Hello to all on the C&M forum!

As you all know, C&M’s Happy Hour section is the place to share your yarns about the good times you’ve had and the great people you’ve met along the road – the kind of stories that send your friends into fits of laughter at happy hour and the ones that make you reminisce fondly about past adventures.

Well, we’d like you to share those kinds of stories here too – I’m sure you’ve all got a lot up your sleeves!

So post them here for the benefit of all and for the chance to have your yarn featured in upcoming issues of C&M.

Keep on vanning!

Leanne Tomkins
(Production Editor for C&M and forum newbie)

I’ll get the ball rolling with a story that always gets my family laughing (and cringing at the same time).

A few years ago I was travelling with my parents and my brother in a pop top we’d borrowed from my Aunt. My Dad had driven all the way from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast in a day (starting very early morning!) to arrive around 6pm at a caravan park near Mooloolaba.

We spent a couple of hours setting up, and afterwards Dad went to use the loo while Mum, my brother and myself sat around enjoying a few drinks and watching the last of the sunset. We were having such a good happy hour – my brother is a good joke teller and always keeps us entertained – that we didn’t realise Dad was missing (whoops).

It wasn’t until he stumbled back to the caravan holding his head and looking quite cranky at us that we realised he’d been gone far too long for a quick trip to the loo! Apparently, at 6’6″ tall, he’d had to duck to get into the toilet block, and on his way out he’d forgotten to duck and had hit his head and knocked himself out! He’d woken up on the floor half an hour later…

To this day we still have a good old giggle about this – especially as Dad recovered ok. The idea of us enjoying a lovely happy hour while his was spent lying on a bathroom floor is quite funny for us all – though perhaps our sense of humour is a little warped!

My story could have had very serious consequences also:
We travelled through the Territory many years ago with our 4 children and another couple and their son.
We were staying at the Low Level Reserve near Catherine and the kids (and the big kids) were jumping off the weir/bridge into the water (which we had checked out first for depth and debris, although it was clear right to the bottom).
Our friend Terry who always had our kids climbing all over him got out of the water saying he was going back to camp to put on the billy.
When we all arrived back there was no sign of Terry or his vehicle and we spent about an hour speculating on whether he had headed on into Catherine for a supply we missed.
As time went on we were getting a little worried when lights appeared in the distance and he pulled up.
It turned out he actually felt unwell from jumping and swimming all afternoon and intended to have a lie down but on reaching camp and feeling worse decided not to bother us and drove into the Catherine hospital where his discomfort and chest pains turned out to be a minor heart attack and had him in hospital for 4 days.
In the days before mobiles he was supposed to go to a phone and call us but of course we had no phone either, so he drove out to the camp site to inform us and get a toothbrush.
Thankfully 30 years later he is still going strong but about 10 years ago he had a triple bypass and got a new lease on life and at about 72 now is a big part of the SES in the Central Queensland Area

I’ve got a good one which still makes me laugh !
A few years ago we made the trip to the Centre, which was great. We stayed a few nights a Kings Canyon, but the first night was hilarous. There are signs everywhere at Kings Canyon campground with warnings not to feed the dingoes, not to leave food unattended whilst cooking and not to leave anything outside which may have a scent on them etc. Well i left husband in charge of cooking the pork steaks on our outside bbq, with some vegies steaming inside, while i went off for a shower. All good. While coming back from shower i had to duck and weave around stones which were being thrown along the road ???? When i got back to our van, about to tell husband about the rock throwing ect, i noticed people were standing around our van and site, and my husband cursing ??? What had happened was – while the steaks were cooking, he ducked inside to check on the vegies, and a dingoe came and took the steaks off the bbq – while still sizzling ! It was my husband who had thrown the rocks down to road after the dingoe, not realising anyone was walking there !!! We still have a good laugh, wondering if the blisters have gone down from the dingoes lips yet !!!

Many years ago we stayed at the Sea Horse Inn Caravan park near Eden NSW.
It was a pretty run down place at least three owners ago and the toilets were filthy.

Having children, my wife got out the soap and mop and went and started to clean the toilets, it was pretty obvious that the management were not worried about the conditions.
She was just about finished when a lady came in, and with hands on hips said; “well! it’s about time you people cleaned the toilets,they are a complete disgrace!”
When my wife told her she was just a fellow camper, they had a good laugh.

Haha, love the stories!!

I bet that dingo thought the blisters were worth it… and how sneaky! It must have been watching and just waiting for your hubby to take his eyes off the meat… your poor bbq probably never stood a chance.

And as for the bathroom cleaning yarn, wow! I’d happily complain about the bathrooms but I’d never clean them myself! Good on your wife!

If you guys (or anyone else) would like your yarns featured in the magazine, you should send me a photograph or two to accompany it – email them to [email protected] and post them on the forum here too if you like.

The photos could be of yourselves staying at the parks from your yarns, or enjoying happy hour, or anything that you think would help illustrate your yarn!

Thanks for the laughs!

There once emerged a group of part-Aboriginal speculators who let it be known that three certain Poinciana trees had sacred significance.

The land on which the trees stood was prime real estate being prepared for development.

Everything came to a halt as the legal boys on both sides sharpened their pencils in readiness for prolonged legal proceedings.

That is, until some bright soul quietly whispered in someone’s ear that the Poinciana tree had been introduced from overseas.

Therefore, how could it be possible for this species to have acquired ancient ceremonial ‘dreaming’ status?

The land claimants withdrew from the scene overnight.