Farewell and sincere thanks, Olivia and Dean......hello Troy and Hens. Hens Bannink has been one of my closest friends since he came to Adelaide for three months in the summer of 1974 as the engineer in charge of maintaining our first Surf Rescue helicopter. He and his wife Troy (real name Barbara....no-one calls her that....long story), who live in Sydney, decided that they could spare a few days to catch up with us as we were making our way back to Adelaide. What an excellent idea.
None of us had ever previously been to Yass, although we had all driven past it on the Hume Highway innumerable times. We decided that this would be a great opportunity to meet here and see what we had been missing.
I do like short days on the road, and this was to be one of the shortest on record....north out of Canberra on the Barton Highway, through the quaintly named small town of Murrumbateman which is something of a tourist destination in its own right (food and wine)
and thence onto the duel laned Hume Highway for a few brief kilometres before turning off into Yass.
As we entered the top end of the main street
and made our way further along it
we drove past many buildings which gave credence to the the claim that this is indeed an 'historic' town.
I should say at this point that we did wander around the Yass CBD on a number of occasions, but the camera was firmly locked away. We were here to socialise with friends and make a preliminary assessment of what was on offer for the tourist in Yass and its surrounds. And the answer to that question is 'plenty'....Yass is what we would describe as a hidden gem.
Our own observations aside, we chatted to one fellow park resident who was quite open about the fact that he and his wife had 'called in' for a day or so and were still here a week later. They had been out touring locally each day and were still not finished. We fully intend to revisit this lovely town for as long as it takes, hopefully in 2016.
But for now, we had friends to meet and tales to tell. The Banninks had arrived the day before we did and Hens, in his inimitably practical style, had arranged with the park managers to allow us to set our vans up so our awnings faced each other. Because of the universal rule (for safety reasons if an urgent evacuation becomes necessary) that vans must face the roadway, this is rarely possible, but here in Yass the park is structured in such a way that it is not only possible, it is legal.
And here I must pause to comment that Louise and Ross, who are currently managing the Yass Caravan Park, rate as one of the most welcoming and obliging couples we have ever encountered. We hope they are still here when we revisit.
Ross walked us to our patch on our arrival and we were soon settled on what turned out to be a huge site,
where the Black Panther very quickly decided that this would do him.
We had done a spot of menu planning over the phone....tonight was to be a 'mixed grill' of entree type nibbles. Grilled haloumi cheese and pita bread, little frankfurters hot from the pot, chevapcici straight off the BBQ etc etc....why had we not thought of this before? This was an ideal way to get the social ball rolling (although I have to admit it was Liz who carried the Marshies banner long into the night....I 'retired hurt' much earlier.
I would like to say that, with a wisdom which has come with age, I have learnt to pace myself when it comes to party time, but I wouldn't dare insult your collective intelligence! The fact of the matter was that my annoying auto immune system ailment tapped me on the shoulder....my early retirement had much more to do with fatigue that common sense...that and the fact that I knew tomorrow night was 'roast lamb night'...this was to be the big one. I needed all the rest I could get.
Hens had been given a bottle of St Henri shiraz by a grateful client some weeks before our Yass rendezvous. "Do you know much about this one, Pete?" "Just a bit, old mate, but only from a distance....we are talking $100 plus a bottle here." The scene was set.
Whilst the good old Baby Q slowly cooked the joint to succulent perfection, we roasted the veggies in our oven whilst Hens made sure that the carving knife was honed to a fine edge.
The much anticipated bottle took pride of place on the table
and we sat down to a most memorable meal.
Oddly enough it didn't end there. After a traditional desert of apple pie and ice cream it was time to repair indoors for coffee and liqueurs. The Bannink van is always very well stocked... we managed to make some significant dents in the proffered bottles of Drambuie and Cointreau before the night was out.
As it transpired, we were very lucky with the weather for this evening's festivities. The following day saw in a very cool change.
Here at the Yass Caravan Park, Louise and Ross host a regular afternoon happy hour in the small park camp kitchen. All in the park are invited. We joined in with verve...there is no better way to swap travel notes.
For the first two afternoons this had been a shorts and T shirt affair, but not today. When the weather here turns chilly it means it.
Pre-dinner drinks 'Chez Bannink' later that evening was very much a rugged up affair....it was bloody freezing. This became the 'Nanook of the North' competition! But as I am sure I needn't labour, we did manage to have another very jolly night.
We have travelled and camped with Troy and Hens a lot over the years. This had been as good a three days as we had anticipated and I have to say we left Yass with great reluctance. We look forward to our next planned rendezvous....a repeat of three years ago at the Mudgee race weekend in late April - early May. I'd better start planning my training regime!
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