2021 Australian FJ Owners Rally

[X-Ray]

Heres some good news. The annual FJ Rally will be held weekend of 22nd May 2021. Will be Nthn NSW/Qld location, more details once confirmed in the coming weeks. We will have to watch of course what is happening with border restrictions etc, so a few details are uncertain presently. Mid Winter Rally! Fantastic 

[Motofun]

Just out of curiosity , what are the border restrictions you discussed?  Are you folks not to travel between OZ territories?  I know some of out dictators...er I mean governors, here in the States have issued similar edicts but we just ignore them. 

[X-Ray]

Its a pain these border closures/restrictions. Its all just trying to minimise the risk of people who may live or travel through Covid "hotspots" crossing into states that are pretty much Covid free. Police man the checkpoints at the borders and some residents can have a border pass if they dont come from a hotspot, while others who do come from a hotspot in New South Wales for example are turned back. Some have tried to sneak in to Queensland with false declarations, and copped $4000 fines for it.

[Sparky84]

Just out of curiosity , what are the border restrictions you discussed?  Are you folks not to travel between OZ territories?  I know some of out dictators...er I mean governors, here in the States have issued similar edicts but we just ignore them.  

Yes and No !
NSW was closed to Victoria but now Victoria has stopped Greater Sydney NSW from entering and so has every other state.

It was so bad on the Queensland/NSW border that towns and farms were divided by the closures, either one side or the other but not both, 14 days isolation if you wanted to cross.

I did hear that a Farms on Victoria/South Australia with their properties spanning both sides, well the shearing quarters were on the Vic side 15mins away but they were working on the Sth Aus side, so they had to travel an hour to new quarters in Sth Aus, on the one property and they wouldn't have left it while traveling.

Last week this was acceptable but not this week !

[Troyskie]

Great news Ray!

Why don't we play safe and meet along the New England Highway at Wallangarra? If the borders are closed we can camp near town, draw a line through the camp and be like Harley riders, socially distant  , except for the chook raffle of course!

(let's do a Great Escape for our TAS and VIC cousins, slap some NSW FJ plates on their bikes and smuggle them through!)

At least there won't be an election due and Prem AP won't need to do the hard border thing just to get re-elected. Those sneaky Northern Beaches people from the 'insular peninsular' can have a decaf soy latte and enjoy their shitty beaches on their own.

Winter doesn't start till June, so I'm trusting your intuition Ray, and will pack my woollies.

Motofun, although we Aussies carry on like a bunch of larrikins, we're generally fairly law abiding. The fundamental reason (so far), is our pollies haven't screwed up enough to cause a civil war. If there are big questions we normally have a referendum, and accept the majority vote (don't have to like it though).
So, when the pollies say their expert health advice is to do this or that, we generally follow along.
To date, no government has done a particularly good job at sorting out this pandemic, but the Aussie pollies have listened to at least some of the health advice and seemed to have screwed up less than most.

Ray gave a good explanation of what our border closures are.
It is enforced as the fed and state governments make public health orders able to be enforced by the law. They've yet to abuse this, so we trust them at the moment.
There are official hotspots, and people in those areas cannot travel out of the area and have restrictions on how and when they travel within the area (buying FJ parts is essential!!!!!!). There are many exceptions, so I won't  bother with those.
On to the border question, you simply need to apply online for a pass.
As Ray said the borders are road-blocked, and without a valid pass you are turned around.
I'm not sure why someone from Victoria would try to sneak into QLD? Perhaps they're sick of living the the 'worlds most livable city' c'mon Noel, chime in buddy  .
I fully understand why people from NSW want to head north. It's fantastic to see Australia like it was 30 years ago. Ahh, the memories, the FJ was new.

The current political party in charge of Oz is not my preferred party, but there is really very little difference between the two majors, but one is fractionally left and the other is fractionally right.

[X-Ray]

Bit of an update --

. One area that we have been looking at is either Bingara NSW or Warialda NSW. On the way back from the Dartmouth Rally we cut cross country from Narrabri to Bingera to Warialda to Yetman to Texas. Now, this gets me all excited, but the Narabri to Bingera run through the range and plainlands was just incredible. So for a Nthn NSW location, this area looks fantastic. I still have to research accom etc, but if anyone has some local knowledge etc in this area of Nthn NSW, please chime in. This is assuming our borders are free and that UK Spicy Cough doesn't disrupt plans.

[Troyskie]

Sounds good mate! 

I remember from the Esk rally that around Texas was pretty monotonous riding.
The run from Narabri to Bingara looks good. From the maps it seems the Killarney Gap Rd is sealed all the way.
From Bingara the Copeton Dam Rd also appears sealed and would pop us out at Inverell.
There looks to be a number of sealed roads that should give us a nice loop around the two towns.

Also from memory the area between Inverell and Texas is pretty heavily patrolled by Mr Plod (ask Diesel Dave ), so we should probably stay south of that area.

Troyskie

[roverfj1200]

Just out of curiosity , what are the border restrictions you discussed?  Are you folks not to travel between OZ territories?  I know some of out dictators...er I mean governors, here in the States have issued similar edicts but we just ignore them. 

Maybe you should ask your medical staff, who have to deal with this pandemic, if you are doing the best for your country...

[X-Ray]

Killarney Gap Road is sealed all the way Troyskie, it was an amazing run. Sounds like there is a bit of accomodation in Bingera, so will do some checking with local establishments etc.

[Sparky84]

Bit of an update --

. One area that we have been looking at is either Bingara NSW or Warialda NSW. On the way back from the Dartmouth Rally we cut cross country from Narrabri to Bingera to Warialda to Yetman to Texas. Now, this gets me all excited, but the Narabri to Bingera run through the range and plainlands was just incredible. So for a Nthn NSW location, this area looks fantastic. I still have to research accom etc, but if anyone has some local knowledge etc in this area of Nthn NSW, please chime in. This is assuming our borders are free and that UK Spicy Cough doesn't disrupt plans.

Thanks for the update Ray   

Stay Safe Everyone 

Cheers
Alan

[X-Ray]

Details are coming together for our 2021 FJ Get Together, this time in Bingara , NSW.   21st, 22nd, 23rd May,    (Covid Staying Away) .

https://www.facebook.com/TheImperialHotelMotel/

I have checked with the Imperial Hotel, and they have around 20 rooms available, ---

8 x Motel Rooms $125.00 Per Night Queen and Single beds
5 x Hotel Rooms with Ensuite, 2 single beds or 1 queen $75 Per night
7 x Hotel rooms with shared facilities, can have 3-4 people in, $55 Per night

We also have a conference room available for Sat Night for whatever festivities we have planned, and a good (not expensive) menu available.

Phone number for Bookings (02) 67241629, Eric and Noeleen (owners), Lenny and Danielle (staff).

Also available very close by is the Bingara Fossickers Way Motel (02) 67241373), and the Bingara Riverside Caravan Park 0427241300.

Lenny mentioned there is FREE camping along the Gwydir River through town as well if that takes your fancy.

I'm planning a drive/ride to Bingara in the coming 2-3 weeks to check things out and look at some roads, so will update this event page as we go. Hopefully we can all get together and have a great weekend

[Troyskie]

Excellent work Ray.
Just booked 

[X-Ray]

***UPDATE***.   Just spoke with Imperial Hotel, only 3 shared rooms left as of today. Wow, nearly booked the place out, nice effort.  Doug has checked and the other Motel close by, Fossickers Way Motel has 10 rooms available, $80 each if needed. (02) 67241371, and the Riverside Caravan Park is close by also.

Also, the question has been asked and I was thinking we might skip it this year, but with a few new members attending could I gather interest for a Rally Shirt for Bingara? Similar to last years, top quality, can be personalised with your name as well. Was also thinking we could as an alternative do an embroidered cap this time, but everyone usually has around 50 caps already at home, so probably not. I checked with my supplier and as they have our layout already done from last years shirts, its an easy job to change the location and date. Cost would be similar to last year, around the $55 mark.

[Troyskie]

Again, excellent work Ray.

Count me in for a couple of shirts (one for my bro in WA) and a couple of hats.

Troyskie

[fj-f3a]

Thank you for your efforts Ray.
I'm booked and ready.

You can put me down for two shirts.

Hoping everything goes to plan.

I should be able to get the Thursday, Friday and Monday off.
Will probably leave the rally Sunday morning and take two days to ride home.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Gavin