2012 East Coast Spring Tour

[Deleted]

Hi all..

To co-incide with the October vintage caravan weekend at Tathra NSW from Friday October 5th to tuesday October 8th 2012
See here for more details ...
vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=runevent1&action=display&thread=10120

I am again organising a vintage caravaning spring tour leaving Tathra on Tuesday morning and heading up the coast.
These events are always ran at a liesurley pace and it is not uncommon to take a full 8 hours to do as little as 200k .
Lots of stops at little road side villages.. coffee shops .. junk shops...lunch beaks.. scenic site breaks... pee breaks... .. etc etc...
People just doing thier own thing and soaking up the scenery . No convoy or pressure to be anywhere by a certain time..
Just a pre determined and booked destination to be at by mid to late arvo.. ( otherwise we start worrying about you as you will miss out on happy hours in the van park)

The plan this year is to head north out of Tathra by mid morning ....

Tuesday and head up to either ,,,
Batemans Bay...147 k -2 hours ( or the riverbreeze van park at Moruya .. 5 star park in my opinion)
or
Uladulla... 199k - 3 hours

Wednesday...
One of the above to Kendalls Beach van park just on the southern outskirts of Kiama....around 160k - 2 5 hours travelling

Thursday
Kendalls beach van park to Coledale....53K- 1 hour arrive mid morning.
Those on the tour wishing to stay on at Coledale can do so.
Those continuing on the tour will leave Coledale Friday morning

Friday
Coledale Beach Camping Reserve to Belmont Pines caravan Park - Lake Macquarie
193 K - 3.5 hours

Saturday
Belmont Pines caravan park to either stockton beach caravan park ( newcastle harbour north shore..20k - 45 mins or...
Shoal bay Caravan Park ( Port Stephens) ...75 k - 1.5 hours.

Sunday... Go home.
Please note .. you do not have to be a forum member to attend this event. I have met a few people over my years of vintage caravaning that are not forum member but admit to following the vintage caravaning scene via the electronic media. "Lurkers" if you wish... but... non the less vintage caravanning enthusiasts.
You people are more than welcome to come along on this tour.

What i have proposed is just the bare bones basics of what i have in mind for this years tour. you are more than welcome to make suggestions about overnight stays at van parks you may have stayed at in your travels along the proposed route we will be taking this year.

Lots of fine tuning to be done before October... stay tuned..
Just remeber if you intend hooking up with the tour at Tathra , make sure you book in there.. doesnt have to be on the friday. you can drop in any day and drop off the tour whenever .. and where ever you please...
Nowhere near as organised as the 2012 www.vintagecaravan nationals.. (Touring is a completely different ball game than being at the one location for a week ) ..but a whole lot of fun just the same..
Please consider getting to Tathra on the friday or saturday .. it will be the start of a great week on the road.


So.. there ya go.. plenty of time to consider whats on offer... have input..discuss with the spouse... shuffle holidays to suit.

Hear from you later.
Reddo

[Deleted]

Hi All
Just dusting off this thread so everyone can give the thought of coming on this years east coast spring tour some serious consideration .

See previuos post for some motivation...
Tuesday nights stay will be at The Riverbreeze caravan park. Princes Hwy Moruya.

Wednesday nights stay will be Kendalls Beach Caravan Park Kiama

(Those of you that want to do an extra hour on the road on wednesday can motor on up to Coledale if you wish to do so).

Thursday morning head up to coledale. .. and stay until Saturday morning .There wil be a lot of people there from NSW who are regulars at Coledale each year ,So there will be plenty of time to catch up with friends you may have met at Cowra Nats , check out the local sceneray, or just relax after the hectic times at Tathra and on the road for a few days.

Again i stress that those wishing to stay on longer at Coledale can do just that.

Those hanging with the tour will leave by around 9.00am Saturday and head up to The Pines caravan park at Belmont on the eastern shores of Lake Macquarie.
End of tour for me....

I will be heading home on sunday morning.

Those heading back towards all points on the way to QLD.
might like to phone Stockton Beach Caravan Park and book there for sunday night ... or maybe ya might be keen to head further north.
I will leave sunday nights accomodation plans to those people.

So.... a couple of small changes to what i originally proposed.
We stay a day extra at Coledale.
Tour ( for me at least ) ends at Belmont saturday night.
Bear in mind i usually run a raffle during the tour and we draw the winners on the last night of the tour.

Prizes usually consist of seafood, wine, spirits, chocolates etc...Only condition of entry in the raffle is... if ya win ya have to share with the rest of us...

Could those intending to come on the tour please PM me. I will not be posting the names here on the forum.
I will reply to them with names of others coming on the tour , contact details of van parks, date of arrival, so they can make thier bookings,

Only about 10 weeks away ... so get your skates on guys.
Regards
Reddo

[Deleted]

Just a reminder..

Could those intending to come on the tour please PM me. I will not be posting the names here on the forum.
I will reply to them with names of others coming on the tour , contact details of van parks, date of arrival, so they can make thier bookings,

Only about 10 weeks away ... so get your skates on guys.
Regards
Reddo

Read more: vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=runevent1&action=display&thread=10152#ixzz21huhsSi0

[Jennison]

Might I suggest that people who are coming on the EC tour from/after Tathra should probably start making their bookings for Moruya, Kendalls, Coledale etc etc....me included I must admit....a job for tomorrow!
jenno

[Cruz]

:'(WellNO tour for me this year
Just Tathra Fri, Sat, and will catch up at the pub in Moruya on Tuesday night.

[Deleted]

Hi All
I have contact those that have pm 'd me stating they are coming on the tour..... all 3 of them
This is the generic message they have recieved today .

..........
I have booked 10 sites at the Riverbreeze van park for Tues 9th Oct.. in the name of glenn redman - vint vans
Please Ph: 02 44742370 to confirm your booking and pay for site.

I have booked 10 sites at Kendalls beach caravan park at Kiama for wednesday 10th Oct.. in the name of glenn redman - vint vans
Please Ph .. 02 42321790 to confirm your booking at pay for your site.

Both parks have asked that booking be paid for by end of August.

Thanks for signing up for the tour.

More info on saturday nights booking at Belmont pines tourist park once i have spoken with park managers.
Cheers for now
Reddo

[Deleted]

;D ;D ;D

What a difference 24 hours makes...
We now have 9 starters and one "definite maybe".... hmmmm might have to ring the parks and ask for another 1/2 doz sites to be put on standby....

Cheers all
Reddo

[Jennison]

jennison, Larrynlyn all booked in. they are not requiring deposits....it's pay on arrival for VV regulars!

[Deleted]

Aug 1, 2012 10:27:14 GMT 10 Jennison said:

jennison, Larrynlyn all booked in. they are not requiring deposits....it's pay on arrival for VV regulars!

Hi Jenno
Kendalls Beach manager stated that he will need a deposit or full payment by no later than end of August .
Has he changed his tune ??
He stated that we have the entire back fence except for one large late model jobby that books in every year and stays for a few weeks on his "sacred site"

Even if he has relaxed this requirement it would be good to get all our sites booked to show that we are fair dinkum about attending.. and its one less ön the road "expense in October....

Still havent spoken to the managers at Belmont. There are better parks in the area ... but that one is dog friendly and i know it means a lot to to those people that bring their hounds along..
We dont wnna split the group up.

Not too sure how many on the tour will still be with us by saturday night.. .. but i will bracket book 10 sites.. we can always drop a few sites off later on if there is less than that still travelling north with us on saturday arvo.
Be it 2 or be it 10 we will still have a good time...

One thing i am sure of Tathra on saturday night will take some beating and.. will be talked about for years to come....

Regards
Reddo

[Jennison]

Hiya Reddo,
I rang both moruya and Kendalls yesterday and booked for Larry and Lyn and myself.
In both cases without any prompting they said that VVers were regulars and to just pay on arrival!?
regards
jenno

[Deleted]

Hi All

I have just posted a reply to Geoff and Judes request for names attending Coledale...
My reply was as follows...
Hi Geoff and Jude..
I will break the silence here..

At present we have 8 definites coming on the tour.. and one definite maybe.
Of these there is only me and one queenslander that live north of Coledale.
I have just sent them ( the QLD crew) a pm proposing that we drop the idea of heading up to Belmont on the saturday and have the extra night at Coledale.
Which would mean the touring types would arrive thursday mid morning and leave sunday whenever it suited them.

So... when i hear back from them .. (and anyone else on the tour that lives south of coledale that was planning on heading north on saturday to Belmont) i will confirm what the decision is.

At present you can book me in from Thurs 11th to Sat13th.... if those coming on the tour are happy to pull up at Coledale ...?.. well ya can book me in for sat night as well.


Regards
Reddo

[Geoff & Jude]

Hi Reddo,

Thanks muchly - will wait to hear from more "Coledalers"

Jude

[Jennison]

I'm easy...I'll have wot Reddos having. ;D
So Geoff and Jude mark me down the same please for Coledale...
Just got called by fellow EC Tourers HarveyEH and Sue , can you book them for the same as well. they will go with the flow.
Reddo, they will confirm their bookings at Moruya and Kendalls tomorrow
jennison

[Deleted]

Hi All
Just giving the east coast tour a bit of a bump to remind all those that are tagging along from Tathra on the Tuesday morning to Moruya and onwards wednesday to Kendalls .... and onwards thursday to Coledale to ..
A. Phone the riverbreeze van park at Moruya and book in foir tuesday night
B. Phone Kendalls Beach Caravan Park at Kiama and book in for wednesday night
C. Phone or pm Geoff and Jude and book in for Thursday night... and through to whatever day you plan on leaving Coledale camping reserve

Please ensure you do this as there is no garauntee that the parks will hold a site if you havent pre booked.
Its not that far off now...
Regards
Reddo

[Deleted]

Hi East coast tourers...
It struck me today that i had not booked a site for myself at either The riverbreeze or Kendalls van park.
All i had done was book a group booking for around 10 vans.
So... i rang both parks today and booked /paid for my site... easy peasy.
One less expense when i am away on holidays...
I asked if anyone else had booked and paid for thier sites.
It appears that 5 of us have secured a spot in the parks.
What needs to happen is for the rermaining 5 on my list to ..

BOOK AND PAY FOR THEIR SITES BY THE END OF AUGUST OTHERWISE THE SITES SET ASIDE WILL BE RELEASED TO ANYONE WHO PHONES AND WANTS TO BOOK A SITE.....

So.. if you know of anyone that is planning on coming along on the tour just tell em we aint spoon feeding them and they need to act now to secure a site .
I know for a fact there isnt a lot of powered sites at either park . Also the riverbreeze has been kind enough to block out the whole levee bank sites for us vintage vanners... the least we can do is show our appreciation and get in contact... book a site and pay for it.

I have a list of those who have indicated they are coming along with us up to Coledale and.. after today phone calls i have a rough idea who has rang/booked and paid.
I will contact those that appear not to have paid and give them one reminder. If they dont get their act together then they may just be camping on an umpowered site..
Obviuosly there may be others who may want to come on the tour with us.. Just ring the parks and book then send me a pm stating that you are tagging along with us...

SAY NO MORE....!!!

Regards
Reddo

[Deleted]

Hi All

7 paid tourists and 4 definite maybes as of today.
Thanks for making the effort and getting organised guys.

Cheers
Reddo

[Deleted]

Ok Dudes..
I have clean forgotten to ring the caravan parks back as promised by the end of August.
I will ring them tomorrow arvo and let em know there is no extra people from the vintage caravan group booking in on sites for tuesday and wednesday on the tour up to Coledale.
So if ya havent booked at Moruya or Kendalls then i suggest ya jump straight on the dog and bone and do it pronto.

I have 11 names that have indicated they are tagging along.. i think 9 of them have paid.

Swwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeet.

Ketchup soon..
Regards
Reddo

[stephen&Julie]

Stephen&Julie are making the pilgrimage south,all booked in
Cheers

[Jennison]

Hi Steve and Julie could you PM me your tathra site number please
regards
jenno

[Deleted]

Hi All
Just an update on whats doing .. Pre tour..... aka .. the trip down to Tathra.
I have been contacted by a few people from up north that will be travelling down through Newcastle on Thursday morning.
Also have another couple coming down from the upper hunter Valley around the same time..
So... I hope to get away from work around 10 ish. hook the van up and catch up with these people somewhere along the highway heading south.
Plan is to turn off to Mittagong. then turn left at Bowral and head past fitzroy Falls
We are all booked into a van park at Kangaroo valley on thursday night. Its just north of Nowra... and inland a bit.
So.. if anyone is making the pilgramage south on Thursday and would like some company, thats where you will find us.

It'll be about a 5 hour run to tathra on Friday morning.
Getting excited..
Cant wait

Regards
Reddo

[Koala]

Hey Reddo, you are a braver man than me if you tow a van through Kangaroo Valley. A great drive though and good food at the pub.
Ken

[Deleted]

Hi Ken
A Supalite Van
Disc brakes and 4 speed box in the towcar
Turn the rear view mirrors skyward so ya cant see the disgruntled tailgaters..
Keep reminding myself .. i pay rego too ad i will go as slow as i like down the mountain.
I seem to remember similar concerns when we took the easts coast tourists down The Clyde mountain to nelligen back arond 2008.
Turned out to be a great run.
Have been up the kangaroo valley road... Had to stop and change a drivers side rear wheel on the landcruiser( with trailer on behind) on a sharp right hand bend with half the car still out on the road..
Son Joel standing 100 yards down the road slowing/ warning the upcoming traffic

Now THAT was scarey.
Cheers mate.
Reddo

[Deleted]

Hi Toring van types.
After a great weekend at Tathra around 12 vans rolled out the van park this morning. First stop was at Bermagui for a mid morning munch from the bakery. Bewt scenery down the south coast of NSw.
I struggle with the sight of fat lazy cows laying around in lush green paddocks ... straight opposite surf beaches on the other side of the road.
Second stop was the Bodalla cheese factory. we have all stocked up on some really potent smelly cheeses, so the the farts will be thick at tsarvos happy hour.
Rocked on into Narooma and hit the second hand shops. peoiple where seen heading back to thier vans with arm loads of good crap.
We hit Moruya around 1.30pm.
Have been reasonably lucky with the weather.. been raining all around us but we have dodged it all day.
Just about to head up to the Waterfront Hotel for a feed.
We are heading to "airstream Heaven" tomorrow morning...

More later.. stacks of photos from Tathra... great vans, great cars.... great people... Life is good. ... and so is life on the road with old cars and vans....;D ;D ;D

Regards
Reddo

[Deleted]

Hi All
Just lobbed home from this years east coast tour.. the tour ya have when ya travelling between vint van events..

I reckon we where blessed to get away with the weather we got while heading north . every town we stayed in we where told by the locals to "Batton down"for the night we where in for a soggy windy night..
My how we proved them wrong
Left Tathra on Tues morning and headed uop to our first stop at Bemagui pie shop.. this a great stretch of road for sight seeing.. lotsa little bays and beaches.... bewt views...
I tried to get a few happy snaps while driving.. not a good idea...

second stop was the Dairy factory at Bodalla.. stocked up on a few cheeses for happy hour.
Nice leafy driveway across the road eading up to a beautiful old church.
Here is a nice shot of John and Pams EH with TD under the trees...

And... a rusty old HR yoot getting in on the act...



inside the Bodalla - Anglican All saints church.....

Before leaving i dropped a few coins in the poor box and said a little prayer asking old mate for a few fine days touring and safe travel for all on the tour... it seemed to work..
moved on to Narooma New and used store. Scored a nice old heater for $5.00.

Arrived at The riverbreeze van park not long after lunch.




The rest of the crew took a tour of Cruzs shed collection while i kicked back and had a fish .. to no avail.
Nice feed at the pub that night . drinkies in the camp kitchen later in the evening. Dr Jennison prescribed a dose of Irish whisky for my sore throat. Half a tin cup knocked out the thorat.. tonsels.. tongue and voice box for the evening... Thanks Jeff.

Up early wednesday .. cooked brekky while keepin an eye on my set line down on the river bank


Wound our way up to Batemans Bay and checked out those sweet airstreams...






Had a great time discussing time payment options... ;D with the sales staff.. then got ushered off the premises. Local newspaper turned up and took pixs of our vans while interviewing a few of our celebritys.
Headed up to Kendalls Beach Kiama for the night.. where they had managed to create two reddos ( double booked) and managed to drop a few poorly chosen comments on us about taking away the opportunity for week long bookings by booking a night mid week... onya guys.. comments noted .. and duely passed on to the travelling public.

Weather again was kind to us... lovely sunshine all arvo... just right for arvo drinks...


A bloke by the name of Ivan , and his wife sharon dropped in from the street above the park ... They asked for Reddo.... .. i always get a bit uneasy when this happens.. turns out they are restoring an Atlantic just like Maurie and Kates.. Rob and Belindas. They have near completed the inside and are as keen as mustard.... More pix and the full story on how they came into possession of the old van can be found on www.ourtouringpast.com.


Up Thursday morning and off to Coledale... a few light showers .. but gradually improving as we headed into .. Hell.. ummmm Coledale.

Arrived around 11.00ish to warm glorious sunshine.... set up camp and done some shopping . by around 2 pm we had around 12 vans.... Weathe forecast.. best described as .. prepare to kiss your bum goodbye.. or words to that effect...
Yeah yeah.. sure sure... been hearing that all week.. besides that i had put 3 shillings and tuppence in the Bodalla all saints church poor box as a surity old mate god wouldnt rain on our tour....
Oooh geez... maybe i should have made it 5 bob....

Off to the club for dinner and raffle.. MrFJ and family cleaned up with a few nice prizes.... BANG.. BANG.. BOOM... what the hell was that.. open the door of the club.. its flogging down.. continued to do so.. Young Ticko ran a shuttel service in his Turbo VL commy down and back to the club. Mauri arrived later to vollect me , John Ticko and John Daniels .
Back at camp.. teeming down... the Tickos and maurie doin their best to get a fire going in a drum... me ringing my wet clothes out and heading for bed.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.. yessss.. Coledale weather.. i remember it well well now.. its a tradition ya know...
..collapsed tents...

50 knot winds , rain measured in metres overnight... not millimetres.. seas to 8 metres....


Packed up and gone by 9.00am today.. home just before one...
Snowing at Blackheath, Golbourn, Glen Innes. highway closed at Katoomba....
Uladulla recieved 235mm of rain in a 24 hour period.

AAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.. springtime in the east. Total madness.

So.. thats another weeks annual leave burn off. had a ball.
Dead set lucky to get away with the good weather while at Tathra and on the tour.

Was terrific catching up with old aquaintences and striking up new friendships with others.
Ya really do meet the nicest people in vintage caravans. ;D

Next years spring tour will be up the north coast and staying up that way. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Also hoping to string a convoy together around March to head up the Hunter valley ( overnight nundle) and on up the great divide over a few days ending up at Tenterfield ( possibly) for an Autumn Tour.
Ya cant dampen this black ducks enthusiasm for touring.
;D
Regards
Reddo

[humpyboy]

Thanks for the pics and story Mr Reddo, looks as though you all had a good time dispite the rain, nice 48 Ute at the AirstreaM factory, do they tow with it?