EASTER RUN 2010

FRIDAY

Our destination was Coffs Harbour for the day.  Eleven people and four cars left Yamanto just after 7am.  Before the New South Wales border, a further eight people and four cars had progressively merged into the entourage as we passed along the Logan Motorway, M1 and Pacific Highway for the southbound run.

Following recent rains, the countryside was picture perfect - a carpet of sugarcane fields, banana plantations and green pastures punctuated by mountain peaks and rolling valleys - all the way to our first stop at Ballina.  With the cars refueled and a short break to stretch the legs, we were off again.  Heading to Grafton for lunch, we passed through a number of quaint villages and viewed some rather impressive rivers and scenery.

During our lunch break at Grafton, Kenny Mortimer joined us for the afternoon run to Coffs Harbour where we booked into our accommodation at Sanctuary Resort.  Shortly after settling in, Reedy arrived for an overnight stay, bunking in with the Steels.  He was our pilot to John Gong's property just south of Coffs Harbour for a bar-be-cue tea.  Thank you to John and Cassandra for providing a superb bar-be-cue and wonderful hospitality.  The guys thought they were in "Torana Heaven" here and all were in awe.  It was hard to tear them away!

Ken left us to return home to Grafton early in the evening as the rest of us gathered around the pool area back at the motel for drinks, nibblies, chit-chat and lots of laughter.  Having been a long day of driving, a reasonably early night was on the agenda for all.

SATURDAY

An early start (for most) and after breakfast we set off for Ken and Marilyn Mortimer's property just outside Grafton for morning tea.  The ladies were impressed with the beautiful location and views from their property whilst the guys, as usual, were more impressed with the Toranas and such like.  However, the ladies did venture over to the "sacred shed" to have a look at "Marilyn's Torana"!!!   To Ken and Marilyn a big thank you for a superb spread and warm reception.  Oh, nearly forgot - thank you to Cooper for the entertainment. 

With regret we had to leave and continue on toward out next stop for the night at Glen Innes.  Little did most of us know what was ahead - the Gibraltar Range.  The winding and very steep road through stands of rainforest seemed to continue forever:  pure joy to some but scary for others.  A stop at the lookout near the top of the range made it all worthwhile.  The view was amazing.

The last section into Glen Innes passed through beautiful grazing country.   On entering the town, a couple of the tail-enders were pulled over for a RBT in the main street.  We know that Acco can count to at least 5!  After booking into the Rest Point Motor Inn, we said our good-byes to Debbie, Geoff and James who were continuing on to their property near Ballandean.   This would be our morning tea stop the next day.

Misfortune again struck Greg and Leanne in the form of a head gasket problem requiring NRMA assistance and arrangements for vehicle transport initially to Ballandean on the Sunday.

We set ourselves up for drinks and nibblies "under the coolibah tree" for the afternoon.  This turned into 10 pizzas, more drinks and heaps of laughter until 9.30pm despite the chilly weather of the Tablelands.  That "Daylight Saving" in New South Wales cut us out of another hour of partying though! 

SUNDAY

The Easter Bunny who shall remain nameless did the rounds for the ladies and kids.  We packed up  again and were ready to set off as soon as the tilt-tray picked up Greg's car.  For a while we thought we had another vehicle casualty when Tom's car refused to start.  (Those pesky alarm systems can be a problem sometimes, can't they Tom?)  After a quick Macca's stop in Glen Innes, we ventured on to Tenterfield for a fuel break before heading across the border toward Ballandean.

After driving along the road to Geoff and Debbie's property for what seemed an eternity, we arrived at their humble abode for morning tea,  surrounded by the absolute peace and tranquility of their rural setting.  Geoff, Debbie and James, thanks for a most enjoyable morning tea and very welcoming invitation.  To leave this seclusion was difficult.  Deb, the cattle did tell you it was going to rain!

It was only a short drive to our Stanthorpe accommodation at The Vines Motel where we would meet up with John Wilcocks for the night.  On arrival, we were escorted to reception by the motel's "porter" - a beautiful white dog of unknown origin.  It was also time to say farewell to Gail and Peter who had to head back home.  We heard that a little further up the road, Peter was escorted to the side of the Highway by a lovely young female Police Officer for a RBT - we are sure Peter would have been delighted to oblige!

Further socializing and more nibblies continued through till late afternoon before preparing for a restaurant dinner at  Anna's Place which was only a short walk from the motel.  Geoff, Debbie and James joined us for an extraordinary smorgasbord meal at an equally impressive venue.  It was a wonderful evening, enjoyed by all. 

This was our final night before heading back to reality.

MONDAY

A fairly early start for John and Sandy and after Darryn and Ron organized the tilt-tray for Greg's car, the rest of us set off for breakfast in Stanthorpe.  Guess whose vehicle had the best fuel economy from Glen Innes to Ipswich?  Also, it's peculiar how Greg went on the same trip but did a couple of hundred kilometers less than the rest of us - wonder how you manage that?  In all, we covered over 700 MILES on this adventure.

The weather had been very kind to us.  Only brief showers overnight at Coffs Harbour and Stanthorpe.  Temperatures were mild throughout the trip which made driving very pleasant for us and the cars.

Thanks for a great weekend and wonderful company.  A special thank you to Darryn for the planning and especially to Justine for the organization and selection of very good accommodation.

Shirley and Gail