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Presentation evening on Wednesday 4th February 2009

Eco - Pioneering Adventure Challenge - Around Australia the Environmentally Friendly Way - Presented by Gerard and Rachel Mimmo

at Kangaroo Tent City - North Parramatta Store





An amazing evening was had by all and the presentation from Gerard and Rachel Mimmo was fantastic, giving those in attendance an insight into their travels, challenges faced, and amazing experiences.  Thank you to all who attended on the evening. Very positive comments were received by those in attendance, the sausage sizzle had a good work out, lucky door prizes were won, and fantastic sale prices on items store wide were offered to those who attended. The evening was a great learning opportunity.

In May 2008, Gerard and Rachel Mimmo left Sydney to set off on an eco-pioneering challenge around Australia. The challenge was to see if they could be the first people to travel the whole way around Australia, reaching the Eastern, Northern, Western and Southern most points of mainland Australia, with a very small Carbon Footprint. The aim of the challenge was to show tourists and fellow Australians that you can travel to the remotest parts of Australia, whilst still enjoying everything you want from a holiday and an adventure, with a low impact on the environment. To do this, Rachel and Gerard converted their 1995 Troupe Carrier (affectionately known as "The Battered Fish") to run on used waste cooking oil to save fuel, a solar panel for all their electricity needs, cooked local produce over wood fires, camped in bush camps with a Kangaroo Camper 9 Camper Trailer (affectionately known as "The Barnacle")and used bio-degradable products. On 22 December 2008, they returned to Sydney after successfully completing the challenge.

The eco-pioneering challenge involved:

·Organising, implementing and delivering the eco-pioneering challenge;

·Securing sponsorship and contributions for the challenge from companies through letters and presentations;

·Delivering their message to a wider audience through the use of radio interviews, news channels, newspapers and speaking to individuals and communities in the major Australian Cities;

·Creating, developing and keeping up to date a website to show a variety of companies, media and people their messages and progress;

·Travelling within a financial budget; and

·Securing waste cooking oil in each area they visited through communicating with people about the challenge.

To view photos and more information on thier journey around Australia visit www.ozonabatteredfish.blogspot.com

Visit their new website www.thebatteredfish.com

Gerard and Rachel had their vehicle and camper trailer on display to show off their vehicle modifications and their camper trailer with all their gear. Rachel and Gerards' first hand presentation on the night of their experiences was fantastic. They presented stories, photographs, movies, product reviews and answered questions on the challenges they faced.

Kayaks on the Harbour - Cockatoo Island - Saturday 15th November, 2008.

If you are looking to buy a kayak this summer then you cant miss this exciting event

On Sat 15th November Kangaroo Tent City hosted the innaugural "Kayaks on the Harbour Day" at beautiful Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. A great day was had by all relaxing on the Island and trying out some of the latest and greatest kayaks by brands including Koastal Kayals, Feel Free Kayaks, Coleman, Sevylor and Zodiac.

To find out more about Cockatoo Island please visit www.cockatooisland.gov.au or phone 02 8898 9774 or visit the bookings office on the island. This event will be run again in the future so if you are interested in becoming a member for our future kayak trial days please email us at info@kangarootentcity.com.au

Here are some of the great photos taken on the day

Peats Ridge Music Festival - 4 days over New Years at Glenworth Valley on the NSW Central Coast - for camping package deals - click here

Kariong Caravan and Camping Show, July 2008

Winner of $2000 worth of Great Outdoor Gear from Kangaroo Tent City

Congratulations to Mr Roy Tolhurst from Lemon Tree Passage.

Mr Tolhurst recently collected his prize from our Maitland Store, shown here with Daniel and Daniel from Kangaroo Tent City Maitland.

"Many thanks to Kangaroo tent city and staff and your suppliers for the wonderful gate prize from mount pennang At first i thought i would sell most of the gear because i was just doubling up but because of new technology etc it is such a big improvement on my old gear i will be keeping the lot"

Regards Roy Tolhurst

Steve Irwin - Backyard Campout

raising funds for Wildlife Warriors

On the weekend of the 17th November, 2007, Kangaroo Tent City hosted a Backyard Campout to celebrate the life of Steve Irwin and raise funds for wildlife warriors. Staff in Kangaroo Tent city stores dressed up as Steve Irwin and promoted the backyard campout, to encourage families and friends to go camping together.

Donations can still be made to Wildlife Warriors by visiting http://www.everydayhero.com.au/kangarootentcitycampers

Visit www.australiazoo.com.au for more information.

Thousands of people got involved in this great event worldwide. Here are some photos of our backyard campers. Click on images to enlarge.

Kangaroo Tent City Assists with Earthquake Relief in Pakistan

In 2005 a massive earthquake near Islamabad in Pakistan killed thousands of people and wiped out entire communities and villages leaving them nothing. This occurred just before winter leaving thousands of people homeless and without warmth to fight the cold temperatures. A request for tents, blankets and clothing was sent out worldwide and Kangaroo Tent City responded by supplying the Edhi Foundation in Sydney with thousands of blankets and tents to be sent to Pakistan. Click here to read the newsletter.

Kangaroo Tent City MVP Award

The MVP award is a prestigious award given to one team member from our company for their outstanding performance in their role during the quarter. The award pays due respect and congratulations to an individual, as nominated by their peers, for outstanding performance in sales achievement, passion for high quality service, integrity in delivering uncompromising quality in their duties, demonstrating their capabilities to perform as a team player in a team focussed environment, for an outstanding individual achievement and/or for demonstrating a high degree of competence in core retail skills such as merchandising, stock control, staff training and support, product knowledge and quality customer service. This individual demonstrates passion, integrity, attention to detail, team player, product knowledge, and quality retail skills in fulfilling their role.

Nominations for the award are received from every staff member each week who must nominate another team member for their outstanding performance and give an explainiation for the reason they have been nominated.

The winners of this award are

Summer 06/07 - Gavin Merrick - North Parramatta Store.

Gavin is a deserved winner of this award. He has consistently been a high achiever in many areas including being the highest sales achiever in the company for three months running. Gavin won this award also for the support he has played in training new staff and playing an integral role in managing the North Parramatta store over the busy summer months. As part of a team, Gavin has demonstrated great improvement in his acceptance of greater responsibility, has not been afraid to step in and help out others when required, and performed with a positive approach whilst helping to develop new team members. For these reasons, Gavin has been promoted to the Management team at the North Parramatta store. A leader of the future and a popular team member. Gavin received the highest number of nominations from his peers. Congratulations Gavin !!

Autumn 07 - Jenny Lang - North Parramatta Store.

Jenny came back to work at Kangaroo Tent City in March 07 after moving back to Qld for 12 months. Prior to this Jenny had worked with us for approximately 5 years. Since her return Jenny has fitted in extremely well to the team. Joining us at a busy time with the opening of a new store, Rosehill Supershow about to begin and two key management staff suddenly being admitted to hospital, our team was under some pressure. To her credit Jenny proved how valuable she is as a team player. When it was time to step up and take on responsibility, Jenny was one of the first to put up her hand and lead the way. To her credit she managed the clothing category at Rosehill Show to achieve our best result ever in this category. In addition Jenny was instrumental in helping to set up the new Maitland store and also run the Maitland Show very successfully in this quarter. Jenny is a well liked and admired team member amongst her peers and a worthy winner of this award. Cheers to Jenny !!

Winter 07 - Jeff Sheppard - Tuggerah Store.

Jeff is the Manager of our Tuggerah Store. Jeff takes great pride in the presentation of his store with his team and under his leadership, the Tuggerah store has become one of the top stores in the company. Through the winter months, Jeff showed great initiative in driving sales in his store via clothing, BBQs, outdoor furniture and patio heaters. Jeff grew sales in these categories during this time by focussing on the detail and rotating stock around to present great offers through out winter. Jeff as an individual was consistently in the top 5 sales people in the company and assisted the development of our new Maitland store by guiding staff through product ranging and staff training. Jeff and his team also assisted with the successful operation of the Kariong Show. Well done Jeff. Good to see the award going to another store!!

Spring 07 -

Product Testing

ONe of our staff has just returned from a 3 week product testing trip through the Simpson Desert & Hay River area of the Northern Territory with Great Divide Tours. On this trip he tested many different items in some very extreme locations.

Items tested included Black Wolf Tent, Diamantina Outrigger Tent, Downunder Brumby Swag, Diamantina 4wd Mats, Roman Trek S/Bag, Coleman Stoves, Coleman Cook Station, Trangai Stove, Engel 40Ltr Fridge.

Here are a few Photo's that show what a fantastic place the Aussie Outback is.

Woop Woop Newsletter

Welcome

Product Testing

Hints & Tips for Canvas

Website
Recommendations

New Products

Dog Friendly Accommodation

WELCOME
Welcome to our Newsletter, and what a great time to get outdoors and explore our beautiful country, and whilst we are all praying for much needed rain and an end to the drought, it makes for great hiking. If you've never been one to throw on a backpack, and feel that now is the time, come on in and see us, and one of our friendly and knowledgable sales staff will give you all the information you need to start exploring this wonderful land.

Check out our new Spring Products from Diamantina. We have a wonderful new range of canvas tents arriving soon, as well as a variety of new camping chairs - one to suit everyone in the family.

We welcome your comments and ideas, your photos and articles, and sincerely hope you enjoy reading your newsletter. Please send to either info@kangarootentcity.com.au or 596A Church Street, North Parramatta, NSW, 2151.

NEW PRODUCTS FOR SPRING -
AVAILABLE NOW

Camper Trailers are now available

If you like the idea of arriving at a camp site, parking a trailer and simply popping up a tent and having everything you need at your fingertips, with the added bonus of sleeping well off the ground, then the Camper 9 will suit you.

With an Off Road Trailer the Camper 9 comes complete with vinyl rain cover, hinges, latches, gas struts and brackets for tilting and locking down. When the tent is attached to the trailer the gas struts allow you to access the trailer from the outside by tilting the whole platform and when inside the tent you can also access the trailer through a large trap door under the mattress. This door also has a gas strut.

From the comfortable 150mm Queen size mattress on the platform on top of the trailer, you then step down into the 240 x 220cm living room. The centre ridge is 270cm high and a 240cm awning covers the front patio. The tent is well ventilated with 6-large windows with zippered internal window flaps and a large front door that is No-See-Um mesh and canvas.

Optional Camper 9 Sunroom
A full canvas sunroom with windows is available for the Camper 9.

Canvas Tents are tough and durable enough to stand up to many a storm, providing a secure and comfortable haven for family holidays or touring.

Kangaroo Tent City and BBQs is proud to introduce their new range of Diamantina Canvas Tents providing you with family size comfort, or touring size convenience.

The Stamford Grande (pictured at right with optional sunroom) is our show piece, boasting comfortable and spacious 2 room accommodation (4.5m x. 3.65 x 2.4m) with optional sunroom, and made with only the best materials.

The Astoria is a superb canvas tent (pictured at right) with 2 rooms, extra large awning, optional sunroom, and with all the best quality features you could expect. This tent is ideal for family holidays. (3m x 2.4m x 2.4m).

We also have the Outrigger (2.75m x 2.75m) Canvas Touring Tent and the Outrigger Extended (2.75m x 3.6m) Canvas Touring Tent which are perfect for those weekend getaways. More information available by clicking on the links.

Stamford Grande (above)
with optional sunroom

Astoria (above)

PRODUCT TESTING
Our Woop Woop testing facility recently took a change of venue, in the form of the Six Foot Track, west of Sydney. Not only did we put some of our products to the test, but it was a great opportunity to get outdoors for some friendly competition.

Our ever-supportive suppliers ensured that we had adequate equipment: Mont, Black Wolf and Roman backpacks, Roman and Coleman self-inflating mats, Roman sleeping bags, hiking tents from Roman and Spelean (MSR Zoid 1.5) and bivvy from Roman, Trangia stove from Rucsak and Coleman’s Outlander butane stove, GPS systems from Magellan, and last but far from least, that which gives us sustenance, Backcountry meals from Outdoor Agencies – double size, no less.

Our testers braved the notorious swing bridge, and weathered what has possibly been the mildest winter weather, to provide you with more improved knowledge and experience from our store sales representatives, as well as the benefit of product feedback. All in all it was a fabulous two days of testing and experiencing some of our fabulous products, and we invite your questions and suggestions with regard to our product range and our testing expeditions.

TIPS FOR OWNERS OF CANVAS TENTS

Before your tent's first use, erect as per the provided instructions. This provides you with the opportunity to check that all parts are present and that you are familiar with the method for erection. Whilst the tent is up, hose your tent thoroughly and allow to dry twice. This will allow the fabric and stitching to shrink and take up, providing a more waterproof result. Some water may wick through the stitching during this process. If any wicking occurs in the future, rub the stitching with a wax stick which will seal the area.

No fabric is mildew proof - due to the climatic conditions in Australia, the appearance of mildew or black spots is beyond yours and our control. However, there are a few preventative measures you can apply. Never store your tent away wet - if you must pack up a wet tent, thoroughly dry it as soon as you can. Fold tent loosely and store in a cool, dry location. If mildew does occur, remove it by scrubbing with a soft brush and water, or use a commercial mildew remover.

WEB SITE RECOMMENDATIONS

One of the developments within our own website, was to extend our library of Outdoor Links, which will be an ongoing development. We currently have 4 categories of interest for you: Bushwalking Links, Family Holidays, 4WD Links and links to our Suppliers, where we hope you will find additional information on some of the products we have in our stores.

Our website recommendation for this season is:
Learn Orienteering – How To Use a Compass http://www.learn-orienteering.org/

In Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on How To Use A Compass he refers to the compass as the “indispensable tool to find your way home, or go nowhere”. In what is a very unpretentious site, Kjetil does a great job of introducing you to orienteering, providing an understanding on working with your compass and map, practice exercises, and tips on buying a compass. This is a great site for all those who plan to get “off the beaten track”. Even for those who own, or plan to own, a GPS, basic navigation can be a life-saver.

DOG FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATION

We received plenty of feedback from our questionnaire, requesting information on “DOG-FRIENDLY” Accommodation. For those people, we have the following suggestions:

Holidaying with Dogs, by Willie Bedford, and available from any of our stores, provides an excellent directory to over 2000 B&B’s, caravan parks, camping grounds, cottages, host farms, motels, holiday houses and pet-sitters throughout Australia and New Zealand. It retails for $16.95.

The Caravan and Camping Industry Association (CCIA) has a fabulous website where you can not only locate the perfect destination for your holiday, but you can also search for “pet-friendly” accommodation. Simply visit www.cciansw.com and follow the Holiday Guide link. There are also tips for travelling with your pet.

Wollondilly River Station provides outstanding camping facilities in the beautiful Wollondilly Valley, and they also welcome your pets. They have year round trout fishing, swimming, canoe and tent hire, wildlife tours, firewood for sale and the ultimate camping luxury – flush toilets. Brian and Ina will even provide you with an Australian Camp Oven Dinner, by request. Only 15km from Wombeyan Caves and surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery, Wollondilly River Station is a fabulous getaway for you and your pet. Check out their website: www.wollondillyriverstation.com or phone Brian and Ina on 02 4888 9207