one which seemed to be doing a good trade on models, mugs and other smaller memorabilia, despite the oncoming rain. Once the swappers had packed up, the hall was given over to a local bushpoet who was very well received with around 25 people listening to his act, which included poetry, jokes and a song or two. With more prawns and beer as an accompaniment the day had been rounded off very well indeed.
For me, Sunday morning will go down as one of the most exhilarating experiences in quite a while. The rain which had threatened on Saturday night was now here to stay. But despite this, the Raleigh Go- Kart track was still open and waiting for any mad racers to give it a go. So whilst Steve and David took young Daniel McFadden with them, I loaded the rest of his clan into my Kombi and off we went, along with Chris from Shellharbour (probably the only person on the weekend who had left his VW at home!!). I think the plan was for the McFaddens to drive up to Raleigh in Sarah's rather distinct grey Beetle, complete with slogans and silhouettes of rockstars long since passed, but now was probably not the most appropriate time to drive with malfunctioning windscreen wipers!!
Once at Raleigh, it was certainly damp on track, but the rain had rather pleasingly stopped. And so the seven of us took to the track however not before noting the arrival of Chris and Heather Pascoe complete with one expensive looking digital camera. "Remember to smile guys, whilst negotiating those hairpin bends with your backside 1 inch from the ground on a track which had seen 24 hours of heavy rain!!" To say it was slippery out on track was an understatement. I don't think anyone of us did not complete at least one 180 degree spin and if it wasn't for the karts slowing down during such spins, I think we would easily have done a whole series of 360's down the straight. It was hilarious fun! The sight of everyone thinking they'd negotiated the turns only to then lose it and just drive straight into either long grass or the tyre wall was so hysterical I spent one whole lap just cackling away inside my helmet.
My only regret was completing just 11 laps; I could easily have done double that. Next time for sure! By the time we returned, the rain was still falling and it had put a bit of a dampner on things. The car show on the green kind of wasn't, and I found myself just hanging out in the cabin until after lunch time, at which point we forced ourselves to go out for a walk just for some fresh air.
And so it was that Monday came and another successful Sawtell weekend was over. Those of us that had stayed the extra night, said our farewells and headed south down the highway. We followed Steve and Meredith in the notchback for quite a while and the blue Beetle (sorry, not sure who owned this) which we had caught up with. I enjoyed being in one last convoy albeit just 3 of us through some of the sleepy towns along the Pacific Highway. And as the rain still hammered down we made one last stop at Raymond Terrace for lunch, before pulling back onto the highway for home. Just as we were exiting the carpark, in drove the Carters, Leigh and Belinda and Michael. I hope everyone made it home in that torrential rain? Bring on 2009.
Martin Fox & family
Thanks Heather and Chris Pascoe for the photos
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At Bellingen markets we got to park on the showground |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Well Sunday got washed out |
||||
|
|
|||
| So some of us went Go Kart racing at Raleigh, in the wet | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| . |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||