Coffs Harbour our next branch

Members in the Coffs Harbour area are keen to form our next branch.  A meeting will be held on Tuesday 14^th May at Moonee Beach for anyone interested in joining the branch.   If you would like to attend or can’t make it and would like to be part of the new branch please contact Graham This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  If you are not a member of our club and live in the area,  you are more than welcome to come along and learn about our club and the new branch.

WELCOME OUTBACK TRACKS CARAVAN CAMPING 4WD

The Australian Caravan Club is very happy to welcome Outback Tracks Caravan Camping 4WD to their Member Benefits programme.  See the great offer to fellow ACC Members below:

Both the Murray Bridge community and Australian Caravan Club (ACC) members are winners after our recent Chairman’s muster

Around 170 ACC members in 78 RVs and several cabins attended  the ACC Chairman’s Muster at the Murray Bridge Marina and Caravan Park  from 13^th – 20^th March 2019.

“During the course of the muster our members injected almost $75,000 into the Murray Bridge community and its surrounds, which represents an average spend of around $850 per RV. ACC members supported local businesses and clubs and were overwhelmed by the warm and friendly reception they received from the local community” said ACC Chairman Craig Humphrey.

Over the duration of the muster, ACC members dined out, purchased groceries, fuel and other essentials.  Members also visited Willow Point winery and members were fortunate to visit ’The Bend’ Motorsport Park near Tailem Bend for a short tour of their precinct and view the wonderful display of racing cars of days gone by.  A highlight was the 3 hour luncheon cruise on the Captain Proud River Boat, enjoyed by all.    Another highlight was an informative talk on the history of the Murray River and the river boat trade by Captain Chris Veenstra.  Other activities included self-drive trips to the township of Hahndorf and many visited the Monarto free range Zoo, the largest in the world by acreage! 

“Planning for this has taken over a year and the ACC has had great support around the City” said Ralph Michod, ACC member and a Murray Bridge resident.

A special thank you goes out to Mayor Brenton Lewis and Councillors for their crucial support in making the muster a success. “ACC members have visited areas of this great City and they have been overwhelmed with the very positive feedback. This highlights that the Council and community are really working together to showcase our region.” said Ralph Michod, who was part of the local organising committee, including his wife Pat, together with Steve Evans and Barb Barty.

The ACC would like to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to the Rural City of Murray Bridge, the Murray Bridge business community, and the Murray Bridge Marina and Caravan Park, who were fantastic hosts, and the many other members of the local community who helped make our muster the success that it was.

“This muster has been a truly unforgettable experience.  Our members who attended will return to their homes across Australia with memories formed and new friends made. The outcome from this muster proves that RVers and local communities can both realise the rewards that result when we work together.” said Chairman Craig Humphrey.

With the Murray Bridge muster behind them, the Club and its members are now looking forward to their national muster at Warrnambool in October. Our national muster is the highlight of the Club’s calendar year and Warrnambool promises to be an experience not to be missed.

 

UHF 18/40 Caravan Stickers now available for purchase

When was the last time you had a look at our Club Shop Catalogue.

Well check it out because the updated product listing now includes the UHF 18/40 van sticker. Inclusion of this item is a result of numerous requests from our membership.

The majority of our members tune to Ch 18 when travelling in a group or Tag-a-Long but with the push to establish a better relationship with the trucking industry we should also be monitoring Ch 40 (the Truckies channel) when we travel the countryside.

Check out your CB radio to see if it has a suitable scanning function so both channels can be monitored. Alternatively many members purchase a small hand-held CB to monitor CH40. Either way it is important that caravanners ‘advertise’ on the back of their van they have a UHF radio and the channels they are monitoring.

Details: Size 340mm X 200mm, Cost $15.00, Postage $3.00 for up to 4 stickers in the same order.”

Australian Caravan Club (ACC) donates funds to the Tasmanian Rural Relief Fund

The majority of talk about farmers enduring drought conditions in recent years has been a focus on NSW and SE Queensland. They are not the only ones experiencing drought conditions. Farmers on the east coast of Tasmania have been experiencing dry conditions for some time now. This prompted two long standing members of the ACC and the Tasmanian Branch – the Tassie Travellers, Bernie Barnwell and Denis Pitt, to lodge an application for funds under the ACC Drought Assistance Support program. Their application was successful and they are pleased to have been able to present a cheque for $350.00 to the Tasmanian Rural Relief Fund.

The Rural Relief Fund was established in 2000 by Rural Business Tasmania to operate a charitable fund for Tasmania’s rural community.  Donations to the fund are used to support Tasmanian rural families who may be doing it tough especially at times of drought, bushfire and flood.

“100% of donations to the Fund go to Tasmanian families.” said Susan Renton, the programs manager for Rural Business Tasmania, based in Launceston. “Donated funds are provided to assist drought stricken farmers cover essential household bills as well as necessary feed and fodder for their animals.  The fund is administered through an Assessment Panel who review the farmer’s application and make a determination on assistance to be provided. The funds provided by your Club will go towards helping a needy farmer with basic food products, pay an electricity bill, purchase fuel or purchase feed for their animals.” Susan Renton said.

Tassie Travellers President, Ed Glover said, “Many of our Club members may find it surprising that areas of Tasmania are in drought but this is definitely the case, especially on our east coast. Rainfall has been minimal at best and many of our farmers are doing it tough. The donation our branch was able to make to the Rural Relief Fund, due to the ACC Drought Assistance Support program will go some way in alleviating the stress our farmers on the east coast are currently experiencing.”

“This is another example of how the ACC is assisting our farmers who are doing it tough.” said ACC Chairman Craig Humphrey. We continue to encourage branches and members to think about how you can help out a rural family, community groups or a rural assistance body.  Applications are still open, so don’t miss this opportunity.  For more information and guidelines visit the ACC website and go to The Club > Club Documents > ACC Drought Assistance Support Guidelines.