Friday morning a group of us met at Maccas Mt Barker ready for the Long Weekend at Berri. We decided to cruise up along the Freeway to Tailem Bend, turning off to Karoonda where we stopped for lunch. Leaving Karoonda, we cruised up via Loxton to Berri where we settled into our digs at Berri Riverside Caravan Park for the next 3 nights. Tea was at the Berri Hotel which was an easy walk from our cabins.

Saturday morning we cruised to Barmera where we visited Rocky's Hall of Fame, which displayed & showcased all things about the Country Music scene, also the Loveday Internment Camp History which is showcased in the Barmera Visitor Information Centre. We then drove out to the ruins of the Loveday Internment Camp for a look around. There's not a great deal of structures or ruins left but it gave you a bit of an idea of the layout. From here we drove to the Overland Corner Hotel for lunch via the scenic route around Lake Bonney. As we had pre-ordered our lunches we were fed with priority, which was good as there would have been around 200 people there. They had a live band. "Steve Bartel Band" playing there. After lunch we stopped at Napper ruins. On the way back, we drove around the wetlands via Loxton to Berri. Fish & chips were the go for tea. They had been pe-ordered & delivered to the park. After tea, the entertainment began with 2 games. 1st was the Corn Bag Game (courtesy of Debbie & Graham), where you have to throw 3 corn filled bags through a hole in a sloped board with the winning man & women getting prizes for their prowess. 2nd game created much laughter as the aim is for a man with a toilet plunger between his legs having to run up to his partner who has a toilet roll between her legs. Without using hands, the man has to insert the plunger into the toilet roll, then run back to the starting point, still without touching either the plunger or the toilet roll. Let's just say there were some very inventive ways of interpreting the rules. Needless to say there were numerous attempts at cheating too. Again the winning male & female received a prize. Except the winning female went to a male who partnered a male (Interesting?). All we can say is there was not a dry eye in the place from all the laughter. It was a great way to finish another great day.

Sunday morning was an early start as we had arranged 3 different tours at the same time in Renmark to give people options. One was at the 23rd Gin Distillery. One was St Agnes Brandy Distillery, where they did the tour just for our group as they do not do tours on Sundays (so a big thank you to everyone at St Agnes who made this happen). The other tour was at Kumquatery where they grow Kumquats & produce many products. After leaving the caravan park with 20 cars in tow, I noticed a VW van driving up past the cars behind me, then forced his way in between me and the 1st Corvette. Me thinking, what a looser, then on went the Red & Blue bubbles. A bloody unmarked police van. 10 Corvettes. 3 sedans, 6 x 4wds & 1 Commodore, & I get pulled over; Really?? This is where the fun started. After a couple of minutes checking the computer to see if I was licensed, car registered, no outstanding warrants; he finally gets out of the van to see a huge line of cars pulled up behind his van. Kirsty said he look on his face was priceless. As quick as he waved the cars behind him to move on, the next Corvette moved up. So I explained they were all with me as I was the cruise captain & they were waiting for me. He just grinned & advised me it was a random alcohol & drug test. He asked me 3 times if I had taken any drugs recently. Not quite sure why?? 4 minutes later he said I was good to go. By this time, other cars, not in our group thought it was a breatho stop & they also joined the line. So there were about 50 cars stretching way back. I'm known for doing things a bit differently, but this was just way out there. One I won't forget in a hurry. Anyway we made it to the tour locations on time with everyone enjoying their respective tours, meeting back at Maccas for lunch. After lunch, the majority of the group followed Lyn & myself to the Bunyip Barge at Lock 5, then to the largest Black Stump at Paringa then onto Headings Cliff Lookout for a magic view of the Murray River. Some of the group followed Graham Townsin & Karen to the Woolshed Brewery at Wilkadene. From here back to the Caravan Park, ready to board our Houseboat for a 3 hour River Cruise with a 3 course meal. Everyone said to us this was one of the highlights of the weekend & a great way to finish up. Especially as we were able to have the whole boat & restaurant to ourselves, with no other public involved. This allowed us to just be ourselves & we know what that means. After arriving back at the park, we had 1 more game to play. This again involved toilet paper rolled out the length of the kitchen table, a champagne glass filled with water placed on one end of the toilet paper. Then each person had to pull the toilet paper towards them as quickly as possible without spilling any of the contents. This is where we saw some really inventive ways of trying to win. It was so competitive that cheating was just the norm. Who would have thought you could have so much fun with toilet paper? Another great finish to another great day.

Monday, time to head home. After breaky, in our own private group stay kitchen, which is where we spent each morning & evening, we departed, stopping at Sedan Hotel for our lunch. This enabled us to get off the main Hwy. After lunch & final farewells we all headed home after an enjoyable LWE. Even the weather gods had smiled down on us giving us pleasant conditions.
Finally, Lyn & I wish to thank everyone who came along and joined in all the fun. Especially the newer members & those who have not done this before. We hope you haven't been mentally scarred too much. Until next time, keep the memories fresh in your mind.

Long weekends are very popular getaways. We had 15 rooms taken in the main group stay area. In addition to this there were 5 couples booked into cabins, 4 couples in their own caravans & 1 couple staying at the Berri Hotel. So it pays to get in early if you don't want to miss out.

Peter & Lyn
Photos by Judy Beyer, Kay Rygucki, Debbie & Graham Johns, Colin & Cyndy Dennis, Gary McPhee, Kirsty Smith, Rod Prime, Julie Martin, Peter McBride

Photos - Part 1	Photos - Part 2	Photos - Part 3	Photos - Part 4