Jingle Bells at Gerroa
18 December 2022 / Story: Brian Clayton; Photos: Anda Clayton, Lind Downing, Mike Fowler
Jingle Bells at Gerroa
16 December, 2022
It was our last planned excursion for the year and the last excursion under the stewardship of the current convenors, a fitting way to hand over to our new convenors, Geoff and Rose.
Four cars gathered at Milton for the start, Bob and Karen, Fred and Kim, Madhu and Mike and yours truly. We set off for the next rendezvous where we were joined by five more cars, Geoff and Rose, Ian and Chris, Martin and Sue, Ian, and Bob and Linda. We set off for the journey through Nowra and on to the climb to Cambewarra. Held up for a short time by roadworks, we finally arrived at our morning tea destination at Cambewarra lookout where we were joined by Maggie. A pleasant hour was spent over coffee and scones, carrot cake and cookies, chatting away and enjoying the view.
Time to move on and it was off down the scenic drive of Berry Mountain to the village of Berry. The village seems to have been little effected by the highway bypass which takes all the through traffic and leaves the village to the tourists browsing the many coffee shops and places of retail therapy. Our destination was the Treat Factory, home for hundreds of varieties of chocolates, confectionery and preserves, The Treat Factory in Berry has become the largest gourmet food outlet on the South Coast of New South Wales. “It’s all for the grandchildren” he says, “that’s what they all say” replies the checkout chic.
Time for a group photo and then it was off to lunch at the Blue Swimmer in Gerroa where two more of group, Kerry and Leslie joined us. Also joining us for lunch was Carl Gurney from Nowra Mazda. Carl has not only been a generous sponsor of our chapter and a major sponsor of our club, he has been an enthusiastic supporter of the South Coast chapter and introduces all new MX5 owners to the chapter.
A variety of dishes had been selected by guests and all seemed to be enjoyed. The food is simple but excellent and is recommended to other chapters who might find themselves in the area. My recommendation is the fish taco but the pork noodles also seemed to find a happy home.
A brief after dinner presentation was made, thanking Carl for his ongoing support of our chapter and awarding “Chapter Convenor” badges to Geoff and Rose. There is a promise of ongoing handover support from the past convenors and further requests for volunteers to step forward for the various roles within the club.
A fine ending to another busy and happy year.
