An Adventure in Jamboree Land

Once upon a time, on a property far, far away, there lived a man with a big red 110 Landrover. He used to drive up and down the hills of his kingdom, but he got very lonely, even though he had RED-110 number plates. So he decided that he would get together with two nearby kingdoms, the Landrover owners club of Newcastle, and the Raymond Terrace Toyota club and organise a huge festival every year. People in 4WDs would come from near and far, from right across the land to take part in this gathering, which became known as the 4WD clubs Jamboree.

And so it came to pass that the invitations were sent out, and people bought new ballgowns and tents and jaffle irons, just so they could go to this glittering event. Stories circulated about the spectacular scenery, and the wonderful 4WDing to be found on this magic kingdom, and pretty soon, everybody began to arrive at this distant land they called Mount Seaview.

Somewhere in the middle of all this there was a group called the Suzuki Club. Everybody thought that they were just a little club, but they soon grew and grew and grew, till finally they were bigger than everybody else! The Suzuki club made their camp on a little hill and everybody set up their tents and some people dug moats, and some even lived in palaces. There was quite a bit of excitement as they prepared their little Suzukis for some fun in the bush, and others made about setting up tarpaulins, while some others thought about making a fire and starting to eat, and some others began to try and find the bar.

But up high in the mountains a wicked storm was brewing, planning to ruin the fun of the weary travelers. Soon it began to rain and rain and rain, till eventually everything began to turn to mud. There was mud on everything, and so much rain that the 4WD trips had to be postponed till it stopped. But still it didn't dampen the spirits of our little group. They still ate and cooked and partied just as though it had never rained, and indeed some even found the bar! But still it rained and we thought it would never stop. The Kingdom had a huge moat around it called the Hastings river and it began to rise too, till eventually it got so deep that it threatened to wash away any little Suzukis that dared to cross it. Soon not even big Toyotas and Nissans were brave enough to try and cross.

Nonetheless, there were still things to do in the kingdom itself. The little Suzukis went and had a play on the Funkhana course, doing all sorts of fun things like wearing blindfolds and spilling water and trying to do things to the gearbox that the factory never even thought of. One day, out of sheer desperation, a few Suzukis went for a little drive around the test track, and had quite an entertaining time, not to mention getting quite muddy as well.

One night, when it was very dark and quiet, a strange noise came from the gully below the Suzukis campsite. It seemed to get louder and louder and more and more ferocious, and for a while it sounded like the yobbos in the next campsite had turned their music up and begun to party again. But no, it was decide that they should all go and have a look. So off they went, following Kevin with the axe, and what should it be but a big bad Hilux trying to get through the gully. It huffed and it puffed, but try as it might, it just couldn't get through the gully at all. Eventually a big man in a Middie came to the rescue, but he seemed to know nothing at all about recovery so Chris and Kevin gave him a short talk while young Rodney held him in a headlock, just to be sure he was paying close attention.

It still rained, and the big moat kept rising, so to stay amused the Suzuki club decided to enter just about every car they had in the monster boghole contest. In the end, there were too many Suzukis and not enough time, and they only managed to get a Beasty, a Black Beauty and a Cockroach muddy, but the whole club still seemed to get very excited and very wet and some got very muddy as well.

By Sunday, people were starting to going home, because the sky was still raining, just for a change. But alas, there was no way out of the magic kingdom. The wicked storm had made the Hastings moat higher than ever. Some people weren't bothered at all by this and found things to amuse them, like the bar, but some others were getting very worried and were starting to to think they might never be able to leave. But the Great Wizard Fred had begun to make plans for a way across the mighty moat in the form of a trailer (which must have been hired, because if anyone owned it, they would've been very upset at its treatment!) Little by little, the Wizard Fred began to build on his idea for a magic ride across the moat that desperate people could take a punt on. Soon it was ready and lo and behold it worked! The people were overjoyed and formed a big line to get rides on the magic moat crosser.

So that was the story of the 1989 Jamboree weekend and a bit, which we will all remember for a very, very long time. And nobody else will ever know what went on, except me, you, and I think maybe the little zuke knows something too, don't you?