Sunday, November 5, 2006
We arrived at Casino Village (in Casino, NSW) today. When we arrived the weather was beautiful – sunny, warm and clear skies. By 3pm it was bucketing with rain, there were thick grey/black clouds everywhere and it had cooled down quite a lot! Like I’ve said in previous posts, we’ve been taking the rain with us everywhere we go (although to be honest, they had really heavy rain the previous day/night. In fact, a couple of vans in the grassed area were in the process of moving because the site they were on got about 3 inches (5/6cm?) water in their annexes). However, I still think we are rain makers, and since we were only 100 km down the road the previous day, then we can take the blame/credit for the rain, and I’m sure most country towns would love to have us visit them!
Now, some info about the park (just in case you are thinking of heading up this way) – this park is still in its infancy, but there are some good things happening here, in fact we really like this park. Casino Village advertises itself as “the destination for all RV travellers”, and I think they are pretty spot on. The staff are really friendly and open to questions about the park, the town etc.
The park is partly a village with villas which are purchased by residents for permanent housing, but also has sites for small to medium motorhomes or campervans; drive through sites for big rigs, 5th wheelers, camper trailers etc; cabins, long term ensuite sites (not sure what they mean by long term in this instance), and long term storage for rigs in a secure compound. We’re staying in the grassed (powered) area.
Because the park is young (just 4 years old, on the site of an ex airfield), the trees are still getting established, so it can be hot and windy, (although since we arrived it has rained quite a bit) but the sites are good level sites and the amenities are excellent. The village also has a bbq hut and offers free use of wood and gas bbq’s (there is even washing up facilities with them). There is also a club house where seminars are run on subjects such as satellite TV and GPS (usually with a specialist on the subject), and self help groups run sessions on such subjects as digital photography, computers, and cameras (these are informal with no lecturer).
There’s the hangout, where movies get shown twice a week and art and craft groups can meet; there’s an internet kiosk (there is also an independent company which offers good pricing on wireless broadband access,) art classes, games, walking and water aerobics groups; and lots of other activities. The park is also pet friendly, but there are conditions attached, so you should really check with the office first. But wait, there’s more … there’s also a 12 hole golf course (more of a chip and putt, no trees, and very flat, but hey, it’s somewhere to play golf!)
As I said earlier, we really like this park, and obviously the guests do too, as quite a few of them have been here repeatedly over the last 4 years.
We went to ‘happy hour’ this afternoon and met some of the local park characters, some who have been here for several months others that live here and like to mingle with any new guests and talk sh1t and fix all worldly issues.