Sunshine, River Roads & The Springs

29 June 2026 / Story: Steve and Maree Eccleston; Photos Mark Godfrey

A large group met up at McDonalds Dural for this run despite the chance of getting wet. Our number of starters was larger than normal as we also had 8 members from Illawarra along for the ride, Zan, Phil, Beti, Emilco, Senia, Bob, Lesley and Peter who made an early start from the deep south to arrive for our 9.30 meet up time. We had a total of fifteen cars, so getting out of Macca’s and onto the Old Northern Rd roundabout was a bit of a challenge, but after approx.10 minutes we all managed to escape.

Our first stop was Wisemans Ferry via Old Northern Rd which provides a pleasant run through rural acreages and bushland along the way. We were fortunate as the traffic was light and the weather began to clear and by the time we arrived at our comfort stop at Wisemans, the sun was fully out and promised blue sky ahead. We then departed to embark onto the ferry to cross the Hawksbury and onto the best part of the run along the river to Spencer and then up the hill to Mangrove Mountain.

The road directly off the Ferry runs alongside the river virtually all the way to Spencer and it provides very attractive river views as well as an interesting drive with a good assortment of corners to keep the driver engaged. We were also lucky as again the traffic was very light and made this part of the run all the more enjoyable.

The next section from Spencer to Mangrove Mountain was our favourite, and we weren’t alone.

It is a about 30 kms long and has a steady but not steep climb starting from about 5kms out of Spencer, from here the road provides about 15kms of easy open corners and short straights to enjoy, which we able to do, as again the traffic god was looking after us!

After completing the twisties we had a not so active but pleasant run onto The Springs Golf Clubfor lunch. This venue is a hidden gem, the building is very well designed and welcomes you in once you have negotiated your way through the very large front door. The staff are really friendly, they reserved 15 parking spots for us and as well we had our own private dining room and the food was great. The Springs Golf Club is really worth a visit.

Last but not least Rob Wilko was very happy to show off his “just picked up last Wednesday” beautifully customised ND roadster which was out for its maiden club run. Very Nice.