On Saturday 16th of May we met at the BP on State Highway 1, between Papakura & Drury, for departure at 10.30am.
It was the beginning of a lovely day. The sky was clear and the sun was shining.
Arriving at the BP Service Station, we found quite a group of members assembled to do the drive. When Philippa handed out the route sheets, which involved taking the less travelled route, everyone seemed pretty confident of following the instructions, and ending up at the Museum.
Trevor jostled us all into a line to take a group photo. He was probably making a record of who was there, as in the chaos which could follow, there may be people who could disappear, never to be seen again.
We all set off. Although there were instructions for the drive, the various interpretations of how to get there, differed enormously.
Members all have their own stories of their journey. Everyone eventually turned up at the Museum, having had an adventure on the way.
I will just say, it was a lovely friendly atmosphere in the Juke Box Café. We got a very good entry price, and all enjoyed the lovely museum exhibits, especially the Bugatti 1936 Atlantic Coupe type 57S. It is now beautifully restored, from being a mere skeleton on our last Merc Club visit.
Roy also spotted a Douglas Dakota DC3 in the yard next door, in the process of restoration. Who knows, this may be the start of an Aircraft Museum close by.
Thank you to Ken and Philippa for organising the event.
Marianne Hobson
Editor’s note: Based on Sue’s photographic evidence we maintained a pretty good convoy through the “less-travelled” route, although some members reportedly opted to take the direct route via SH1. Once we got to Ngāruawāhia things fell apart. One member claimed to have traveled via New Plymouth and another reported the navigator had a good nap. For once, Ken and I completed the full route and we would like to nominate Evelyn Tate as navigator of the year!
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