MNC Mystery run, Xmas party & presentations

01 January 2021 / John Hansen

MX5 Mid North Coast Chapter

 Mystery Run and Christmas Lunch. Ho Ho Ho

 Sunday 13 December 2020

 

 Rivermark Cafe was the staging point for twenty keen members on Sunday 13 December for our annual mystery run and Christmas lunch. Ten cars that made up the run and represented an assortment of MX-5s from a series 1 NB to the latest MX-5 GT RF.

 We made the most of the meet and greet and inevitable coffee, just catching up with fellow members and welcoming new members Tracey and Roger before the run briefing. Our mystery run before lunch was to Miss Nellie’s Cafe at Kendall using as many back roads as possible and minimizing any highway driving. The weather appeared to be more likely to be dashing through the rain rather than dashing through the snow with ominous dark clouds above us.

 Run leader, Greg, GT-RF finally led us off followed by, Roby and Peter in their newly acquired very low kilometre NB heritage, Susan and John NB, Rhonda and Rob NC, Jenny and Ken ND, Tracey and Roger ND, Pam and Allen ND, with sweep cars Judith and John NC and Jill and Peter honorary Kia MX-5!

 We drove along the Hastings River Drive to Fernbank Creek Road, a rather picturesque winding road through lush countryside at the back of Cassegrain Winery. Then it was onto a series of roundabouts that took us on the Pacific Highway overpass, Frogs Road and then a straight but rather bumpy drive through the countryside until we eventually met up with the Oxley Highway leading us to Wauchope. 

 From Wauchope we turned onto Bago Road, which travels through part of the Wauchope Industrial Estate and then through some spectacular country side becoming a real MX-5 road with sweeping tight bends around the ever changing hilly countryside. The road skirts the Broken Bago State Forest where many a car rally was held in pre-COVID times. Eventually we arrived at the Pacific Highway interchange where we took a short stint onto the highway to then ramp off to Kew and onto Kendall.

 Morning tea was at Miss Nellie’s tea room. This is a very popular spot serving very tasty snacks in a cottage like tea room with plenty of atmosphere. Great photographs, taken by Wayne, of the place decorated for the festive season can be seen on the Mid North Coast web page. Due to social distancing it appeared as if we had taken over the tea room as we spread out over many of the tables! Our run leaders warned us that lunch was booked for 12 pm and that tempting though it was to stay chatting, we really needed to make a move and retrace our drive to the Rivermark Cafe.

 The weather was really taking a turn for the worst and on our way back heavy rain started to fall. There were some quick stops to put the tops us and we made our way back carefully as the rain had made parts of Bago road quite challenging.

We enjoyed a very festive lunch at Rivermark Cafe, tables had been attractively decorated by Pam and looked a treat. Jane and Greg and Susan and John contributed cards and chocolates. The food was up to the usual standard and the talk flowed freely. Then it was awards time.

 Susan and John were awarded the Members of the Year trophy. Jane received the new Member of the Year trophy. Club members were formally thanked for special contributions during the year; Wayne for running the Mid North Coast Web page that welcomes new members and also for posting photographs of the club runs. Greg for organising the annual Christmas mystery runs, coordinators Allen and Peter who undertook to take on the role for 2021 and our scribes Roby and John.

 In addition to the formal awards and thanks, Allen and Peter gave out many informal funny awards which were very well appreciated and added to the hilarity of the occasion. This was a fitting end to a very difficult year due to the COVID situation and showed that the North Coast Chapter members were prepared to enter the new year with optimism and good cheer.

 Many thanks to our coordinators Peter and Allen for keeping the chapter viable during a very unusual year and of course to our members for their participation during the year.

 Scribe    John