ACC Stand at the Echuca Great Outdoor & 4x4 Expo by Kaye Hocking

The ACC Murray River Ramblers Branch held a muster at Tongala so we could attend the Expo and man the ACC stand.  Six vans pulled into Tongala in very inclement weather.  With rain falling, Kaye, Ian, Vince & Cathy ventured to the Expo site to set up the stand.  Amid the mud and slush, it was with much amusement we watched caravans being towed in through the mud with tractors.

We had a corner site with two walls undercover “thank goodness”.  We set our stand up on Thursday afternoon then went back to our vans for happy hour.  Friday morning Kaye & Ian set off to man the stand and park their car in 4 inches of water.  Gloria & Phil came in after lunch, luckily they had gumboots.  Saturday the sun came out for a while and Kaye & Stan looked after our stand.  Vince & Cathy did the afternoon shift and we all met at the Falcon Hotel for tea.    

Sunday dawned overcast and gloomy with rain pelting down.  Peter, Chris & Kaye headed to Echuca to do the morning shift.  Heather & Rob relieved us for lunch, then Gloria, Phil, Ian & Kaye packed up the site and waded out to their cars with the show kit, tables and chairs.  The organisers of the Great Outdoor Expo at Echuca are to be congratulated for their tireless efforts to make the Expo go ahead, spreading heaps of wood chips and straw to make walkways through the mud, and checking on stallholders to see if all was well with them.  After a cold wet & muddy 3 days, we signed up seven new ACC members.