The Mercedes Benz National Rally 2025 kicked off with a Welcome Cocktail party on Thursday evening at the Waipuna Hotel. Auckland turned on a super sunny evening with views out over Panmure basin to Mt Wellington. The food was great and plentiful. Proceedings were formally opened by the National and Auckland Presidents, Richard and Daryl, welcoming attendees far and wide from Perth, Christchurch, Wellington, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Waikato, Northland and Auckland. Without further ado old friends and new mixed and mingled in what was a most friendly way to start our Rally together. The Mercs patiently waited outside for their turn in the sun.
Friday dawned bright and clear. The Mercs lined up from Parc Ferme. Following a short briefing and armed with the extensive maps (in Trev’s touring pack) the group formed up. Trev let rip out of the car park setting an example. Well, who would get lost on Auckland’s labyrinth of motorways, spaghetti junctions etc? No one it seems! It was sweet – right out of the carpark, left at the lights – right at the next light onto the South Eastern freeway – merge onto the SH1 North motorway. Mangawhai, here we come!
The Northern motorway through Silverdale saw a few “give’m some noise” overtakes in the fast lane. Arthur’s V12 SL 600 roared past, top down and hair flying (Sue’s), followed by Paul’s Purple flamed SLK 500 in hot pursuit. Ken and Noeline in the immaculate Blue 1966 250 SE Coupe looked a picture cruising down the motorway. We regrouped in Orewa before a pleasant scenic drive through rural Northland to Mangawhai.
First port of call was Bennetts Chocolate factory. So many chocolate delights to choose from – rum or whiskey flavoured treats? But this wasn’t lunch time. Just down the road on the harbour was the 1890 Mangawhai tavern – what a superb venue with views out over the harbour to the sand hills on the coast – after a much enjoyed lunch there were options of fast motorway or scenic coastal routes back to Auckland. The evening was free to dine out and several met at the Casablanca restaurant at Sylvia park.
Saturday dawned bright and clear – there’s a theme here! Where are we going today? Out comes Trev the Revs’ amazing map books. We are off to Kaiaua on the Thames coast, to the Bay View Hotel. Auckland turned on another amazing day and provided a full tide down the coast. Glorious sea views from Beachlands and Maraetai with a regroup at Clevedon. From there we ventured back to the coast through Kawakawa Bay and over spectacular roads with views to the Coromandel ranges before arriving at Kaiaua. This is a popular “Sunday drive” destination and as usual, there were motorbike groups, motorhomes and car clubs. We had a long table in the garden at the back of the hotel and enjoyed the famous Kaiaua fish and chip meals, if you didn’t succumb to the amazing burgers.
As we left the car park it filled with several immaculately restored Ford Model A’s which, along with Ken’s ‘66 250 SE Coup, caused quite a spectacle. The afternoon route was west over the Hunua ranges. What a change from the morning coastal cruise. This was twisty roads through bush clad hills and valleys (is this really Auckland?). The twitchy right foot got the better of a few people. Chris, Trev and Paul’s purple flame scorcher tested the nimble nature of those V8s.
The views from the top were spectacular. The only trouble, unfortunately, was Phil’s Merc from Northland which overheated to the degree that steam came through the dashboard vents! The AA came to the rescue. However, it wasn’t the last that Phil would see of steam this weekend. Saturday evening was free to be enjoyed at your own leisure.
Sunday dawned bright and clear (yes, as always!). What’s happening today Trevor? Well, we’re off on a train. What a train I hear you say? Yes, a train, a steam train built in the late 1800s. Well, this should be fun – and it really was.
We drove south west through the verdant hills of Pukekohe (yes, still in Auckland), past all the market gardens toward Waiuku. Waiuku is on the southern extremity of the Manukau Harbour and was once an important coastal port. But we’re not sailing, we’re training today. Glenbrook has a vintage railway with two steam engines and several diesel locomotives and 32 carriages. We were to travel the 7.5km to Waiuku in two restored First Class carriages hauled by our mighty J class Steam Engine and enjoy a high tea lunch on board – perfect!
After an interesting introduction to the railway’s history and restoration process we boarded and chuffed our way to Waiuku. What an amazing way to view the rural landscape, whistle blasting, smoke billowing and the rattle and bang of our trip ended all too soon at Waiuku. Swap the engine back to the front (or was that front to back?) and off we roared again. On the return run we visited the workshop and had a tour of the several major restorations underway. Picking our way through grease traps and oily locomotives was a challenge on the white sneakers. However, Arthur in his jandals seemed to cope okay.
As a special treat for our group they organised what I guess you would call a Steam Fly By. We alighted and waited expectantly on a remote embankment as our mighty steed backed up 500m then they “put the hammer down” towards us. Great clouds of smoke chuffed upwards, steam roared (Phil reminisced about his Hunua incident) faster and faster until the monster was on us at full speed. Out the back carriage was a handkerchief waving damsel – the 1960’s TV Soap “Petticoat Junction” came to mind!
A few of us travelled part of the way in the engine cab – a great experience watching the coal being fed into the boiler and enjoying a special insight into the way it used to be. The overall trip was very well organised and an enjoyable experience. Our Mercs had patiently waited by the tracks and now it was their turn to shine, particularly Ken’s gorgeous Red 1958 220S Cabriolet which was a stunning advert for the Mercedes brand (Ken must have a big shed). We returned to Auckland via the rural roads braving the motorway, which really wasn’t too bad at all.
How do you top off that wonderful day? Well, why not have a glitzy farewell dinner! And we did. But first we needed more balloons so Arthur, Sue, Debbie, Trevor and Chris huffed and puffed – oops ran out of helium – then got the room dressed up and the guests came dressed up as well. A very enjoyable evening with great food. We partied into the night and finally had to bid our friends goodbye. Cars departed with balloons bobbing as the late evening lights twinkled across the Panmure Basin toward Mt Wellington.
Thanks Auckland for turning on a stunner. The Mercedes Benz National Rally 2025 was a blast.
Chris Scullin (for Debbie!)
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