December 20, 2018 Royal Flair Caravan Club

Royal Flair Caravan Club News

A Fun Get Together At The Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park

The second annual get together of the Royal Flair Caravan Club was held in September at the Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park, a beautiful location nestled between the Goulburn River and Lake Nagambie.

The roll-up of over forty vans included some members who had been to the inaugural event in 2017 and many ‘newbies’ like ourselves. I think it would be apt to say that there was a ‘flush’ of Royal Flairs, ranging from those which had only just rolled out of the factory to those more ‘experienced’ vans that had done countless kilometres and numerous trips.

Our brand-new ‘Designer Series’ was one of the more recent vans and we were parked next door to a 2003 Royal Flair that was much loved and much travelled. Julie and Fabio were very happy with their ‘older’ Royal Flair but they were also blown away at the design and features of the new vans that were at the gathering. People travelled from all over Australia to join the group over the weekend.

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Geoff and Amanda, who were proudly enjoying the ‘Sky Deck’ on their Piazza, had been travelling for over two years since leaving Western Australia. There were also many who had travelled from Queensland and NSW and of course, a healthy contingent from Victoria. It didn’t matter where you were from as long as you were keen to have a good weekend.

 

We all met for ‘happy hour’ on Friday evening and our convenor John Westbury gave us a rundown of the program for the weekend. Our host, and owner of Royal Flair Caravans Billy Deralas welcomed everyone and we all got stuck-in to a sausage sizzle. Actually it was more than just a sausage sizzle as the lovely ladies from Sweet Seduction laid out a great spread of salads and condiments. This was the perfect evening for getting to know everyone and unwinding after the road trip.

Dawn over Lake Nagambie on Saturday was picturesque and we were spoiled by a fabulous buffet breakfast followed by the arrival of the Nagambie Historical Society with a cake stall just in time for morning tea (or coffee if you prefer). Not only did we have the lovely fresh cakes, we also had a wine tasting and sales caravan set up by local winery Mitchelton Wines. Decisions, decisions! Fresh baked cakes or wine tasting? Luckily I can multi-task. The ‘Royal Flairians’, as John.

dubbed the group, spent the afternoon checking out each other’s caravans; as you do. Not only was there a real variety of models at the event, but Royal Flair had also brought along a new 17’6” Designer Series, complete with a full ensuite, large club lounge and queen-size bed. Saturday night’s fun started with a group photo, then happy hour and preparation for the fancy dress party and dinner.

Richard donated a full lamb for the spit, which was prepared and cooked ‘Greek style’ by Billy Deralas and served in a fantastic Sweet Seduction spread of food for the buffet dinner. There were some terrific raffles and auctions that were sponsored by Caltex, Award RV, BMPRO and Likewise Pet Nutrition. I provided some music for the night and performed, for the very first time in public, the new Royal Flair theme song.

The song was well received and everyone got into the music, dancing and fun for the rest of the night. As they say in the classics “Oh, what a night!” There were a few early risers on Sunday who had to get packed up for the trip home, while many others stayed on and experienced the local markets and wineries. The natural resources around Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park meant that people could get out onto the lake, go fishing or just relax for the day in this beautiful location.

All in all this was a huge success. The support of Billy and Angie Deralas and Royal Flair Caravans really added value and meaning to the gathering and I’m sure there will be many returning next year as well as many new members. See you in 2019. Happy trails! Fireman Ron & Di Sinclair.