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Otago VCC April 2017

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Magazine of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Otago Branch Inc.

APRIL 2017

Restoration Achievement Award Entrants 2017 The Otago RoadRunner is the official newsletter of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Otago Branch Inc. Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the editor or the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Otago Branch Inc.


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CHAIRPERSON

Nicola Wilkinson

mnwilkinson@vodafone.co.nz

476 4004

Immediate Past CHAIR.

Mark Wilkinson

mnwilkinson@vodafone.co.nz

454 4730

TREASURER

David Ross

vccnzobt@gmail.com

455 8800

SECRETARY

Marion McConachie

bmmcconachie@xtra.co.nz

453 0404

CLUB CAPTAIN

Graeme Duthie

graemeduthie@xtra.co.nz

488 5242

HOUSE MANAGER

Bill Partel

PROPERTY OFFICER

Bill Veitch

w.veitch@xtra.co.nz

489 1626

Colin Winter

wolseley2@xtra.co.nz

456 4382

PWV/P60V/P80 REP.

Alistair Graham

alrmgraham@gmail.com

455 8834

MOTORCYCLE REP

Bruce Murray

bminor@xtra.co.nz

487 7281

malcolmeeunson@gmail.com

926 8376

VET/COM REP.

488 4033

VINTAGE/PV REP.

COMITTEE MEMBERS Malcolm Eunson EDITOR

LIBRARIAN

Moira Cunningham

453 5777

TROPHY STEWARD

David Ross

455 8800

SPEED LIASON

Mark Wilkinson

454 4730

SPARKAHOLICS CONVENER Barry Longstaffe

477 8296

VEHICLE REGISTRAR

Bill Partel

488 4033

ARCHIVIST

Barry Longstaffe

477 8296

PARTS OFFICERS

Bill Partel

488 4033

George Martin

489 3621

David Cunningham

453 5777

GROUNDS OFFICER

Bruce Murray

487 7281

BRANCH SCRIBE

Graeme Duthie

488 5242

HONORARY SOLICITOR

Joe O’Neill

477 6801

THE AUDITOR

Arthur Patton 3


CLUBROOMS 125 Forbury Rd., Dunedin

PO Box 5352, Moray Place Dunedin 9058 Phone 455 0586 GST Reg No: 11-921-401

COMMITTEE MEETS

2nd Monday each month 7.30pm

CLUB NIGHT

Each Friday 7.45pm to 11.00pm

MOTORCYCLE NIGHT

First Friday of the month

MONTHLY MEETING

Last Friday of the month 8.30 pm

BRANCH EMAIL PARTS SHED & CLUBROOMS ARTICLES FOR NEWSLETTER

VIC APLICATION/INFORMATION LIBRARY

otago@vcc.org.net or bmmcconachie@xtra.co.nz Every Friday evening 7.30 – 9.30 pm. Every Wednesday 09.00 – 12.00 am. can be forwarded to your branch secretary or editor by the 3rd Wednesday of each month please. See Branch Vehicle Registrar Open 8.00 - 9.30 Friday night

LIBRARY ROSTER APRIL 7th Hec Browett 14th CLOSED 21st Bryan McConachie 28th Paddy Williams

MAY 5th 12th 19th 26th

Kevin Mason Bill Veitch Moira Cunningham Bruce Murray

JUNE 2nd Paddy Williams 9th Bryan McConachie 16th Hec Browett 23th Bill Veitch

Welcome to New Members The Otago Branch extends a very warm welcome to

Peter Caswell who owns a selection of P60 vehicles The branch welcome you to the Club. We look forward to seeing you at local and neighbouring events.

VERO INSURANCE When taking out insurance with them please ensure you quote Otago Branch “Agent NoH0300145 – Inspector No 916” 4


Sparkaholics Wednesday 12th April Movies at BIJOU - See elsewhere in Roadrunner

Otago Rally 7-9th April MID WEEK RUN Thursday 27th April Meet at 1.00 pm at the Clubrooms

BUS TRIP CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECCA – INVERCARGILL

Saturday 13th May $20 per person Depart Clubrooms at 7.30 am Mosgiel Railway Station at 7.45am Payment in full for a seat by Friday 28th April to Kevin Mason (you will find in at the clubrooms on Wednesday mornings) No Payment No seat

Wednesday Mornings at the Clubrooms The clubrooms are open every Wednesday to all members. 9.00 -12.00. Members get involved with any maintenance, and cleaning, both inside and out that needs to be sorted. So come along and get to know your fellow members and bring along any challenges you may have in relation to your club eligible vehicles. Parts shed is also open during this time. If you are lucky you might even get a cuppa while you are there. 5


In the Driving Seat On the 11th March I attended the Executive meeting in Auckland as the branch delegate. My report on this meeting is further on in the Road Runner however I want to touch on a couple of new initiatives that came out of the meeting. The first one is that the club is setting up a Facebook site which will be used alongside the website and Beaded Wheels as a way of getting information out to members and interested parties world wide. Facebook is a quick way of getting your message out to as many people as possible and will be used to advertise up coming events, interesting news etc. It is already being used by a number of car clubs and VCC branches. The Management team acknowledged that some members will not use this tool so are arranging for a link from the website to the Facebook site so everyone can access the same information. For anyone already on Facebook - look out for the page when it is available. If anyone is interested in finding out more - there will be an information package emailed out to branches which we will forward on. The second initiative is the VCC of New Zealand National Day. This was extremely well received by all delegates and is a great way to promote our club nationwide while raising funds for a national charity. It is hoped that the first charity to come on board with us will be the Cancer Society and as I lost a sister last year through cancer I am extremely happy to be able to help fund raise for this charity. As my report mentions - it is envisaged that the national day would not just be for VCC members and open to other car clubs and anyone who is interested so I would like to form a sub committee to organise the rally and activities in our area. Please contact me if you are interested in being a part of this committee. The day after the executive meeting was the Otago Best of British held in very wet conditions. Thank you to Bruce Murray and Colin Winter who helped at the finish at Livingstonia Park. Congratulations to all Otago Branch members who turned out on the day and a special mention to those who won a prize. Coming up we are helping at the Otago Rally - thank you to the members who have volunteered for this role. Nicola 6


Otago Rally - 7-9th April Thank you to those of you who have already volunteered to help on the Sunday. If there isanyone else wanting to help please let me know as soon as possible so that details can beforwarded to you

Library Some of our members are going to be reshelving books in the library shortly so the library will closed over that time. You will be advised when this is happening Branch AGM - June 18th 2017 Please put this date in your diary. We will be running the same format as previous years with Pot Luck Lunch before the meeting, to be held on Sunday afternoon.

Technical Presentation PROMA Lubricants, fuel additives - We are planning a presentation on these products sometime in the next few Months. When would be a better time day of the week to do this? Friday night, Saturday or Sunday during the day Or a day during the week? Let me know then we can arrange a time with the rep.

Obituary One of our Otago Branch Members of long standing died recently. John Allum was known as Newsletter Editor a Branch Committee member for some 5 years, and latterly involves with the scoring of many of the Dunvegan and Dunedin to Brighton Rallies. He was a keen motorcyclist and was into racing Formula V cars for a while. He had a variety of cars, notably a 1938 Dodge, Royal Enfield Bullet, 1953 BSA B31, 1973 Norton Commando, 1955 Ariel Huntmaster and 1982 Honda 500 Turbo. John always produced very interesting Branch Newsletters and was able to, when needs be, find some interesting articles to include each month. He used to consult with the Branch Librarian to include articles about new acquisitions and to draw attention to some of the books and other items available to members. Our thoughts are with John Allum’s family and also motorcycle owners from all over the country. 7


Next Visit : Movies at BIJOU Place : 81 Signal Hill Road Time : 10.30 am Date : Wednesday 12th April Here is another chance to enjoy some classic movies in a boutique theatre, many of us have experienced the thrills and atmosphere of this charming place before. BUT, numbers are restricted so everyone thinking of coming would you please phone me @ 4778296, there is no room for gatecrashers! Also there is gold coin charge, so bring along some cash please. As per usual there will be a chance to socialize over lunch, this time we intend visiting the Normanby Tavern & Bistro – so plenty of parking available. But don’t forget – you MUST phone and book if attending the movies. Upcoming Future Dates: Wed 10 May / Wed 14 June / Wed 12 July

……………………………………………………………………….. Priorities Curious when I found two black-and-white negatives in a drawer, I had them made into prints. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were of a younger, slimmer me, taken on one of my first dates with my husband. When I showed him the photos, his face lit up. “Wow, look at that!” he said. “It’s my old Plymouth !”

Judging the vehicles before the Restoration Rally 2017 8


Thanks to everyone for the contributions received for this months Roadrunner. One of the articles has been split so the 2nd part will by in Mays issue. Eleanor Harrison has offered to take over the Editorship of the Roadrunner from next month. I will be working with her for the next month or two so in the meantime please continue to send in your contributions and photos you have taken of events you have attended. We get lots of positive comments from other branches about the content of the Roadrunner. Your contributions help make that happen.

Best of British Followers Many thanks from the BOB crew for the great support shown for our charity run on Sunday March 12, 2017. Despite the inclement weather we had 75 cars and 4 bikes take part. Fantastic! The rain caused a few hiccups including the curtailing of the gymkhana activities, problems with elderly windscreen wipers and the ‘washing’ of some paperwork...... however everyone seemed to enter into the spirit of things and have a good time. We were delighted by the great food put on by the Taieri Beach School Parent’s Group, and although we are still to pay some expenses, we hope to be able to forward a healthy donation to the school. More of that later in the STAR midweeker newspaper, when we present the cheque. The attached document is a list of prize winners on the day. A couple of you left before these were announced so you may be pleasantly surprised. Again, thanks for your support and we look forward to next year – the second Sunday in March 2018. 9


Report from the Executive Meeting 11th March 2017 Matters Arising from the previous executive meeting: Online Applications and material sent to new members - this has been parked due to the numerous variation each branch on how they currently process new applications. All branches will need to adopt the same format to make it cost effective. Branch Newsletters are now available via the VCC website. The Mgmt committee had received a letter concerned about privacy of branch committee details however the Communications Officer believes that as newsletters are already in the public domain this information is already available. Otago branch does not publish address details however we can request that this section is deleted before uploading onto the website. Finance Report - information provided was too brief and will now include the bank balance and budget vs actual’s up to the end of January. Vero profit share for year ending 31/12/2016 was $23,693.97 incl GST. This is down on the previous year due to an increase in domestic claims possibly due to the November earthquake. Correspondence -Otago Branch letter withdrawing from the 2018 Easter Rally was tabled without discussion. Southland branch have now picked this up and it will be based at Stadium Southland weekend of 30 March – 1st April and will include a visit to Richardson’s and Motorcycle Mecca. South Canterbury branch are going to host the National Veteran Rally in 2019. Update to the Incorporated Societies Act - Mgmt is not sure of progress on the changes to the Act so suggest that as it is a living document branches should make any changes required to keep relevant. Also a good time to include applying for an income tax exemption if have not already done so. Notices of Motions Based on simplifying the application for membership. Seemed to have some support from branches so possibly will be submitted. Change classifications of vehicles. Not supported by the Mgmt committee and would be very costly to implement. Did not appear to have support from branches and has been left for the proposer and seconder to decide whether to proceed with the notice of motion. Proposed changes to Bylaws March Executive meetings currently rotate between Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington which is costly and at present only Wellington are able to supply a conference centre at the airport. Proposed change to be voted on at the AGM is to have the March meeting in Wellington or alternative. This allows for majority of branches to fly in/out on the same day and no transport requirements from the airport to the meeting and back again. Christchurch airport are planning on having a conference centre at the airport so this could be the alternative to Wellington. August Executive meeting to remain as same weekend as the AGM.Submissions on proposed notices of motions are to be received by the proposer by the 20 th March however this does not give a lot of time after the March Executive meetings. Proposed change is to email any proposed notices to branches inviting submissions by the 20 th March. 10


2021 International Rally. The rally committee are working closel with the management committee and are now using the same reporting system. The rally is to be called the Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring 2021. Venue is TSB StadiumDates - Tuesday 19th January 2021 to Thursday 26th January 2021. Budgeting for 450 entrants. Campsite and open day will be at the adjacent racecourse. Entertainment - 3 days at TSD Stadium with the Festival of Lights at Pukekura Park for the remainder. The Bowl of Brooklands is also available Format - 5 days of rallying with a timed section each day. Special Veterans Rally on the First Tuesday Entrants only Day including a 1/4 mile sprint. 5 destinations where entrants will rally out to lunch and free time back or Rally from lunch back to the stadium. Distance - looking at 80-100 miles with 50-60 miles for the veterans. Possibly one way however still to be finalised. Currently working on the website however not using the same company as previous two rallies. VCC of NZ Facebook page. Over 50% of worldwide population use Facebook and it is still the leading social network with 30% usage. It is a modern engagement tool that can reach an audience with little to no cost. VCC National page will have 2-3 administrators who will manage the page but anyone can post to the page. It will be a corporate page and used for national and significant event, announcements, interesting news from here and overseas. Beaded Wheels promo, Will have a link from vcc.org.nz.. live feed on page which means anyone who does not have a facebook page can still access this information Will not be for complaints or buy, sell, exchange In the future could extend to sub groups. Will not replace current ways to communicate however is an extremely quick way to get information out to members and interested parties. National Day Why: For publicity and potential new members Leader in historic motoring, largest car club the covers New Zealand equals the ability to bring people together Involve members of other car groups and the public Need to be seen that we are a good member of society for fund raising for a worthwhile charity. If involve a national charity can tag in on their publicity. The Big Idea Acknowledge South Canterbury Branch who raised almost $4k for the Cancer Society. National event on one day, partner with a charity (participation element for 11


Members, fund-raising element for charity and media interest due to number of vehicles) Each branch organises a rub (from a central point, at the same time) and sets an entry fee (all $ to charity) 36 branches plus open to other car clubs or even members of public could look at other ideas round it (car show, sausage sizzle‌) If 2000 vehicles took part nationwide at $20 a car this is $40,000 for charity! Proposed date - August/September 2017 and annually thereafter. What this means for branches Marketing and promoting the event locally (link into charities advertising) Encouraging entries Organising the run Look at other ways of fund-raising - afternoon tea at the end, car show before the cars set off etc. In lieu of a branch event that month It is possible to create this event for little to no cost. Support from National Body Marketing and PR support - regionally and nationally Branding Template pack which sets the aim of each event across NZ at a similar standard. Arrange a sponsorship arrangement with the national charity which could be changed every 3 years. First charity suggested is the Cancer Society.

Annual Cluths Motorcycle Rally Report Sat 11th of March was the Annual Clutha Motorcycle Rally and entries from Timaru, Oamaru, Southland, and a good number from our branch travelled down on a chilly morning, some riding, others transporting their bikes. After morning tea instructions took us up the riverside to Clydevale, the Rongahere Gorge and the lunch stop at Millers Flat. Mr & Mrs Publican were to pick their choice of bike from the collection of 20 odd bikes and they are bike folk, so two were picked, a very early 20's Indian 350 single, and our local Ariel Four. Return trip to Balclutha was the reverse and was just as cold, but another substantial afternoon tea awaited us, as is the norm down there. A good turnout from our branch. Bruce M Ariel. Les S Triumph Ken P BSA. Bill V Ariel Bruce C Norton John S Norton Ross M Francis Barnett Stewart G BSA Dave H Matchless Andrew R Suzuki. Ten bikers from our branch was a great effort the best at a bike rally for some, well done.

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Restortation Rally March 2017 We saw four vehicles presented for Restoration Achievement Awards on Sunday 19th of March. After the judging they joined about 13 other vehicles for a leisurely drive up West Harbour to Aromoana for afternoon tea and a chat. One of these unfortunately had some technical issues so did not make it in that car. But they took it home and drove out in another car and arrived just as everyone else was leaving to go home. I think they planned to spend abit more time exploring before heading back home. It was a pleasant day. Thanks to all those who attended The vehicles that were presented for the Award were: Gavin Tisdall’s 1923 Model T Pickup Neil Hodgkin’s 1954 Humber Super Snipe Bryan McConachie’s 1978 Ford Cortina Ghia Gil and Ruth Edmund’s 1972 BMC Mini Ute The Restoration Trophy Award will be presented at the Branch AGM in June

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Monthly Run Otago Classic motoring Club 26.2.17 combined with the Dunedin Branch of the Vintage Car club. This month’s run was organised by Stuart Neil and was run a week early so that we could combine our run with the Dunedin Branch of the Vintage car club who were holding their annual Vintage and Post vintage run. It was a stunning day and all members met in the car park behind the Dunedin Railway station at 1pm. It was great to see such a great turnout and I am told that there were 26 vehicles entered in the run for the day. As you all know my main interest is in 30s cars and it was great to see five of them on the run. Two fantastic looking 38 Chevrolet’s with the occupants of one dressed in period clothes, two Plymouths, one a 36 I think!!!! And a 39 and my 38 Hudson. There was a fine line up of other vehicles from a model T to a beautiful 1964 Rolls Royce. Other vehicles I noted were a late 60s valiant, a 50s Desoto a 70s Audi a Volvo, a couple of Hillman Imps one of which I think was a sunbeam, a Humber Snipe, a Cortina and a Studebaker Cruiser. I also noted a very original Austin A40 Devon which was apparently brought new by the present owners Grandfather. There was also a Corvette and an Early Austin Utility as well as an MGB. I am sure I have missed some of the cars and I apologise but the memory is not that great at times. Stuart handed out the rally notes and I had a brief look over them. Damn!!! I thought there are questions and Stewart knows I hate them, Dot and I always argue over them. I also noted that we were going to Palmerston so I thought first stop will be the Gas station, my car does not do that many miles to the gallon and the gauge is not that accurate so better safe than sorry. I head to the gas station to fill up, while there Bernie pulls in in the Austin for a top up also. Bernie who we all know is a little frugal put in $9.50 of gas and I think I put in about $65.00 . Bernie smiled as he does but said nothing. We set off on the run and decided to have a look at the questions on the way. To my surprise I was able to answer these questions. They were all about the West Harbour and of course having lived there for over 60 years I was at somewhat of an advantage and before any of you say this was a jack up, well Stuart did not know I was coming as he thought I was still at the Art Deco Rally in Napier. The Run meandered to Port Chalmers over the hill to Warrington to Karitane and on to Palmerston. In Palmerston we were directed to the Vintage Machinery Club Rooms and grounds. What a fantastic set up this small group of enthusiasts has. They have collected up a large collection of vintage machinery from around the district. There are many original tractors and vintage farm machines. Their rooms and sheds are very well built and looked after. Afternoon Tea was supplied and members were treated to the run of the property and were able to have a good look at the clubs collection. I will certainly be making a second visit. I sort of got lost looking at the display but finally made it back to where most of the cars were parked to find Stuart handing out awards. I’m not sure how but apparently Dot and I won a cup for the Post Vintage section, and Russell Gilchrist for the vintage section, somewhat embarrassing given that I do nothing for the vintage car club. 14


Bill Keen got a chocolate fish I’m sure Stuart will have had a reason. I did hear that some people thought the run was too long, while others thought it was too short for me I think it was just right and was a fantastic venue for a picnic. And for me well I won my first cup ever !!!!!!!!!!!!!. It was a fantastic turnout and a great day perhaps it’s time we combined both clubs on a more regular basis with a view to the future Trevor Johnson

2017 National Motorcycle Rally Waitomo - Bill Veitch Our foursome trailered the old bikes to Picton on our way to Waitomo for the National Rally. Stayed the night and caught the Bluebridge in the morning, just the bikes now. A pleasant run over the Rimutakas and a two night stop over at Pahiatua where the Ariel Owners Reg held their Annual Rally, an unusual “mid-week” event. We woke to rain on the Friday so waterproofs were required for our ride, and quite a long one it was to Waitomo. Although wet most of the way it was warm so not too unpleasant for the 300km ride. About 127 entered for the rally from early Veterans and surprisingly quite a number of Japanese machines now that many qualify for the 30 year VCC ruling. The rally headquarters was adjacent to the Top 10 accommodation where many of the entries stayed including us four, so very convenient for the supplied breakfasts and daily starts. Sadly, the Sunday after Saturday official part was damp drizzle so the gymkhana and public display on the grass had to be cancelled. Monday morning and the first day of the after tour consisted of about 160 kilometres, (approximately this distance each day) toTe Awamutu where we made a visit to a Classic Motorcycle dealership. Over the next four days sightseeing took us to Kawhia, Mokau, Mangakino and Mana Ariki close to Taumarunui. Great warm weather each day with great company and entries from every part of NZ. When it was all over we split the ride south to two days with an overnight stop in Levin. This gave us time to see three museums, Southwoods, Te Papa and the War Museum in Wellington. The 2am Bluebridge to Picton included a cabin so refreshed at 6am it was load the bikes and a 12 and a half hour trek home. A great fortnight of riding in parts of the North Island we had not seen, and corners in the Waitomo area, well we lost count. Our foursome – Bruce Murray BSA, Ralph Weir BSA from Oamaru, Trevor Appleby Triumph now living in Portobello ex Kurow and myself on a Moto Guzzi single P.S. No mechanical problems with the bikes and a total of 2500km, just a thought 10,000 total – not bad. Roll on Blenheim in 2019??

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Calendar of Events 2017 April

May

June July

7th Fri 7-9th 12th Wed 14th 27th Thur 28th 5th Fri 10th Wed

13th 25th 26th 2nd Fri 18th Sun TBA

OTHER BRANCH EVENTS 2017 April 1st 7-9th 8th May

22nd 6th 6th

Motorcycle Group meeting Otago Rally Sparkaholics Easter – clubrooms closed Mid week Run Club night Motorcycle Group meeting Sparkaholics

Classic m/c Mecca Southland - Bus Trip Mid-week Run Clubnight Motorcylce Group meeting Branch AGM and Pot luck Lunch Branch Annual Dinner

Winchester Swapmeet Otago Rally Gerald Lynch-Blosse Memorial Motorcycle Rally - Oamaru Autumn Festival Rally – Arrowtown Motorcycle Group meeting Swapmeet - Ashburton

Check out the Events Calendar in the Beaded Wheels for listed branch events NATIONAL CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2017

National AGM – Blenheim

2018 Easter Easter 2019

National South Island Easter Rally – Southland National North Island Easter Rally SI Club Captains Tour Natiomal Motorcycle Rally - Blenheim

2021 Jan

14-24th

International Rally – New Plymouth

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HAAST RALLY WITH SOUTH CANTERBURY VINTAGE CAR CLUB

February 4th - Dunedin to Cromwell We left home and ambled our way to Crowell which was 1st stop on the rally. After a few stops on the way to an antique shop and friends, arrived in Cromwell around 3pm to temperatures in the 20's. Settled into our accommodation and relaxed until time to be at the Vintage Car Club rooms at 6.30pm to pick up rally packs, kick tyres and debriefing at 8pm. A great supper supplied by the Central Otago Vintage Car Club was held and then everyone departed back to their accommodation. Sunday 5th February Cromwell-Haast. Up and showered and waited on Oliver Harman to come to our unit for breakfast. Once all the dishes were done cars packed keys handed in we left to travel to Haast along with 51 other cars from various parts of NZ and Austraila to our 2nd night stop. Everyone had the same idea to stop and buy fresh fruit from the fruit stall just out of Crowell. Next stop was at Warbirds Car Museum for a coffee, at which on the 1st Sunday they put on a cheap breakfast for car Enthusiasts. Our journey continued onto Makarora where we caught up with Central Otago Vintage Car Club Members who joined us for the day to Haast. The price of petrol here was $2.31L. Next, we stopped at Fantail Falls, which is only 3 minutes’ walk from the car park. When we arrived back to our car it was surrounded by many tourists taking photos. Further down the road we spotted a picnic area with toilets, so thought this was a good spot for lunch, got picnic gear out of car taken to table and then all the sandflies decided it was lunch time too, so quickly back into the car to eat our lunch. Upon arriving in Haast being too early to go to our accommodation so went for a drive down to Jackson Bay a Fishing Village about 30km out of Haast. Met Oliver coming down the road so he drove down to Jacksons also. After finding our accommodation and unpacked the car we had a lovely afternoon from people from Christchurch, Auckland and Hamilton. After going for a meal, it was time to retire inside as the sandflys where out and about again. Monday 6th February Haast to Fox Glacier After breakfast and packing the car we travelled onto our next destination, stopping at Waita to get a whitebait sandwich and a chat to the owner. We soon caught up on some of the slower cars climbing the hills. Next stop was at a lookout at Knights Point (named after the pet dog of a surveyor who worked on the project for many years) where the road link between Westland and Otago was officially opened by Keith Holyoake on 6th November 1965. Here we met some tourists who were Air Traffic controllers from Norway, looking over the car next I see Stuart open the bonnet and they were looking at the motor. Leaving here we then ran into

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rain while making our way to Fox Glacier. Fuelled up and had lunch, by this time it was absolutely bucketing down and a leak in the front windscreen was discovered. Nobody could get into accommodation till 2pm, but at 1pm people were sick of hanging around so went to accommodation early. Lazy afternoon. Deciding whether to go to happy hour the answer was no but our next door neighbours car started up yelled to us to come in their car so off we went the rain had also come into their car a Rugby soft top as well. After returning home watched some very hazy TV and retired early to bed. Tuesday February 7th Fox to Hokitika Still raining in the morning. We had a Chinese tourist looking at the cars and wanted to take photos of the leather seats and the inside of the car. We left and headed to Franz Josef where we stopped at the Top 10 Holiday Park to visit the management who we knew and had just taken over the lease by now the rain had stopped and apart from a bit of drizzle no more on the journey. Next stop Hari Hari to window shop as not much was open. Moving on to Hokitika (which claim to fame is the iconic Wild Food Festival held each March). Finding our accommodation had lunch and went into town and walked the streets. The town specialises dealing in Gold, Ruby Rock, Paua Shells, Greenstone and Bone carvings. Then went for a drive along the wharf area and back to relax for an hour or so before we headed to Stumpers Bay for Happy Hour. Back to accommodation for tea and relaxing catching up with other cars members all talked out we retired to bed. By Lyn Neil To be continued nest month

Private Collection of Vintage Clothing

 Men and Women  1920’s - 1970’s era  Accessories, hats, furs and much more

 Larger fittings are a speciality  Personalised vintage fashion shows for events/occasions/functions presented by an experienced team of models

Phone: Sue – (Dunedin) 03 488 4033/021 146 4987

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Email: otcl@es.co.nz Postal: 406 Hillside Road, Dunedin Phone 455 5029

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