Club Zone

The Long and Winding Road to Natmeet April 10 2024

01 June 2024 / Story: Brigid McCarthy, Photos: many members

The early morning of Wednesday April 10^th saw many well packed MX-5’s, and their passengers, converging on McDonalds Mt. Colah. Our start point was just a few minutes from home for some, whilst others had an earlier start to circumnavigate the city or negotiate peak hour traffic. Large cups of hot coffee were enjoyed, as introductions were made.

Sharon and John, as always, well prepared, passed out run sheets, documentation and briefed our eager convoy. As the peak hour traffic cleared, a beautiful deep blue NC pointed north, trailed by a line of red cars. It was smooth sailing up the M1 motorway and into Raymond Terrace for our first stop. Heatherbrae Pies were sampled and caffeine levels topped up, then we were back on the road.

It wasn’t long, until our turnoff onto Bucketts Way, which brought a smile to every face. This is a driver’s road and a scenic delight for passengers. It’s also seen lots of surface improvement in the last few years, which everyone appreciated. The beauty of Barrington Tops and its quaint general store, provided our lunch stop. Post lunch we continued onto the bushranger’s route of Thunderbolts Way, for what should have been an enjoyable, sweeping drive of about 150kms into Walcha. Note the “should have been”…….

Thunderbolts Way, between Barrington and Walcha is a wonderful stretch of winding road, that traverses several National Parks, twisting up mountainsides and down through valleys. The debris from one of those mountainsides proved problematic to one to our convoy. This also proved the value of why we travel in convoy. Right on the bend, of one of those sweeping curves, was a large chunk of rock, that had fallen from the steep rockface across the road. A few of us managed some radical manoeuvring but Pina and Paul weren’t so lucky. With no mobile coverage, from any of the carriers, our UHFs came into their own. Those ahead in the convoy, pulled up where it was safe and several scenarios for rescue and recovery were discussed over our radios. With the side wall blown out of the tyre, no version of a repair kit was going to suffice, so a spare was the only option. A request for help and use of a phone, from the closest farm house, was agreed as the best plan. So, with some driver and passenger swaps, plus support cars in place, the plan was enacted, until, just like in the fairytales, a white knight appeared on the horizon.

Louis was on his way to the pre NatMeet raceday, taking the fun road up (of course), and stopped when he saw his friends stranded on the roadside. As Louis was carrying an NC spare wheel, he was a very welcome sight!

With some of our convoy having continued onto Walcha, we were very happy to hear the news that the NC was back on its 4 feet and underway again, albeit slowly, as per space saver spare restrictions. Our final leg into Armidale, along the New England Highway, was blissfully event free, for both groups. After a long and eventful day of driving, with our group staying at a couple of different hotels, some headed to the local pub for dinner, whilst others were busy tracking down replacement tyres. For those of us staying at the Armidale Inn, the offer by the Manager’s wife to prepare a Nepalese feast, including fresh momo, was too good to go past. With the local Dan Murphy’s found, “fivesies” were enjoyed, before we moved into the motel dining room for an amazing array of fresh, homemade Nepalese goodies.

With a good night’s sleep and breakfast enjoyed, we were back on the New England Highway and headed to Tenterfield. An hour’s stop gave us some nice time to enjoy visiting the famous Saddlery and Barnaby Joyce’s campaign office. Unfortunately, Barnaby wasn’t in, or on a nearby footpath, so it was time to head off to Warwick.

Our stop in Warwick provided the opportunity for a comfort stop, and stretch of road weary legs, before our final hour stint to our Toowoomba destination. We were all very happy to see those city centre signs. With everyone safely delivered to their respective accommodation venues, our MX-5s could finally rest, while their drivers and passengers checked in and freshened up, ahead of the evening’s official welcome. And the adventures continued!

A very big thank you to Sharon and John Cassidy for organising and leading our run to NatMeet. As always, well planned, excellent run sheets, well timed stops and points of interest, and smooth dealing with the ‘unexpected’. It’s always good to be part of one of your convoys

st enjoyed, we were back on the New England Highway and headed to Tenterfield. An hour’s stop gave us some nice time to enjoy visiting the famous Saddlery and Barnaby Joyce’s campaign office. Unfortunately, Barnaby wasn’t in, or on a nearby footpath, so it was time to head off to Warwick.