Echuca/Moama Weekend Away

The much anticipated club weekend away to Echuca/Moama came and went, and what a weekend it turned out to be! I was looking forward to it all week, and after knocking off work early on Friday, we were on the road about 4 o’clock. The destination – A Shady River Caravan Park in Moama. I had only got my car back on the road the night before, having had my dash out and heater core replaced. The carpet was still soaked with green coolant!

We arrived in Echuca keen to unload the car and crack open a beer. After travelling the dodgy ‘back way’, we still managed to arrive ages before some certain other people!

Most people woke up with a foggy head on Saturday morning after the first night of festivities, with people heading in a number of different directions for Saturday entertainment. Horse riding and skirmish were big attractions, but a few of us decided to brave the Winter cold and head down to the Murray River at the bottom of the caravan park. Bob and Ado threw the Jet-ski in the water, and we all donned wetsuits for a bit of knee-boarding and wake-boarding.

For those of you who didn’t have the pleasure of sticking your hand in the water, let me tell you it was bloody cold! I am surprised we weren’t dodging icebergs as we skied (although we were skiing through floating duckweed!) A group of spectators gathered on the hill above us, encouraging us to try and stack in front of them, and I think we all managed to do a few crowd pleasers!

After we all thawed out in our hot showers, most people headed to La Porchetta for dinner, then back to the caravan park for a few quiet drinks. Saturday night seemed a bit more subdued than Friday for some reason!

Anyway, we basically packed up our cabins on Sunday morning, then dropped the Jet-ski in for another fang around. I think a fun weekend was had by all, and I vote we make it an annual event, although perhaps not when the Sandown 500 is on! (I can’t believe I missed a Ford 1, 2, 3!) Big thanks to the committee for organising a fun weekend and to Ado for bringing the Jet-ski along!

- Kev

Weekend Away Part 2 - Skirmish

Legends begin with stories of great feats. I don’t think these tales will spawn ideas of heroism, but I hope they make for something better than five minutes of your life you may never get back.

The challenge is if it moves “Shoot it” and if it doesn’t move “Shoot it twice because it’s sneaky”.

NOTE: Friendly fire is not so friendly!?!

Twenty-one fun seekers went into the bush to take up the challenge of running madly, dodging marble sized projectiles fired by seventy or so likeminded people and hiding behind anything that may stop a liquid filled ball of pain from providing you with the walk of shame, (not to mention turning you into a walking target for anyone who hadn’t shot anyone recently). Oh did I mention we got to shoot stuff?

When the mask is on and the whistle blows you are then faced with some of the most difficult decisions to make; who to shoot, and how many times to shoot them. (I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure?) My only regret is that I didn’t get to shoot the Ford that was at the far end of the field. Considering I spent the first half of the game standing on the roof of a mid thirty’s Chevy Ute, taking careful aim and firing off round after round till I remembered I was using a semi automatic weapon (these are so cool) that only stop firing when the hopper is empty. 200 paint balls. A quick shake told me the hopper was half full, this early in the day, I needed to curb my enthusiastic trigger finger, or else I would not get to the other end of the day smiling.

One of my favorite stories of the day was from the Capture-The-Flag game. A group of boys found a clear path into the red Fort and in a daring raid, they crawled through cover till they were close. They then ran into the base only to find it empty with the flag gone?? What the?? These brave men were beaten to the punch by a young lady (CC I believe). She managed to get in and surrender four or more people. (If you’re within six metres you aren’t supposed to shoot) and return with the flag. Putting the blue team on a defensive role ultimately winning the game.

Our formidable force of twenty-one made up one of the four groups to play on the day, two groups were bucks parties, and the final group was a ladies twenty first party. It was a pleasant surprise to see around twelve or so girls on course mixing it with the boys.

Another memorable moment is the final game to waste what’s left of the ammo - one man had two guns firing into the opposing line. It did look impressive!

All in all I didn’t hear of anyone who didn’t enjoy the day. Thanks to the team at VICTORIAN PAINT BALL – Moama for hosting us, and all the cannon fodder that made the day so much fun.

- Lee