Central Coast Launch Run?
28 September 2026 / Words by Chris Rhodes & John Purcell, Photos by Lester Langford, Rob Wilko
On Sunday morning of 27th September, 19 eager club members met at Heatherbrae Pies, Ourimbah for the inaugural drive for what may become the Central Coast Chapter (CCC).
After a quick greet and meet with members from Hunter and Sydney chapters, 13 cars headed off in convoy to the beautiful Yarramalong Valley made even more interesting with the local scarecrow competition lining the way. A turn left took us up Bumble Hill (the best hill climb in the area) tempered a bit by the 40 km/h speed limit.
A turn left brought us onto Kulnura and the Mountains district, a charming rural area. Peats Ridge Road to Calga is a fairly straight highway opened in 1964 as the Gosford bypass and originally called Route 1, but quickly earned the nickname of Blood Hill as skinny cross ply tyres, high speeds and lack of seat belts made for a lethal combination.
Just as a light sprinkle of rain started we joined the Old Pacific Highway (everyone’s favourite) always a delight, particularly with the roof down. We arrived at our final destination Mt Penang Gardens at Kariong just in time for the weather to really close in, so no pretty walks today, just a good feed and warm drinks.
Following discussions over lunch, members agreed that the time isn’t quite right to establish a formal Central Coast Chapter. Instead, the group has decided to trial a series of Central Coast events, aimed primarily at local members but open to members from both the Sydney and Hunter Chapters. There is already enough interest to form a small Event Committee, with the Sydney and Hunter Chapters supporting and promoting Central Coast runs through the Club website. These runs will be a great opportunity to get local members together and see where the Central Coast group can go from here.
