Australasian Touring Caravan, Motorhome & Camping Club, Inc.

Report on the Milton Showground Get-together

20^th to 27^th May 2009.

The Get-together commenced with a couple of wet days, however this did not interfere with a visit south to Mogo Zoo on Thursday for a few and on Friday to see "The Reader" at the movies for most. The movie was very popular with some Club husbands now reading to their spouses.

The cameo of the Get-together was the Celtic Festival at the Berry Showground on Saturday. We had 10 caravans of 19 Club members at Milton Showground and all attended in a Tag-along to Berry. We all enjoyed with interests the variety of music, dance, song, bands, sideshows and Celtic games. There was an odour around the camp the following days, but we could not identify who had the "haggas" from the Festival !

The eleventh hour of Sunday morning was an unusual event when the Wollongong Pigeon Club released 3000 homing pigeons, within 50 metres of our camp. Monday morning was a special event at the invitation of the Milton Croquet Club who provided two guys to supervise and coach, a pair's competition for our Club members.

On Monday night we held the Get-together Dinner at the Mollymook Golf Club and all enjoyed a very good meal, especially the local oysters and the large seafood platters. The following morning we all left early for Nowra where we boarded a river craft for a trip upstream on the Shoalhaven River, meandered thru high sandstone cliffs under a brilliant sunny sky.

Each afternoon we all shared the "happy hour" in the Shed, which was very convenient for such a gathering. The Club "hors-d'osuvre" mixed platter lasted four days and was popular; as were, the Club sausage sizzle's; the first following Disc Bowls on Friday morning and the second being the Farewell Dinner after the Tuesday cruise.

Following a democratic discussion by the Club members at the Milton Showground, we decided that the next Southern NSW Get-together be held at the Berry Showground, being the venue of a National a few years ago.

In summary, the 19 of us, plus Winston, really had a friendly and good time. The Milton Showground provides a great amenity for a smallish get-together and the locality on the NSW South Coast has plenty and varied interest spots. The Club Members spent a gross amount of $5200 in the local businesses, over the 7 days at Milton.