And wow, what a turnout! More than 85 motorhomes parked up, not quite in the middle of paddocks, but close enough!

This was another slick event, run by Waikato’s NZMCA area chief tech man Des and his team.

I rolled in around 11:20am on Friday, thinking I was late, but most people were already settled in, parked up neatly on both sides of the road by Ohinewai Hall, with plenty of space in the paddock opposite. Perfect venue, perfect setup.

After parking up and signing in, it was straight into the sessions:

• ASB Team – They kicked things off with a really interesting presentation on online scams, showing real-world examples and sharing tips on what to watch for. So valuable for everyone to see.
• St John Crew – This was one of my highlights. They walked us through the steps of CPR and using a defibrillator. Those machines always seemed a bit intimidating to me, but after seeing how automated and “talk-you-through-it” they are, I’d be much more confident in a real emergency.

After that came Friday Happy Hour, where I caught up with my mates Alan and Keitha from Matamata (they’ve got a Dethleffs Trend). Always great to swap notes about motorhome tweaks and adventures.

The next morning, Wireless Nation put on a lively session with skits (featuring NZMCA volunteers!) about the 3G shutdown and the end of Windows 10 support. Lots of laughs and some useful info too.

After lunch, we heard from Craig from Google, who gave a fascinating talk about what’s coming up in tech. The big buzz was around self-driving cars. Craig has been in one in the US and reckons he feels safer in it than with a human driver in traffic. Big call but exciting to think about where this is heading.

Later in the afternoon, people could get one-on-one help with the
NZMCA Travel App, General tech issues (thanks to SeniorNet) and Internet questions with Wireless Nation.

The day rounded out with Happy Hour at 4pm followed by some fantastic live music from The Coopers Run Duo.

On Sunday morning, there was a final get-together before heading home.

I came away really glad I’d gone. Even with my pretty solid internet/tech background, I learnt a lot, especially about CPR and spotting scams.

A huge thanks to Des and his team for putting on another superb event. I’m already looking forward to the Te Aroha Romp in October. If you haven’t got your tickets yet, get in quick. It’s always a fun one!