Avid caravan owners from all around Australia converged on Deniliquin for the third annual Masterpiece Built Caravan Owners Group rally on the weekend.
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The caravaners met at BIG4 Deniliquin Holiday Park for a long weekend of activities, with 74 registered for the event.
Travellers made their way from as far away as Perth, Tamworth, Newcastle and Melbourne.
The gathering was held from Thursday, March 12 until yesterday, with rally-goers enjoying sessions of lawn games, as well as seminars on all things caravans.
Rally co-organiser Trevor Stevens said this year’s rally was the biggest since it started.
‘‘Our previous two years saw numbers in the 50s and the 60s,’’ he said.
‘‘This is our third year of getting together in Deni. We chose Deni originally because of it somewhat being a central location.
‘‘Frank White (BIG4 Deniliquin owner) also has a Masterpiece caravan and his friend builds them.
‘‘And Deni is such a nice place to come and relax.’’
During the weekend, the visitors all spent some time in town, enjoying dinner at the RSL Club on Friday night.
The group also cycled and paddled their way to the Crossing Cafe on Sunday afternoon before enjoying a trivia night to close out the weekend.
‘‘We want to support some local businesses while we visit,’’ Mr Stevens said.
‘‘The whole weekend is a family friendly event so it brings plenty of people into Deni.
‘‘It’s also a lot of fun for us to check out each other’s caravans and a great way for all Masterpiece owners to learn some tips and tricks.
‘‘My wife (Christine) and I are hoping to do a two to three year trip with our caravan, so all the advice from our seminars should come in handy.’’
In attendance for the event was Masterpiece owner and director Remon Raffaello.
Mr Raffaello has attended the gathering each year, providing a barbecue dinner and organising live music — this year featuring local musician Mal McGrath — for all of his loyal customers.
The night also included a loud shirt competition, with prizes awarded to the lucky winners.
‘‘I have 15 years of experience in the industry and at the end of 2015 started my journey with Masterpiece Caravans,’’ Mr Raffaello said.
‘‘We have since made close to 800 caravans.
‘‘We don’t just produce caravans, we have created a family.
“When I started this I never dreamed of an event like this happening.
‘‘We have people from as far as Western Australia coming here all because of something I created.
‘‘I get goosebumps seeing all of these Masterpiece caravans in the one place.’’
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