Araluen Pub

11 July 2023 / Story: Anne Zaterra; Photos: Rose Smith

LUNCH RUN TO ARALUEN (NOT MAJORS CREEK)

Wednesday, 28 June 2023

 

Four MX5s and one Nissan Navarra with a city-slicker on board – Teresa from Sydney on her first ever car run. Not all roads sealed, no streetlights. “Where are we going for lunch???” No, it’s not Rick Stein’s today.

Grey skies overhead, we depart the Heritage Bakery at Milton and head south towards Batemans Bay. Right turn onto Kings Highway. We send occasional messages via our CB radios updating on the current temperature. It’s cold out there.   Will we see snow? It’s a possibility. It’s bleak. It’s grey. It’s a wonderful day to be alive.

We head through Braidwood and then start our winding descent to Araluen. The scenery is dense with trees, the road is narrow and though it is sealed, there are the ubiquitous potholes. We have a commentary from the back seat, “do you always drive this far to lunch?”

We get to our destination, Araluen pub at the bottom of a pretty valley. A once thriving gold town. Current population 209. We get out of our cars and try and avoid the horse patties that dot the grassy car park. One of us manages to step in one. The pub is rustic and charming and historic in my eyes. Teresa wants to know why we drove 1.5 hours to this place. “This is where we are having lunch?” She sounds a little shocked and skeptical.

We enter the pub. The publican has a fire blazing. It’s warm inside. A few locals are chatting at the bar. This is a country pub. The lifeblood of this tiny community. We are greeted warmly. We order our drinks and food at the bar. We take our seats at a long table.

Introductions are made. A warm welcome to Jeff Rowe from Illawarra and Teresa from Sydney. We start to talk like old friends. Teresa can see into the rustic kitchen. She is surprised there is only one lady cooking all our meals and is impressed at how clean and organized the kitchen is. Our meals arrive, hearty pub food. The mashed potato is perfect. Steaks well cooked.

Time flies by as we talk and eat. It is soon time to head back to our cars.

Teresa has changed her mind. She understands why we do what we do with our little cars, she thinks the people she met today are lovely. She had a great time and would do it again. A convert. Hopefully she can retire very soon and buy her own little Zoom Zoom and join us.

We all head up that winding road again towards, Braidwood. The Navarra with its city slicker stop for a quick browse around Braidwood where quite a bit of shopping was done in a remarkably short space of time. The other cars take various routes home, either via Nerriga or on the Kings Highway.

Another great day out with good friends. Grey skies and cold weather made for a perfect day by a warm fire.

And that, folks, is why we love our little cars and the people who drive them.