All dressed up and ready for the Queens Slipper

There comes a time when you simply have to stop lounging around the office, eating peeled grapes and barking orders to unseen minions. There’s a time when you have to get down to some serious work. It’s not pretty and no one looks forward to these times but as the great man said, into each life a little rain must fall.

Last weekend (20-21^st Feb) saw the return of the juggernaut that is the annual Adventure Travel and Backpackers Expo to Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition buildings in Carlton gardens. This year saw over 100 exhibitors cram in to the beautiful old building to spruik there wares. Everything from skydiving and alpine trekking to Bus travel and volunteering, and of course self drive campervan good times!!!! There was even a bloke harassing passers by with a giant snake. It’s unclear what he was selling but needless to say his brochure racks remained unmolested by the more nervous of punters.

Travellers Auto Barn had managed to cadge a spot from the good folks at Tourism NT (thanks guys) to throw a brochure or two and get the message out there, but this was not our main reason for attending. Not by a long shot. Our main purpose for the weekend was to show that not only do we rent a van or two in our spare time but we can throw a party with the best of them.

So as not to be taken by surprise by the weekend we decided it best to kick off proceedings with a bash on the Thursday night, a pre courser to what was to come. Nomads Industry played host to a T.A.B sponsored shindig of epic proportions under the title of “Fantasy Fairytale”. Never ones to shy away from tights and knee high boots our sales team, Peter Adams and John Hingston – ably assisted by part time jokey Oliver Barrett – took the guise of the Three Musketeers and prepared for a long night of work ahead.

Nomads outdid themselves with the bash. Putting on a great night with excellent tunes, good food, drinks akimbo and……. wait for it….. a bouncy castle in the alley behind the bar!!! If you’ve never seen 100 travel agents, sales reps and various hangers on battling for a position on a giant child’s toy then let me tell you it’s a sight to behold. At one stage yours truly was flattened by one of the several Snow Whites in attendance with a blow which was later described as “putting at risk the likelihood of my fathering children without medical assistance”

Needless to say Friday was one of those niggly days where you never feel quite the full quid. A day best spent in the office using valuable company time to shake off last nights excess.

A big thanks go to everyone involved, Nomads Industry for hosting and providing such obliging bar staff, Melbourne Expo attendees for being a party hungry bunch of booze hounds and of course our Melbourne crew for inviting interstate hangers-on!!