This was arranged by me to take part at Maitai River Camp (the Old Baptist camp) up the
Maitai on the weekend before Christmas. With the usual hassles of getting food for everyone
and drinks for the kids, our lot arrived and set up at 3pm.

It was a nice day as in the morning it had threatened to rain and along with the wind that was
blowing it could have been a fun day in the hall at the camp. We had no wind to speak of
as the camp is well up the valley. You enter the camp by either crossing by Swing bridge or
fording the Maitai river as I did in my friends Commodore which was towing my trailer and got
a heavy rebuke from him who was sitting beside me when it hit a rock under the body as we
entered the river.

We moved into the Camp Kitchen and had a fridge to our selfs to keep our stores in. Along
with other things for the kids to play on and with a Bow and Arrow thing that you shot into a
straw bale. After my son (AJ) got hit by a stray arrow, that was closed down. How ever not
two many people had arrived and the man in the red suit was to arrive at 4pm. We waited and
more big people arrived by to many small ones, so we put back his arrival. The big ones who
have some doubt about Christmas sat around enjoying the company and beer or wine and
stuff while kids amused them selfs around the place.

I planned for two Bar-b-cues to make Hamburgers with and sausages in bread with tomato
sauce. One Bar-b cue would have been enough as we only had about twenty people to feed
including kids. I had over catered and could have feed another hundred or so if needed.
Any way Colin, the editor of this fine record of the Nelson 4WD and one helper got the job
of Cooking with some verbal input from me. The food went down alright but I forgot the Ice
cream as it was nice and cold but still in the freezer at home. our father Christmas who was
by tradition, established last year, was our President Brent Lindqvist. He did well and even
got my son Tom on his knee who ways about twenty stone or so. More drinks and a few more
arrived. That was our Christmas party. In the end we had a lot of food and drinks over so I
divided them up with the people that were there as we had nowhere to store them.

We finished up about 8 pm and we had one moment when Colin who was towing my trailer
got stuck in the river because his front hubs got busted and the exit was too steep. Scotty got
the job to do the pull. And on top of that, Colin went around Glouster, Saint Vincent corner
too fast and one cooking plates off his Bar-b-cue fell on the road and smashed into little bits.
It could only happen to our beloved editor.


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\\ \\ \\ (( \\ \\ and \\ Back \\ to the \\ Hills \\ \\ \: @ \\
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