Hunters Mountains to Coast Weekend
12 November 2019 / Written: John Purcell, Photos: members
Mountains to Coast Weekend
The best laid schemes of mice and men go often askew, (Robbie Burns - 1785).
If nothing else, MX5 club run leaders - and those being led - need to be adaptable. This certainly became true on our Mountains to Coast weekend!
Saturday was a great day for top-down touring, if just a little bit warm. Eleven cars left Mcdonald’s Raymond Terrace for the run via Dungog and Stroud Hill Road then on to Gloucester for the morning tea stop. Topping up our fuel it was back on the road and travelling along Thunderbolt’s Way to Walcha. Along with the great scenery, the wind had started to blow and large dust willy-willys on the dry paddocks kept pace with our cars from time to time.
Lunch was enjoyed at the Royal Café Walcha. Pre-ordered from Gloucester it was fresh, ready and waiting when we arrived. Checking the Fire apps on our phones we noted a fire near the Oxley highway (which was our route to our final stop at Port Macquarie), but indications showed that it was under control and our route was open.
Recharged after lunch we settled in for a great run on the twisty sections of the Oxley Hwy towards Wauchope - and this is where our plans came to a halt. Stopping at Gingers Creek Roadhouse we were greeted by the news that the hwy had just been closed due to the fire and could remain closed for anything between 1 - 4 hours. Ice creams in hand everyone participated in a discussion around the big tree stump to decide on waiting, or returning to Gloucester and heading to Port Macquarie via the Pacific Hwy - a trip of around 4 1/2 hours. We wisely chose the latter and retraced our run, arriving at our Motel at 8:00pm, tired but in good spirits.
Needless to say, no-one complained about not sleeping after the previous 12-hour day!
The new morning saw us at the Rivermark Café where we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast while overlooking the Hastings River. Three MX5s and a motor bike joined us from Mid North Cost Chapter, and led us on a partly impromptu tour of the area. This was due to the fact that their organiser for the day was out fighting the nearby bush fires. Impromptu or not it was a great morning with a run down to the North Brother Lookout which has spectacular views over Laurieton and North Haven and out to sea. Then it was back up to the Oxley Hwy taking Comboyne Road (and yes they had a ‘road closed’ sign at this end) to Comboyne for a brief stop before returning to Byabarra Café for lunch.
Refreshed and sated from our scrumptious lunch we returned to our MX5s and headed home via the Pacific Highway checking out several new fires now burning along the coast.
Our many thanks to Barry and Jenny for organising the run and special thanks to Allen and the crew from Mid North Coast for providing us with a wonderful day. We look forward to returning their hospitality in the near future.
