With the ClubbiesSA members being such an integral part of the Sprite Club, I felt this report, unceremoniously lifted from the ClubbiesSA facebook pages (with Sean’s consent of course!) would be of interest to whole club.
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Clubbie Nationals
(all words and images credit to Sean Power)
We’re all home (mostly) from the Nationals.
What a great trip 25 cars and 36 entrants completed to the 2022 Clubbie National in Jindabyne.
We planned for the worst, packing all sorts of snow gear, gloves and jackets and so on, and ended up using just some of it. We were sure it was going to be rainy.
Our first set of roads and accommodation was to Deniliquin on the first night – then that had to be cancelled due to flood evacuations introduced. Another route was considered, then that could not the achieved, so the third option, staying at Bernalla overnight, was selected.
The weather leaving The Bend was great for driving but as we progressed into Victoria and NSW, the roads turned challenging, particularly on some of the rural backroads heading directly to the waypoints we had chosen. At many points the procession of cars and trailers looked like a processions of V8 Supercars warming their tyres up at Victoria Park or The Bend. There were extensive periods of deep ruts, pot holes and washaways that you had to be constantly on the alert for. All of us got caught out at one time or another. Luckily for most of us, we got through unscathed. Barry, one of our Northern brethren had a moment of excitement when his trailer broke. Luckily Andrew Keen, in his always competent manner pulled a welder from his car, borrowed some electricity from a pub and temporally welded the frame so they could continue. He later did a major professional fix up at Jindabyne.
The continuous rain has left a legacy of billions of dollars of road work repairs that will take years to address at both local government and federal levels. The flip side, particularly coming from a traditionally dry state like SA, was the visual delight of seeing the amount of standing water at various roadside locations. Stunning sights of local small reservoirs, the enormous capacity of the Hume Lake storage, running water in creeks and rivers were some great memories. But the vast amount of greenery, grass, trees, crops and ripening fields of grain will stay in the memory for a long time. It was very much like New Zealand I thought, a comment backed up by NZ’ers, the Tyes and others. It is rare to see central parts of Australia so lush.
Jindabyne accommodation at The Station (remote from the centre of Jindy, but a great safe, place to stay) provided space to park cars and trailers comfortably and the huts are well set up, clean and spacious and economic.
The weather for the 4 days was perfect for lounging around in Clubbie Alley or for clubbie driving. Bright, clear and sunny, though you did need gloves and jacket when you were driving, as the altitude, mountains with snow still present and speed cooled a body down quickly. Coffee and wee stops were regular items.
About 80 cars and around 130 individuals attended the event. Interestingly, half the attendees were new to a Clubbie National. As usual, SA provided around 30% of the attendees. There were two runs able to be completed, one short of around 200km and the other near enough to 340kms with other opportunities to drive to places like Charlotte’s Pass, Cooma, Wild Brumby Distillery and so on. These runs were like some of the northern Sunday runs except magnified on a scale of 10. Big distances, great roads (potholes included), wide open spaces, brilliant clubbie weather, deserted and wide open roads and the ability to see for miles ahead mostly. There were few vehicles meandering to hinder a rather wholesome pace! There were a few breakdowns across the group (minor front guard issue for the Tyes, others outside SA group had troubles with electrics) but overall nothing hugely serious or dangerous or costly.
Catching up with friends and acquaintances from previous Nationals or recognising names and vehicles from those who participate regularly on the OzClubbies Forums could be easily done in Clubbie Alley, a regular feature of the Nationals. Many of the vehicles were spectacularly presented, but all had some feature or idea worth capturing.
The final dinner on the Wednesday night was memorable for several reasons. Firstly, three of the seven awards presented on the night went to South Australians. Firstly, Simon Gigney was fittingly awarded the Best in Show Peoples Choice award for his Honda powered Swift. Barry Schults got the Wank Factor Award for his implementation of his in-car phone system with remote activation (cleverly done). His table (his friends of course!) then jeeringly acknowledged him as a real wanker!
The last award was to Paul Doube (and in truth, Ruth as well), and this was the perpetual Kym Ninnes Award for the Longest Distance Travelled. Perhaps this time it was fittingly for the longest and hardest trip, as Paul is now and has been, permanently on oxygen. The elevation above sea level of our accommodation at Jindabyne was a further challenge he had to face during time at The Station, as the thinner air reduced available oxygen with bad effects. In accepting his award, Paul, a person never lost to words, one of the few there to have been to every Nationals and Not the Nationals, eloquently summed up what the Nationals meant to him, the friendships made and the supports given to him and Ruth by many people at the event. Paul was overwhelmed by the recognition and that the award meant so much to him at this time. Suffice to say, with the emotion in his voice and the challenges he faces, there were more than a few tears in people’s eyes at the end of his entreaty to make sure people come to the next Nationals.
I have included a photo of the only remaining people who have been to every National and Not the National events since they began. Simon, Barry, Paul & Ruth, all SA and Les & Brenda (Vic). Well done folks. And speaking of the next Nationals, Les Bone from Victoria was able to announce that Victoria will host the next Nationals in 2024, place and details to be confirmed at a later stage. I will keep you posted.
I have added a few photos of the event to this monologue, more of which may also be seen on the ClubbiesSA Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/clubbiessa
A great thank you to all the people from SA who made the long journey – a round trip of some 4,500kms, and especially to Tim & Mark Jolly for their long, long trip in their own Clubbies. No trailers for them! They are tough and resourceful. The whole SA team of Clubbie enthusiasts were great and I was proud to be with them. Special thanks to people behind the scenes who helped herd us in the right direction (most of the time) and keep on top of bookings and other arrangements. These were Andrew Keen, Phil & Jenny Coates, Simon & Cheryl Gigney & Barry Edson.
Third Sunday 18th December, 2022 & Father Christmas
In 2 weeks it is the final Third Sunday for the year. Come along in your cars if the weather allows. Am talking to Fred about parking in the front of the Rezz on the grass this week to see if possible. As usual, I am Father Christmas Grinch, handing out little gifts to everyone. The Rezz is going to look at supporting us as usual with giveaways of wine, hats and small gifts. A bit of fun for everyone to end another big year.
Annual Donation to support ClubbiesSA – third Sunday 2022
As you should know, I run ClubbiesSA on a donation basis, with the first donation going towards paying for the keyring and then each year, any money raised goes to support costs such as website registrations & other costs, general thank you gifts and support if we have activities, the 6 Hour hire costs, Christmas give aways and so on.
So this year is the same – if you can afford it, $20 would be appreciated. Just grab me on the day.