Nurbushring and Pacific Palms Run

11 August 2013 / Report by Peter Rodgers with photos by Keiran Rodgers

What a glorious day for a drive in our MX-5s, too hot for a jumper at 9:00 in the morning and hard to believe that we are still in winter. The weather has been very kind to us on our last couple of runs here on the Mid North Coast, which makes up for some "interesting" weather on some of our earlier runs.

Today our goal was the Nurbushring (officially Wootton Way) and then off to lunch at Pacific Palms by the shore of Wallis Lake. Initially at Port Macquarie it looked as though there would only be two cars, but fortunately three more joined us at Taree to give us a nice sized group. Arriving at the Nurbushring we split into two groups to accommodate different driving temperaments. This road is so much fun, but unfortunately is not long enough (maybe we should spend a whole day just driving it and not go anywhere else?). We regrouped at the southern end of the Nurbushring to give us the opportunity to wipe the smiles off our faces and have a bit of a chat.

Then on to the Lakes Way. This road has some great bends and is a bit like a very condensed version of the Oxley Highway. Of course to compensate for the great bits, we had to suffer through some pretty woeful road surfaces as well. And then it was time for a long lunch at the "Reccy" (Pacific Palms Recreation Club). Such a hard life sitting on the deck, overlooking the lake and distant mountains with good company, food and drink – just couldn’t ask for more.