MarchMid-weekRun.

The weather was perfect. Autumn day but warm with plenty of sunshine. Did I mention that is one of the reasons we wanted to retire to Central Otago?

Only two of us turned up to the clubrooms for the start which didn’t bode well but dead-on time we left for Cardona. The scenery was fantastic and we took the opportunity to take a small diversion at the Redbridge Strawberry Farm, which have got to be the best strawberries I have ever had.

We took a short cut along Riverbank Road and ended up following the Taylor Morris 1100 up the valley. Sitting on near 100k we could not help but notice how flat it handled and how small they are compared with todays cars. I suspect that Graham’s car weighs half of what my Range Rover does.

The turnout was good. Ten cars, eight of them VCC eligible, the oldest being Neil & Liz Webster’s 1926 Sunbeam, and twenty odd people. The cars attracted a fair bit of attention and photo-taking from tourists, and some tourists from Mumbai asked Gerry to start the pick-up. The 7.4 L engine may be the largest they have knowingly seen in a passenger vehicle.

Nice to see a couple of cars I hadn’t seen before. I liked the two pickups and the Chev.

The lunch, dining outside in the grounds, was very pleasant. Good company and a pleasant way to spend the day.

Thoughtfortheday.

A few years ago, I was asked to be Acting Manager of a group of Environmental Resource Planners. They were much younger and more earnest than me. Eventually one of them asked me at a team meeting. “How many gas guzzlers do you own, and how do you justify this from an Environmental point of view?” Being honest I replied. “Five, and it is very good for the Environment,” She looked at me in disgust and asked. “How do you justify that?”

I replied. “Well, I am pretty particular about who drives them, so if I drive one, mostly there are four not being used so Environmentally that is a great outcome” There was silence at the meeting. This is a true story.

This month’s Sunday run was to Kidd’s Bush, which is a popular picnic and camping area on the shores of Lake Hawea. The beach is covered with flat pieces of schist - perfect for skipping across the placid waters of the lake. The camp has toilet and barbecue facilities. Opposite the picnic area is the start of a 30-minute nature walk through mountain beech forest. If you have time available, you can walk to the Sawyer Burn Hut. The track leads up through native forest before opening onto a sub-alpine grass spur with superb views of Lake Hawea, the beech forest and nearby high-country stations. Walking to the hut and back will take around six hours. Kidd’s Bush is off the Hawea to Haast Highway drive west from Lake Hawea township on State Highway 6.

A smaller than normal group headed to Kidd's Bush picnic and the bush walk. A nice day out with a couple of new members and a few of the regulars.