The Porschaden

Story: Aaren Tebbutt Photos: Angelo Monteleone Saturday 11th December Porsches & Coffee Run to Mt Macedon

We joined the Porsche Club just before this year’s lockdown so we were excited to finally take part in a club event. We awoke blessed with a glimpse of summer - It would be a day for driving with the windows down.

Arriving at the meeting place it was clear we were in the right location. A nice variety of models adorned the parking spaces, with 911s representing the last 4 decades on display. It was also cool to see a mint green 968 Cabriolet, which I didn’t know came in a drop top variant, let alone in such a striking colour.

Kon went out of his way to make us feel welcome before the briefing. Maybe a little too welcome… as when Kon was looking for a volunteer to do a write up of the day’s run, with a bit of nudging from Amanda I volunteered. We headed to our cars and fired up the ignitions. The low rumble of several flat sixes idling in chorus as we prepare to take off was something special to be a part of for the first time.

After departure, we got broken up into smaller groups due to the short green light at our first turn. We ended up being near the front of our group but the black 991 Turbo in front took off at a pace I couldn’t match, so before long we were at the front of the queue with Amanda unexpectedly promoted to chief navigator. There were a few relationship testing moments but after a while we got into the groove. It all went pretty well… Until it didn’t. We missed the turn onto Bardwell drive, and as we were at the front of the queue, we took another unsuspecting soul on our impromptu detour.

We were fortunate in a number of ways. Firstly, after we realised that we had gone astray and pulled over, Angelo miraculously appeared in his immaculate 944 and offered to lead us back on track. Yet another new member, Paul, who had been ahead of us missed the same turn and managed to find us in his 986 Boxster S, so we formed a 3 car convoy for the remainder of the run. Secondly, our detour led us to the “inside” of the proposed run, so it ended up being a shortcut rather than taking us miles out of our way. There were a few nice curves and it was a joy following Angelo in the 944, hearing the distinctive sound of the 4 cylinder on song. It was an enjoyable cruise through picturesque countryside.

We noted the change in vegetation and drop in temperature on the short climb up Mt Macedon. There is something special about the way the road undulates between the curves on the final stretch to the meeting spot at the Top of the Range Cafe.

One advantage of our unplanned shortcut was that we beat the rush to place our coffee orders. We were able to take in the vistas from the balcony as the clouds cleared and it wasn’t long before we heard the distinctive sound of the rest of the club approaching.

We enjoyed getting to finally meet some of the other members and hear stories about their cars over a warm drink. As a final treat on our departure, a Taycan had parked next to us. It was the first chance for us to see the future of the Porsche marque up close.

Amanda and I would like to thank all at the club who organised and coordinated the event, along with the members on the day who made us feel welcome.