Emerald Beach is like lots of spots along the Australian coast ... many of the sites are taken by regulars at this time of year, it's not uncommon to find people who have been coming here for 25 years.
Towards the front of the park the non-powered sites are full of regulars with there own brand of tenting. Part of the culture of this park is that the regulars erect little signs at the front of their site. I walked through 'tent city' for the first time yesterday and wandered past: Thomas' Tavern, Sue's Shack, Jacko's Joint, Helens Hotel, and many others including my favourite, Tracy's Tarp-Mahal.
One of the the things you read about grey nomads is that they are full of helpful advice and are always willing to lend a hand. This extents to campers in general I think. Anyway, further to Maria's post on Tarp Envy, I decided to seek some advice from Jacko as I noted that he had set up his van, annex and tarp in a similar configuration that I figured might suit us.
Little did I know that the art of tarping has many hurdles for the uninitiated. Jacko was as friendly as his name suggests and before I could extract myself I was learning everything Jacko could tell me about his 25 years of tarpestry on that particular site. He was quick to point out the hazards of his particular configuration following the downpour last night. Putting it very simply he suggested his set up was f*&#!d.
After discussing the demerits of the current 'extension' he followed through with, "I've got a big one that goes over the lot. Here come and have a look at this." We moved to the front of his van where he opened the boot to reveal a rolled up tarp that he assured me was a monster. "Hey, why don't you take this one and have a try," he offered.
The bottom line of his advice, "Look mate you just have to fiddle around and find a way that works for you. No two setups are the same mate," he saged.
Ah the wisdom of Jacko.