RPM's Southern Meander

22 April 2018 / Article by Amanda Jeffery and Jason Brown, Photos by Jason Brown and Gillian Fletcher

RPM weekends away are always an adventure and the 2018 Southern Meander was no different. With the Fletchers showing off their new RF and Jason showing off his incredibly loud new exhaust, an enjoyable weekend was had by all. We left from Panthers McDonalds on Saturday 10 March. It was an early start to a hectic 48 hours of around 800 kilometres of travel and a lot of laughs.

We travelled from Panthers to Lake Alexandra Reserve in Mittagong for morning tea. There was an abundance of wildlife in, on, and around the lake (including a few RPMers!). It was a lovely spot on a gorgeous day. We jumped back on the freeway for a while to then end up at Marulan. We took back roads through Suttons Forest, Exeter and Bundanoon.

During our jaunt through the town of Bundanoon, a local was heard to comment that the “MX 6 Club” were in town. We don’t know who those guys are but I bet they’re not as fun as us!

Lunch was at the pub in Bungendore. It’s not the first time we have eaten there, and certainly won’t be the last.

After arriving in Braidwood, an optional side trip was on offer out to the small village of Araluen. With some electing to rest, a small group broke off for a drive to the pub for an afternoon drink; and to tackle the twisty road between the two towns which is well worth a look if you’re ever in the area. Those who went participated in a trivia game organised by Julie Sando.

Once they all returned it was off to the Braidwood Hotel for dinner. It was a lovely meal and a lot of laughs. Julie announced the winners of the trivia earlier in the afternoon. The very aptly named, Misfits, took out the title of “Most Trivial Team”. Congratulations Misfits!

After dinner most of the crew went to bed; after such a busy day they were obviously tuckered out. Amanda, Jason, Jackie and Grant had other ideas though and we enjoyed a game of Heads Up back at the motel that not only entertained us but kept a few others awake. Good thing RPM took up most of the motel!

The next day some went off to do their own thing and the rest headed off to Mogo Zoo. It was another stunning morning, quite cool but that didn’t last long. The sun came out in full force and so did the wildlife. There was a particularly interesting Silvery Gibbon called Greg… There was giraffe and deer feedings and fun with all kinds of monkeys, including Garry, Jason, and Graham!

Always on the lookout for future runs, the ladies spotted some lovely shops on the main street of Mogo. They will have to be a different run since we didn’t have time to stop. The trip home involved a stop at World Famous Fish n Chips in Huskisson and a little bit of shopping before a great drive through Kangaroo Valley.

Thank you to Lesa and Greg for organising such an involved run. A great time was had by all.