J18 Wrap Up
The 2018 4wd Jamboree was hosted by the Black Diamond 4wd Club with the complete backing and support of Four Wheel Drive NSW and ACT, and major sponsorship from Clever Products, RFI industries, Signature Campers, 4x4 Club Insurance and Getaway Camping.
The event was held over the Easter 4 day Weekend from Friday 30th March to Monday 2nd April and attracted 19 clubs and around 200 members and families.
It was held on a property near Batemans Bay known as Buckenbowra as it is situated on the Buckenbowra River. The property offered beautiful flat grassy camping and a great area to hold events all within an easy walking distance from the awesome 10m x 10m campsites that patrons were allocated. Camping was either in your club group or individual. Toilets and showers were on site for the convenience of campers and a BBQ ran all weekend to purchase food and drinks. Pizzas were available for purchase at dinner also.
The Black Diamond 4wd Club had mapped out 7 very different 4wd trips that ran continuously over the 4 days including night drives and had 220 vehicles register and complete over the course of the weekend. These trips varied in length from a short half hour self-drive around the back of the property (known as the quickie) to a full day drive over to Bendethra (known as the 13 river crossings) for obvious reasons, and everything in between. Some trips led to beautiful lookouts with some steep low range sections with tight switchback turns. Others involved creek crossings but all involved enjoyable 4wdriving with friends and awesome scenery.
It would not be a Jamboree without 4wdriving events and the Black Diamond Club did not disappoint. First and foremost there was a funkana of 4 events that families could enjoy. These events included The Ball and Bucket Challenge consisting of getting coloured balls in their respective buckets around a course only turning left and in the quickest time. Ducks In A Pond which was to traverse a rough course keeping tennis balls in a frisbee stuck on the bonnet of the car again in the fastest time. The Wet Lap consisted of the driver being blindfolded traversing another rough course whilst the passenger had to direct the driver and hold a full bucket of water on their lap and you guessed it, - in the fastest time. It’s A Jumble Out There consisted of driving a course and stopping at the various “stations” to complete tasks which included swapping shoes with the co-driver, doing jigsaw puzzles, drinking bottles of water through small straws, putting nuts and bolts together before finally swapping back your shoes, blindfolding the driver and directing them through the final gate and all this was in the fastest recorded time.
Other 4wdrive events on offer were the Hill Climb self explanatory really, the Team Bog Hole which consisted of getting two vehicles through the bog hole course in the fastest time without leaving a car behind at the previous stations so both cars had to complete each obstacle before either car could move on and Night Mud Racing, again self explanatory and by far the highlight of the events on offer.
The kids were not forgotten with activities organized for them also which included night, glow stick, ten-pin bowling, frisbee golf on a course specially set up, code-breaking treasure hunt, remote control car track built for continuous use and age group competition BMX bike races. Sunday morning had the Easter Bunny and his helper paying the kids a visit throwing out eggs for them to collect.
The beautiful Buckenbowra River also provided all day entertainment as the weather was nothing short of spectacular over the entire 4 days, so canoeing and swimming were also enjoyed by adults and kids alike.
Live music was provided and very much enjoyed on Friday and Sunday nights with singer Lance Birrell entertaining the crowd.
Campfire cake cooking demonstrations took place daily and Happy Hour was provided and enjoyed each day from 4 pm with some of the cakes sampled along with wine, cheese and biscuits. A travel ramp was open during Happy Hour for vehicles and drivers to test themselves out, providing much entertainment.
At the completion of the events, a presentation afternoon was held where trophies and prizes were handed out to the winners and the major Easter Egg Raffle was drawn. Overall a really great experience was had by all those that attended and who organized the event.