Port to Harrington via Blue Poles Run

16 April 2015 / Words & pictures by Greg Cox

Five MX-5s and a Lotus set off on a beautiful Sunday morning for our April run South to the coastal village of Harrington. Departing the Port Macquarie Service Centre at 9:45am, we drove West on the Oxley Highway through Wauchope, then turned South stopping at Blue Poles Art Gallery and Café at Byabarra. Ian and his staff served us a tempting array of coffee and cakes for morning tea that was hard to resist, while taking in the magnificent valley views from their outdoor eating area.

We then continued up the Broken Bago mountain range to  Comboyne Plateau, enjoying the winding road our MX-5s were designed for. The next stage of our run was down the mountain range to Kendall, and included around 13 kilometres of ... [wait for it] ... unsealed road. Some of our contingent, including the leader, were hesitant about taking our cars "off road" however the gravel surface was better than expected, and apart from the dust enveloping our vehicles, all went well. (Luckily no Concours d’Elegance today)

It was then a short run down the M1 freeway to Coopernook where we then turned off to drive into the small fishing village of Harrington for lunch at the Harrington Hotel. After an enjoyable lunch overlooking the entrance to the Manning River, we took a short walk before saying our goodbyes, and heading for home.