Riverina Run

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20 April 2017 / Words: Saturday AM & Monday - Tony McDonald, Saturday PM & Sunday - Annie Taylor. Photos: Annie Taylor & Tony McDonald

Saturday Morning 25th March 2017: With rain threatening to spoil our day, 14 intrepid MX5ers in 8 cars departed the Hall lay-by at 8.15 a.m. and headed off towards Yass to join the Hume Highway towards Melbourne. Some 45 minutes later, the group branched off onto the Burley Griffin Way towards Harden where good coffee and suitable snacks awaited us at the Terracotta Café.

Having satisfied coffee cravings, we headed back towards the M31 via Jugiong, where the group stopped briefly to take in the vista of the Murrumbidgee River and rural surrounds from the scenic lookout – see photo. Onwards to Gundagai via the ‘boreway’ (M31) for a light lunch at the Snake Gully Café at the Dog on the Tuckerbox tourist stop. The café proprietor graciously reserved parking spaces for our cars with suitable signs on the fence – see photo.

Lunch over, we departed for Wagga Wagga via Nangus, Wantabadgery, and Oura to arrive with sufficient time to book into our accommodation and meet with Annie and Laurie Taylor for the first of our local activities.

Annie guided us to the Wagga Wagga Veteran and Vintage Motor Club’s premises for a delightful afternoon tea and a viewing of some of its member’s great cars.

Saturday Afternoon 25th March 2017: I arrived at the Best Western Motel this afternoon to find it was a hive of activity, as the MX5 members from Canberra Chapter had arrived and were looking forward to their afternoon tea and viewing of the “old” cars at the Wagga Wagga Veterans and Vintage Motor Club rooms. Both clubs enjoyed looking and talking about the various motor vehicles, MX5’s on one side of the car park and “old” cars on the other side – see photos. Laurie’s fully-restored 1927 Buick – see photo - was considered a standout restoration and those chapter members lucky enough to be taken for a drive around Wagga in it felt indeed fortunate!

After an enjoyable afternoon of socialising, members ventured back to their motel rooms to get ready for the evening meal to be held at the “Thirsty Crow” craft brewery. Excellent pizzas were ordered as well as other meals, and tastings of different beers were enjoyed by all.

Sunday 26th March 2017: Our plan for today was an easy drive to Coolamon via Old Narrandera Road, approximately 53 km. With our tops down, a beautiful cool breeze, and the smell of freshly turned dirt in our noses, this section ended up being quite an enjoyable drive. We arrived at the Coolamon Cheese Factory, ready for our tour. Barry, our tour guide, was very informative as to how the Coolamon Cheese Factory dream was achieved, as well as how he and his team make the different kinds of cheese, all of which is produced from local products/milk. After our tour, we were looking forward to our coffee, cakes and local cheese tasting.

Some of our members managed to fit in a few minutes to do some shopping in Coolamon. We were very fortunate that the locals opened their businesses especially for our members.

Unfortunately, time ran out and we quickly headed off to Junee via Marrar for lunch at Betty’s on Broadway and a roam through the accompanying museum. Lunch on the upstairs verandah – see photos - was excellent and the museum very informative. We then all headed off to Monte Christo Homestead, also in Junee. It is believed that this old house, which has been remarkably well restored, is haunted. During our guided tour of the homestead led by Sofia, I think a few of us felt a chill on the back of our necks and around our legs, which was unusual considering it was over 34 degrees outside – see photos.

Onward bound to Wagga Wagga via Bomen, we enjoyed more country roads and viewed the beautiful countryside that the Riverina has to offer. After a quick refresh, we all met at the Saigon Chinese Restaurant and put our feet under the table again, this time for a Chinese/Vietnamese banquet. Peter looked after us very well and made sure we wanted for nothing. At the conclusion of the meal, I farewelled the group and wished them all a safe return home on Monday.

Monday 27th March 2017: An early start on Monday morning allowed us to return to Gundagai via sun-drenched rural countryside in top-down mode to take advantage of the cooler conditions before the day’s heat kicked in. A coffee fix at Hope’s Place café was well received, with a short walking tour of the main street taken by those with excess energy. We returned to our cars and set off to Harden on ‘roads less-travelled’ – in fact, so little traffic was seen on this leg of the journey that we surmised that even the local farmers didn’t use the roads often! The first 35 km was on ‘old-school’ roads – a single strip of ancient bitumen with grass growing through it in places, and very few road signs – followed by a further 55 km of somewhat better back-roads through countryside with very little evidence of habitation, and certainly no service stations! Our cars handled the roads with ease, and all travellers enjoyed the country scenery. Back in civilisation and again on B roads, we headed to Boorowa for lunch before dispersing for the final 100 km to Canberra.

Feedback from participants suggests that all enjoyed the run immensely, and another run like this would be very welcome in a future chapter Run Calendar.