Washpools - Easter 2008
Finally it was Easter and we were all looking forward to a fantastic trip to “The Washpools”. 14 cars in total headed off from various locations to join the convoy. It was a very picturesque drive as all the recent rain had greened everything up and the creeks were flowing (great for washing windscreens) as the roads were very dusty. After a fantastic drive and some extra scouting for an alternate entrance for the Thomason’s “whale” caravan to enter the camp site we all started setting up. Once that task was all done the relaxing and exploring began.
Friday night turned out to be a noisy night for some. The neighbours (4wd club members) from over the (ditch) creek certainly let us know they were very merry (hey! Marga and Rita). Nothing more will be said as the old saying goes “What happens on the trip - stays on the trip”. Well maybe not, the fines are sure to be very interesting if the fines person can remember them! Boy, were there some sore heads the next day.
Saturday turned out to be a day of canoeing, swimming, fishing, putting out the yabby pots and some exploring. A few cars drove up to the junction for a gander and to recharge the batteries. We went to return via an old route but the creek was too soft. Poor Staggy had to be winched back out of the creek. Terry had a little trouble himself (twice) getting out of the sand. Good value to watch though. Saturday night was a much more settled night with some fantastic conversation around the fire, a few quiet ales and some fantastic marshmallow roasting. Thanks to Ryan and Dana and of course there was some very excited discussions about the Easter Bunny’s arrival.
Sunday dawned to a spectacular day and lots of buzz from all the kids about their special gifts left behind. That bunny sure is a clever fellow to find us all the way out there and some of the adults were just as spoilt as the kids. Another wonderful day of doing as much or as little as anyone wanted with swimming and canoeing being the favourite pastime. Around the camp fire Natalie announced the winner in “guess the smarties competition” and Wendy was the lucky winner. All proceeds went to ‘Relay For Life’ registration.
Monday came around too quickly and the packing up was not a task we looked forward to. After that was all finished, one last swim beckoned and many an opinions expressed that how wonderful it would have been if we could have stayed for a week. Seeing as the driving part of the weekend was fairly tame Terry thought he would give the group something to do. He found one of the biggest washouts around and decided to put one wheel either side of it. An hour later, no major damage and some happy banter we headed off for an uneventful trip home.
It was a fantastic weekend; the washpools were at their best and the company sensational. It really is one of the clubs best trips.
Thanks to Terry and Fay for leading and everyone else for a bloody brilliant weekend. Looking forward to next years’ already.
By Jeanette & Derek VanKerckhof
