Mid 911 Macedon Run

Mid 911 Register

Run to Djinta Djinta Winery, Kardella South

Story: Deborah Blackie Photos: Deborah Blackie & Keshav Bhattacharya Sunday 12th June 2022

If you don’t like the weather wait a minute. A Melbourne expression and truism for our rumble down to the beautiful Gippsland region with the Mid 911 Register to Djinta Djinta Winery.

We rendezvoused in rain at the Hampton Park MacD’s where the not so well oiled staff struggled to deliver coffees under 15 minutes but did kindly impart the fact that Seniors are able to get a free small sized coffee anywhere in Australia.

It was particularly interesting to note the absence of many genuine Mid 911 cars - in fact excluding a couple of 930 Turbos, there was only one! Did the prospect of a wet, slippery run scare them away - I wonder?

Jim Adamson gave an excellent team orders briefing followed by 20 cars attempting a Le Mans start only to create a Porsche plug at the exit while carbohydrate craving customers attempted to enter. We eventually untangled ourselves and set off in the drizzle for the 1st stage diving through the suburbs of Pakenham, Berwick and Officer. The scenery mainly consisted of huge housing subdivisions with names like Arbour, where every tree had been cut down and Arcadia where the houses were so close to one another they read as one solid building that covered acres. All goes to show developers have a rather dark sense of humour.

We arrived at our morning tea pitstop Caldermeade Farm and Cafe celebrating all things bovine with a jersey milking heard and shop selling aisles of chocolate. The farm stars are 2 Scottish Highland cattle Bonnie and Bugle, who peered at us through a mop of shaggy red hair and wondered who had bought all those noisy metal things. This breed is the oldest registered “coo” and used to sleep inside the crofters’ huts where their body heat kept the folk warm. Makes you grateful for a good split system! After a cake and coffee it was time to set off for stage 2 along the ridge lines with double apex corners. Drivers could use the loud pedal turning those purring, well mannered, Zuffenhausen machines into throaty, fast and incredibly fun cars of passion. Everyone behaved and no one went over 100km - around the corners.

We had gone through fog but were now driving in glorious sunshine through stunning, bucolic scenery. It was so green it could have been England except for the eucalyptus, shearing sheds, camels …..you get the idea. We lost only one participant on that stage but Jim’s notes clearly said right not left at the T junction onto South Gippsland Hwy, so not sure what happened there.

The sun had disappeared and drizzle was coming down as we arrived at Djinta Djinta Winery. The name is aboriginal for Willy Wagtail birds and as most aboriginal bird names are onomatopoeia, it is the territorial sound the bird makes at night.

Eleonor, the winery owner, welcomed us and gave us a brief history of the property and given the vineyard is situated in a wet and cold area not ideal to grape growing, she has specialised in cool climate wines producing 5000 bottles in a good year. The last 2 years have been hard and Eleonor is doing a Herculean job of doing renovations to allow more functions as well as run the vineyard. We wish her well for the future.

With Wilson’s Promontory only 50 minutes away discussions over lunch compared stories of who had the worst holiday story staying there in inclement weather. Read gale force winds.

After a long and enjoyable lunch it was time to meander home with full tummies and ears ringing from laughter and tall stories. Another very enjoyable day spent with club members who love their car as much as you. I did an informal survey during the day of where people were born or were 1st generation Australians and discovered in our group of 39 minus the 2 who went AWOL, we had people from Poland, United States, United Kingdom, East Timor, Denmark, New Zealand, Greece, Singapore and Cypress . The admiration of a great German marque knows no borders.

Congratulations to raffle winners Mandy Adamson, Peter Janusik, Colin Smith and Thomas Som. Thank you Jim and Mandy for my wine gift and the huge amount of work you put in to give 39 people some great memories. Looking forward to my next PCV event Christmas in July.