 |
||
|
Ingredients:
14 FABULOUS TRIUMPHS, 27 TRIUMPH ENTHUSIASTS, OVER 735km OF THE COUNTRYS MOST DIVERSE SCENIC ROADS,
PLENTY OF SUNSHINE, GREAT FOOD AT LEAST 3 TIMES A DAY and PURE WEST COAST INFUSION.
DAY 1: Arthurs Pass, Moana/Lake Brunner, Blackball, Greymouth, Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, Charleston, Westport, Celebration dinner. DAY 2: Denniston Incline, Buller Gorge, Reefton, Springs Junction, Lewis Pass Scenic walk, Historic Hurunui Hotel |
||
|
||
| » RALLY REPORT by TR Speed Demon | ||
| 5pm Friday 6th January 9am Saturday 7th January The day started fine and those that could had their soft topes down and sunroofs open. There were a variety of heralds including wagon and coupe. Sedans: PI, TC and S/W, and a unique 3.5V8 sedan. Stags and Vitesse (although 1 Vitesse had unavoidably transmogrified into a Nissan) and TR were represented. No Spitfires, where were you all? Right on time we all set off at a very orderly pace along the Old West Coast Road to Springfield to pick up some of the southerly contingent, and then on to Arthur’s. No one was too sure what the weather was going to do. And I was keeping a wary eye on the mountains ahead. Even though we were still in fine conditions, all the soft tops went up at the Arthur’s lunch stop as a precaution. OK, on the Otira side there were intermittent light showers and a gray gloominess which to me can add to the splendour of the Pass, and the new viaduct and the waterfalls and river. I have traveled in worse with the top down in the past. OK as long as you keep moving. And by Jacksons the rain had virtually gone. Eventually proceeding semi al fresco with the rear window unzipped. The Lake Brunner road is always a delight and we regrouped at the rest area near Moana, overlooking the lake. After Blackball the next objective was to attend to the thirst of our chariots at Greymouth, and I treated my dear faithful old friend to a full tank of BP98. I’ve traveled along the Coast Highway north of Greymouth several times. Surely it has to be one of the most scenic coastal drives anywhere in the world. Particularly on our day. Fine weather, a good boisterous ocean swell and traffic surprisingly light. Some of us explored Pancake Rocks. And others, me included, took a hike along Truman’s Track through West Coast native bush to the sea and a stunning cove. From there to Westport I was in convoy with two Stags and the V8 saloon, great motoring. Our digs at the Westport Motor Hotel was very good and the dinner there, perfect. And the surprise written TOC quiz very sticky. I forget who won it but it wasn’t me! And then there was the bar afterwards with “music”. Huge noise. But that’s OK, I was in a good mood. 9am Sunday 8th January And what a place. I always wanted to go there and now I have I shall never forget it. I could easily have spent the whole day there. We were given an entertaining conducted tour by a local resident, Gary “Halfday” James, and taken to places that the casual visitor would never have discovered, plus history and old photos of how the place used to be. And of course to the famous Denniston Incline Railway. If only I had the power to teleport myself back to e.g. 1910 for one week just to observe the hardships those miners and workers and their families had to endure knowing that most of them had been stuck up on that plateau for twenty years. This to me was the highlight of the Rally. And the turning point for the homeward journey. I was a tad tardy leaving Denniston and most had already gone. On the very twisty and steep road down out of the cloud and mist I could see, down below, the bright sunlit coast. The weather now perfect, the engine purring at about 2200rpm I never saw another Triumph. All through Westport, Buller gorge, Inangahua Junction, along 22 or so miles of Highway 69 alongside the railway until Reefton where we all gathered for a late lunch and regroup. All except Roger and Stag. Roger was fine but the Stag was feeling slightly unwell so he took it straight home. Having an empty seat I was pleased to be able to offer Janey seat I was pleased to be able to offer Janey a lift to Hurunui, our group farewell destination. Not only for the pleasant company but Janey also has one of those GPS satellite gadgets which is able to accurately measure one’s speed across the ground in either kph or mph. I’ve never been confident for years about the accuracy of the TR6’s speedo. I always thought it under-read especially since I got ‘pinged’ once going through Woodend. I was delighted to find out there’s nothing wrong with the speedo. It’s spot on at 60mph and at 62mph the GPS shows 100km/h. Dead accurate. There was obviously something wrong with that speed camera!There was one more refueling stop (for those who needed it) at Springs Junction and then across Lewis Pass, the other Pass of our rally title. The West Coast now behind us, we had one more regroup and leg stretch at the St James Walkway and tarn (a Swedish word for small mountain lake). The scenery and weather still magnificent if somewhat windy. Suddenly there was the Hamner turnoff and in no time we were regrettably at our Rally termination, the Hurunui Tavern. Exactly the same time as Roger coming from the other direction arrived in Triumph no. 2. The days before the start of the Rally had been pretty wild, wind, rain, thunder and, down south, snow. I guess some of us might have been a bit apprehensive about what we were going to get. I also couldn’t help thinking because it was still holiday time for many of them out there that there would be a greater number of nitwits on the road than normal. I needn’t have worried on any of those counts. Apart from a couple of hours the weather was fine. And the other traffic was light and as well behaved as can be expected. The company for our weekend was superlative. And the organisation and timing for what was billed as a casual rally was great. Thanks Roger and Janey (and anyone else who had a hand in it). I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. There were mutterings of another one in the future. Can you put my name down for it now please. PS and by the way: |
||
