Kangaroo Valley Twilight Run
06 January 2019 / Words by Dianne Byers, Photos by Bob Downing, Ann Hicks, Karina Santolin, Bryan Shedden
The Club's first run of 2019 was organised by the Illawarra Chapter to traipse to Kangaroo Valley for dinner at the pub. 47 club members met at Haywards Bay and listened to the briefing from our organiser, Dr Shedden. We expected clear blue skies in the cool of the late afternoon. Those who had travelled from the north were blissfully unaware that heavy thunderstorms had been rolling across Albion Park all afternoon. As our 24 cars departed, the lightning cracked and thunder rumbled - an ominous portent of what lay ahead. Trevor & Mary had been excited about joining the run, but experienced an engine warning light in their MX-5 on the way to Haywards Bay, and were forced to wave goodbye.
Rain attacked our precious rides - all thankful it wasn't hail. Macquarie Pass as expected was steep and oh so slippery with falling bark and debris that we manoeuvred around quite nimbly. We navigated safely along the Tourist Road through intermittent heavy rain, and as we passed through Glenquarry we added another MX-5 to our contingent . We took a left at Sheepwash Road and found ourselves in the clouds. Our MX-5s pushed on and all 25 cars made it securely down Kangaloon Road. The wind blew but the scenery was lost in the mist. Right at Illawarra Highway towards Moss Vale, Pearson's Lane turned us left again then a right on Myra Vale Road. By Nowra Road the rain stopped and the skies began to clear ... until we hit the valley. Our twilight run was at an end and as it was most fitting we all joined up at the Friendly Inn for dinner and tall stories. We were met there by Bob & Linda, swelling our tally to 49 people. We had two large rooms all to ourselves and enjoyed a great meal together - the pub staff really looked after us.
The real fun started when a group of us returned home via Berry Mountain. Initial concerns about watching for roos on the road were not necessary because the fog was so thick that we crawled at walking pace in some places. The large reflective corner signs on the hairpins brightly reflected our headlights which made it twice as hard to see where the road went. It was definitely a run to remember.
