Club
Camp, Porepunkah December, 2005
Loading
the BMW with enough gear for my nine year old daughter Meagan and I to camp the
three nights at Mt Buffalo Caravan Park was quite a challenge. For me this was
half the fun. We headed off at 10 am Tuesday from
Wednesday
morning we were greeted by grey skies that soon developed into pouring rain.
Postponing the ride for that day until about 11am, when finally the skies
turned to blue, Meagan, Ern and I headed off to Albury to replace our front
tyres. This was achieved without too much hassle. With the temperature rising fast
we headed back to the caravan park while Ern took the long way via Mitta Mitta.
On
returning to the caravan park Meagan and I joined the other 20-30 campers and
one 4 foot tiger snake for a swim in the nearby river. Not happy to stay where
it was, the snake decided to make a break for the opposite bank, much to the
horror of the ten people also in its path, and twenty other screaming on
lookers. Most people managed to get out of the way of the fast moving serpent,
except for three young girls who took refuge in their blow up boat. The snake
also tried a couple of times to board the blow up boat, fortunately for the
hysterical girls these attempts were unsuccessful. Finally it made its way to
the bushes on the opposite bank. Within 15 minutes the swimming hole had
returned to normal, except for a few less people, ourselves included.
That
evening, while some people were tyre changing and making fine adjustments to
their bikes we joined Ben, Julie, Lyn, Jacinta, Ern and Barb in a
friendly game of cards.
With
only a short ride to Falls Creek and back scheduled for the day’s ride, I
volunteered myself and Meagan to go rear rider, a little apprehensive to whether
we could keep up or not. As it turned out we weren’t that far behind the group.
Being rear rider I was able to observe the head turning of all the people in
Bright as the dozen or so leather clad riders snaked their way through town.
Out
of town heading for the Towonga gap Danny showed us his riding skills by
dropping a mono far off into the distance. “Awesome” was the muffled comment I
heard come from the little voice behind me.
It
wasn’t long before we were at Falls Creek. The temperature was a comfortable 17
degrees. Meagan was suffering from motion sickness, so I bought her a potato
cake to settle her stomach, much to the horror of Lyn and Ben. The potato cake
combined with a much smoother ride down the mountain avoided any further
stomach complaints, and what could have been a very messy disaster. A quick
photo shoot at picturesque Bogong then lunch at Mt Beauty and of course more
photos. It was time to head back to the caravan park for a much need cooling off
in the river.
That
evening I joined the usual race (I mean ride) up Mt Buffalo. I think the BMW
enjoyed the tight twisties as much as I did, making Lyn a little nervous as I
was right on her tail all the way. We took time to enjoy the magnificent views
of the surrounding countryside and more photos. Lyn was adamant she didn’t want
me on her tail on the way down so I tried to tag on to Ben, finding him slowly
but surely pulling away from me. Not to worry, after all, it wasn’t a race.
With
a good night’s sleep behind us, it was time to load the BM and endure the hot
bum-numbing ride home. The BM was up for sale but that may be put on hold after
Meagan was keen to know when our next ride together would be.
Thanks
to all the club members who made our four day stay at Mt Buffalo so enjoyable.
We wish you a safe and happy new year.
Shane & Meagan Hindle