Berry/Berrima
24th June, 2007

Well the day started off as a usual Sydney Sunday of late, grey skies and wet weather. However this did not stop the loyal members of the NSWTC from attending our monthly run. Torana’s are meant to be driven, and driven they shall be, rain or shine.

We had eight cars in attendance at Leo’s Truck Stop at Glenfield and they certainly looked great. After some light refreshments and a briefing from our run leader, ‘Scott Davidson’ we were soon headed south down the Hume Highway. I asked Scott if he could do something about the weather and a phone call was made. I don’t know who he called but soon we had blue skies and great weather whilst driving south (helps to know people in high places, thanks Scott).

After a leisurely drive south down the Hume Highway, Picton Road and Mount Ousley, we made our way to the beautiful township of Berry. Our Torana’s enjoyed the cold weather and a short stop at Berry. Time to check out the local activities and stretch the legs.

Next stop – Berrima, this is where the drive got interesting. 44 kms of winding roads up and down the mountain, travelling through the picturesque townships of Kangaroo Valley, Fitzroy Falls and Bowral. This was great fun, the LC’s and LJ’s were in their element being thrown around the hairpin bends and the V8’s couldn’t pull ahead. A big thanks to Bob Byrnes for picking a great run but unfortunately he couldn’t be with us due to work commitments.

We enjoyed a hearty lunch at the Surveyor General Inn at Berrima and were joined by Mike Holland and John Boller. After lunch we enjoyed some sight seeing of Berrima, including the local lolly shop which was highly recommended by Lisa Aldridge. Several members were seen carrying large lolly bags from the store (allegedly for their children), whilst I can’t speak for them, I can highly recommend the chocolate bullets.

About 2pm we left the Inn and unfortunately there was an incident in the car park of the Inn. Without mentioning names, a ‘Papaya’ coloured SL/R 5000 became involved in an incident. Unfortunately the member was crunching gears in his M21 gearbox (which was heard by many people) and he inadvertently rolled over a white sign post. He quickly found 1st gear and made a hastily retreat, thankfully no one got his number plate (thanks to Reno and other members for straightening up the post – no damage done)

We then enjoyed a leisurely drive back towards Sydney and stopped at our designated dispersal point at the Mobile Service Station (Pheasants Nest). A quick chat and goodbyes, before heading back to the grey skies and rain of Sydney.

A great day was had by all, covering approximately 320 kms. I’d like to thank those who attended;

• Scott and Leanne Davidson.
• Bruce and Andrew Squires.
• Larry Sullivan.
• Les Wilson.
• Mick and Lisa Aldridge.
• Michael Muller.
• Reno Emanuelle.
• Mike Holland.
• John Boller.
• Michael Velo.

P.S. On a side note, I was involved in an unusual incident on the M4 at Parramatta whilst travelling home. I was driving in Lane 1 and a petrol tanker was travelling in lane two (middle lane) in front of me, when a very large fire extinguisher fell upon the roadway and was rolling towards my car. The speed limit was 90 km/h and I prayed that it would not hit me and thankfully it just missed, but the poor bugger behind me ran over it and got it wedged under his car. Like they say ‘ Sh-t happens’

Michael Velo,
Runs Coordinator.

Pics of this run can be seen in the Gallery Section.