Mid 911 Run to RACV Healesville

Abright sunny morning made a nice change from the previous few weeks of arctic weather. A great turnout of various models including the beautiful black Carrera 2.7 of Paul and Deborah Blackie and Nigel Watson’s immaculate guardsred 944 Turbo S. The Hughes / Donald family of four squeezed into their 89 Carrera Cabriolet 911, proving that a 911 can be a people carrier as long as the rear seat occupants are young.

The run got off to an interesting start when more than half of the participants took a wrong turn at the very first instruction, which some put down to taking the wrong exit from the Stud Road McDonalds. A short diversion and a u-turn in a suburban street later and we were on our way through the hills of the lower Dandenong ranges, passing through Cockatoo and Gembrook, two of the most beautiful towns in Southern Victoria. We then headed to Hoddles Creek and Yarra Junction before our final destination of Healesville.

While the road had some nasty potholes in places (fewer than expected, given the rain in Melbourne over the last couple of months), the rising and falling, curvy blacktop was just what we needed to stretch the legs of our Mids. We arrived at the modern and impressive Healesville Country Club and parked in the underground car park. The restaurant upstairs was excellent and provided us with a hearty lunch of various dishes and drinks. The catering order was a bit enthusiastic and we could have fed many more but the atmosphere and conversation was fantastic and everyone left fully fed and watered. The end-of-year raffle went off without a hitch and the winners were; Neville Sampson, Sylvia Rogers, Peter Hemphill and Christopher Ryan.

A big thank you to Jim and Mandy for organising what was their last run as Mid911 register captain.