LALA PHEZULA 2018
The Wild Coast Tents annual event in Wilmot, Nova Scotia provided entertainment for friends and family, presentations from the pros and of course, a weekend of adventure in the outdoors of the beautiful East Coast.
Wild Coast Tents hosts an event every year at Vidito Campground and Family Cottages in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, exclusively for our Wild Coast roof top tent owners. This year, the event was very successful with adventurous customers who are also considered our friends.
Our weekend started off with everyone arriving on Friday evening to set up camp. Each vehicle rolled in and we greeted old and new friends with enthusiasm. Heads would turn to see who had arrived, what type of rig they had, and where they had come from. Sites were then chosen, and tents were set up.
One of our customers came all the way from Campbell River, BC. Lynn arrived in her super-rigged out, black Rubicon that was packed to the hilt, two dogs plus a six-week-old kitten named Orca that she adopted on her trek here. Obviously the little darling soon became the star of the show! We couldn’t be more impressed with her determination and gusto. We were touched beyond words that she made this incredible journey to our event.
Ron and Sharon, the most senior couple (in their 70’s) set up their rig with onlookers aghast. They pretty much became the favourite couple of the event, walking together around the campsite chatting to everyone. We all aspire to be that adventurous when we reach their age.
Northbound Expedition arrived at the site showing their gear and chatting about all the expeditions in New Brunswick, as did Proland3r Outdoors from Ontario, which also offers off-road trips. Then we had Brett. Perhaps orange is the new black as his Jeep, tent, shoes, t-shirt, even his pots and pans, sleeping bag, tie down ropes – you name it – were orange. Obviously, he was razzed all weekend, but he totally owned it.
There were tents on vehicles, trailers bought or built, a tent on a UTV and one attendee, Dan, built a wooden frame on a trailer, which was quickly assembled just two days prior to the event. Dan was late to arrive, and we wondered if perhaps he had discovered termites. He was relentlessly teased. There were some incredible setups and original ideas. Notes and photos were taken for those building new rigs or wanting to modify their existing one. Some of the ideas included hot water systems for showers, fridge setups or solar panel hook ups. Everyone was sharing ideas and knowledge.
On Friday evening, the bonfire roared. Chatter ensued as we all gathered to share stories as kids enjoyed an evening roasting marshmallows and smores. The adults socialized while drinking the incredibly crafted beer by a great customer, Rod Macvicar, who generously brews beer for our event every year.
The evening passed by quickly with endless laughter. I left my chair by the campfire for a few minutes and came back to find it on top of the outhouse. We do have a bunch of mischievous roof top tenters and the last stragglers eventually hit the sack about 2:30 am.
On Saturday morning, everyone crawled out of their roof top tents to the smell of brewed coffee along with bacon and eggs, which was the perfect way to start a day filled with many activities.
Halifax Live 105 radio station arrived to do a broadcast. They were a great bunch of enthusiastic radio hosts. They brought games, beer, giveaways and of course, great music. The kids – and even dogs – played and paddled in the river, while a few customers brought their canoes and explored the Annapolis river. A small entourage, which was led by Dan, even went out exploring to see the nearby St.Croix Cove Waterfalls. Other activities included washer toss, Jenga, while frisbees were tossed, drones were flown and chitchat around different rigs ensued. Another highlight included a presentation by Nova Scotia Bushcraft that was enjoyed by all.
More entertainment was provided by the fire building competition for a grand prize of a gas stove. After much laughter and cheering, the lucky winner finally burnt through his rope. Next, was a ropepulling competition between two teams of four. In the end, Nick was the winner and won a set of Treds. In the other draws, a Trasharoo bag went to Ruben from Proland3r and an awning was won by Joe from Ontario. The obvious winner for the $200.00 prize for the “longest distance travelled” went to Lynn who came all the way to Nova Scotia from British Columbia. Goodie bags and t-shirts were handed out and we managed to gather everyone, (well almost everyone) for our yearly, group photo.
As we joined for dinner, David Chamberlain, a local musician from Bear River, Nova Scotia, created a lovely atmosphere playing his acoustic guitar and drums. Later, as everyone gathered around the campfire once again, David continued to entertain. The ambience of the fire and music conjured up lots of story telling and laughter into the early hours of Sunday. Before we knew it, the weekend was over, and it was once again time to pack up our gear to head out on our next adventures.
THIS YEAR THE PRIZES WENT TO THE FOLLOWING RIGS: Best Gear Head- Shamus Best Battle Scar-Shaun Best of Show-Brett Most Unique-Blu Best MacGyver fix-Dan