Galaxy of Cars 2012

With a change of venue, and somewhat haphazard organisation by the Lions, my hopes were not high for this year's event. But surprisingly, we ended up with a primo site (under some trees) and the day ran reasonably smoothly.
Karen and I again arrived early and managed to get in before the queue. Early on, the entry process for display cars seemed to be much smoother than in the past. Some of those that arrived later however found that older cars were held up whilst a stream of modern Commodores were allowed what seemed like priority access!!
Despite some fears by the Lions that there was not going to be enough space for all display cars, there was room left over; and with a little better utilisation of the inner field of the speedway track, many more vehicles could have been on display.
The crowd this year seemed a bit smaller. I guess being held after Concours rather than before may have had some impact, but it's also quite likely that the $12 entry price put many off. Perhaps the organisers could be a little less greedy next year, and we may see a larger crowd again.

Concours 2012

Another early(ish) start and again Karen & I were surprisingly one of the first to arrive, although not beating Dennis who was waiting just down the road from the entry gate.

We entered, parked, and when Paul arrived started setting up our new pop-up gazebo, along with walls. And not before time; just as we were considering attaching a wall, the rain started and two walls were quickly zipped into place. Fantastic!! Despite the rain getting heavier for about the next 10 minutes we were kept well dry. The rain did dissipate and the clouds eventually cleared so that the afternoon was quite sunny, but there was quite a wind all day.

We spoke to several past members, potential members and various people who grabbed photos, or shared stories of times past. In all, a good day.

Kaiaua Beach Run

On what classes as an Auckland summers day, several of us gathered at the ClubRooms ready for an outing to a local beach (the weather is Karen's fault, she decided we needed new outdoor furniture). Taking into consideration the drizzle, it was decided that Awhitu may not be the best choice and that Kawakawa Bay would be a far closer and more appropriate alternative. We set off, with Brian setting a healthy pace in his 7Y.

45 minutes later we were at Kawakawa Bay and standing outside the local store. Yes there was still water falling out of the sky. A quick discussion and we set off for Kaiaua, where we are certain of shelter in the local pub for lunch. Again, Brian sets a cracking pace. With Karen and Jo following along in a modern, Chris and I separately have some fun skittering the back end of our cars around some of the corners in the wet. During lunch Bev comments that Brian drives too fast, and I said that I was surprised he was able to corner as fast as he was, to which he replies that he was just keeping the car quite finely balanced between too much and too little.

Anyway, we all arrived safely at Kaiaua after passing a group of motorcyclists, one of whom had failed to negotiate a bend and ended up down a bank - he seemed OK. Chris also antagonised some of the locals by apparently driving too fast past a funeral! But as I was saying we arrived safely and ordered lunch at the local pub, most of us opting for the fish and chips. After a bit of a yarn, we then proceeded back home via the Hunua Gorge.

Thanks must go to Martin (Y) for organising. A most enjoyable day was had by Brian and Bev (7Y), Chris (Y) and Jo (modern), Ant and Karen (Anglia), and Bud (modern).

Annual Combined Gymkhana

Every year this is always a cracker day. Warm, sunny, and red Ant weather (thank goodness for my hat and 85+ sunscreen).

Due to several other events being held on the same day — the Cambridge swapmeet and car show, and the Auckland Santa Parade — the turnout of clubs was a little lower than in previous years, but that didn’t mean we didn’t have a good time.

Six events had all the participants driving in circles, or with a bucket on their head, or hooking and carrying bottles or crates. All this and more than enough time to sit in the shade (or sun) and munch on food and drink.

At the end of the day the Chev Club were declared winners, followed by the Morris Register and then us.

Attending today were Brian and Bev (Ford 7Y), Andrew and Pam (Ford Anglia) Neil and Sue (Ford Prefect), Ant and Karen (Ford Anglia) Stephen (Ford 8 Surf) and Martin (Ford 10 Commodore).

Thames Run

The 8am Saturday morning start was a bit too early for me, but Martin, John and the rest all departed close to the allotted time. Leaving the motorway at Bombay, they toured through the back roads towards Miranda, and then on to Thames itself.
First port of call was Seagulls, the 'recycling' store at the tip which recovers usable junk and on-sells it to customers. An interesting visit apparently.

Karen and I joined everyone around lunchtime at the next stop, the Museum of Technology based at the old pumphouse. This building used to pump a huge amount water from the various goldmines in the back hills out to sea. Most of the large machinery to do this is no longer onsite, but the original crankshaft, all 70 tons, was recently rediscovered and is still there. The custodians have also built and mounted in the original location replicas of the main flywheels.

We had a brief stop at the War Memorial Monument which overlooks Thames township, before travelling on up the coast to Terry and Joanne’s place. Here we were able to examine the treasures in Terry’s garage, while Joanne made tea & coffee, and provided some munchies for everyone.

Despite being a cool-ish day, we had a good turnout with John (Anglia Tourer), Martin (Y), Chris and Jo (Y), Harvey (Y), Bud & Thelma (Prefect) Paul & Delia (modern), Brian &  Bev (modern), Karen & Ant (modern). Andrew also travelled over from Morrinsville in his Prefect.

We then left in dribs and drabs from Terry and Joannes and made our way back to Auckland in the late afternoon.