 |
Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club of Qld (Inc) |
|
|
Chinchilla - Feb '07 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
Chinchilla Watermelon Festival 16-18 February 2007Trip leaders Garry and Pam Broadhurst Melon eaters Tony & Lorrel Roberts Greg Dunstan Frank & Val Archer Gary & Gwen Davis John Veling Chris & Pam Gilfoyle (stayed with friends) Well, first of all I am lucky to survive the weekend. No, a watermelon did not fall on my head nor did I slip on one during one of the many activities but I did fall victim to a Greg Dunstan prank. Yes, I knew it had to happen one day as I have been in the club coming up to 12 months but it hit me left field. This is how it went. “John, try this little bit of wine in the cup, it really is VERY good”. Looking into the cup it was only a teaspoon and always trusting of my fellow Mitshibushi club members I quickly gulped it down. That is where things went wrong as I am allergic to chili and this was a 150% Chilli wine that Greg bought from one of the local Chinchilla stalls. No wonder Greg broke camp early the next morning to go back to Brisbane.
Chinchilla? Where is it? 300kms west of Brisbane is where you can find it. A pretty place with tree lined streets that were a great setting for many of the activities and events occurring during the weekend. Watermelons? I have never seen so many smashed, rolled, thrown, eaten or skied on. Over 6000 people found their way for the weekend and it was fun. Lots of fun. Even a Guinness world record was broken with over 40 melons smashed with ones forehead (must have been a Prado member showing his frustration). The Mitsubishi club camped at the local showgrounds (which also had a horse festival on) and we had lots of space - and I mean lots of space!!!!!!!! I believe it had something to do with all the millions of ants. Ants? What ants? As I poured first ant powder around my tent followed by talcum powder followed by a can of spray at the ready. Those in their nanavans must have been silently laughing. Most members were settled by Friday night with only our trip leader coming up behind on Saturday. Saturday was the main day for all the events and with so much happening we all went in our own direction but despite 6000 odd people it still wasn’t hard to bump into fellow members. I even tried very hard to put my face in front of the “Getaway” film crew or the channel 10 or channel 7 crews so that I could promote the club. After a full day of activities we all retired back to camp for our extended “half past” happy hour and to watch the fireworks. Sunday was the bush poet’s breakfast and bar the Archers, we all took off at 6.30am. Bush poet’s breakfast? Now I am not a poetry fan and I wasn’t that keen to go but why didn’t they tell me that bush poetry was really someone telling dirty jokes in rhyme? I am hooked!!!. 2 hours we listened to all sorts of dirty smut and ate a heartening meal (that included watermelons). The venue was perfect as we sat under huge trees surrounded by historical bygones on display at the historical museum. This was a great weekend. For those members who were planning to come up but changed their minds (had something to do with weather and rain) you missed out on a great time. Highlights??
John Veling Back to Top
|
|
|
