Kangaroo Valley Twilight Run
03 January 2022 / Words by Bryan Shedden, Photos by Rob Wilko
The annual twilight run to Kangaroo Valley by Illawarra Chapter has become something of an institution. It's a great way to kick off the new year and share tales of festive season celebrations. 25 club members met at Hungry Jack's Haywards Bay to start this year's event on Sunday 2nd January, including seven who travelled down from Sydney. Steve & Kirrily unfortunately had to pull out after their NC developed some strange noises on the trip down. New members Damien and Julie were warmly welcomed with the presentation of Illawarra caps - they only decided to join the club this morning.
After a quick briefing of the route, 14 MX-5s and one Jaguar XF convertible set off, with Alex & Fiona as tail-end Charlie with L-plates on our ND. The new Albion Park bypass opened a couple months ago, which meant that access to the Illawarra Highway from Haywards Bay has been cut off. No problem as it gave us the excuse to explore the rural scenery of Marshall Mount and Calderwood. We cruised past the dairy farms and then zipped up Macquarie Pass. Turning off onto Tourist Road, we kept our eyes peeled for errant kangaroos, but only saw brumbies in the paddocks. In what we can only hope is a sign of things to come for 2022, we were treated to glorious blue skies and warm sunshine. During our drive, hailstones battered some parts of the Southern Highlands, but our journey was blessed with clear weather. Upon reaching Glenquarry, our path returned to Robertson via the beautiful stone fences of Kangaloon. From there, we meandered along Pearsons Lane and Myra Vale Road to Fitzroy Falls before descending Barrengarry Mountain. The valley views were stunning in the late afternoon sunshine. Finally, we arrived at the Friendly Inn at Kangaroo Valley with appetites built.
Our hosts at the pub set us at a few long tables under a marquee in the beer garden, overlooking the bocce court, grassy fields and the mountain range backdrop. Six other club members had made their own way to Kangaroo Valley and were already deep in beers and conversation. Meals from the bistro were delicious (awesome steaks!) and the craft beers on tap are highly recommended. It was a very enjoyable evening with great conversation and many laughs. We're already looking forward to doing it again next year.
