Life at No.22, Musings, Photography

A Vintage Car Show

Suzanne

The sound of a roaring engine; for us, was usually the beginning of an adventure and the collection of good and not so pleasant memories. Through laughter and short tales, we remembered the good ones attached to various vehicles we have owned over the years; as we sent off across the road to ogle and argh at the vintage cars on display. Each year the Bay of Plenty Vintage Car Club members proudly show off their prized toys, whoops I meant cars. Dreams are free and it’s fun to ignite those inner youngster yearnings which still bubble close to the surface.

The Squire admiring that little red car – “not another photo?”

As we slowly walked around the various cars, stopping to admire and chat with a few proud owners. On one particular stop we had a longer chat with a chap who happily regaled an adventure of a couple he knew who took an extraordinary journey with their prized vintage car. So, with my sketchy notes and the Squires recall, here is the story as we remember it.

A journey covering 4886 miles in a 1917 Dodge car.

Many of our New Zealand roads are steep and windy. A bit upsy and downsy. I have included photographs from our previous roadtrips to give you an idea of the terrain in some areas of this adventurous journey.

The trip started, when a couple left Tauranga travelling over the hill and through the Forgotten Highway to Stratford. From Stratford to down through Patea and Hawera, to Wellington.

From the roadside – The Forgotten Highway – The Hill Line
A pit stop is always required – Creative toilets – Whangamomona is on State Highway 43, the “Forgotten World Highway”, 65 kilometres north-east of Stratford

After the Ferry crossing, they proceeded through the newly opened Kaikoura Highway (after the earthquake) to Christchurch then onto Ashburton. There they went up over the Lewis Pass finishing at Reefton. The next leg of the tour took them to Richmond, to Nelson.

Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve – a few photos stitched together
Takaka Hill

The brave couple headed over the Takaka Hill to Golden Bay and returned down the West Coast through Franz Joseph and Riverton to wind up eventually in Invercargill. After a short break and visiting the sights of Invercargill, they then continued their journey through the Catlins and back up the coast to Ashburton. Through the backcountry tracks of the Ben Nevis, Maniototo, Waikouaiti, returning to Ashburton.

Nugget Point, Catlins – I like to hope that the adventurous couple took the time to enjoy a sunset or two.

Back on the main highway again they followed the coast back up to Picton arriving a month and a half from when they left Tauranga. Arriving in Wellington, they then ventured up over the Rimutaka Hill and through Pahiatua arriving in Palmerston North. From there it was a trip over to Whanganui, up through Stratford then Mokau to return home seven weeks later. The only mechanical issue was a loose rivet on a drive pulley which was fixed with a nut and bolt. The car was serviced during the trip and only required, other than the servicing, 1 pint of oil and the occasional top up with water.

Rimutaka Hill

I thought this story regaled by a local car enthusiast was worth repeating as it was indeed an adventure most people would think twice about completing in a modern let alone a Vintage car.

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

22 thoughts on “A Vintage Car Show”

    1. No, it wasn’t that car, the one in question was there, and weirdly I forgot to photograph it, too busy talking!! I was so annoyed when I realised what I hadn’t done. There is something adventurous about touring around in a vintage car. The maintenance bill would be eye-watering!

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  6. Oh, I remember those narrow, upsy downsy roads well. Mark and I did a similar tour of the South Island in a rented Mercedes Sprinter camper van in 2015 (starting in Christchurch) and were mostly impressed by the Catlins, which I hadn’t visited before. Love that sunset shot of the lighthouse!

    I’m sure the adventurous vintage couple had a much nicer and better impression of the glaciers on the west coast, when they were still substantial! We didn’t explore the North Island much during our eight-week stop in New Zealand, but I do remember some of those beautiful scenes (especially in the north) from a previous visit to your pretty country. 🙂

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    1. Liesbet, yes I think you and Mark did the right thing and spent the time down in the South Island. To do justice to both Islands you really need more time. The Catlins are amazing, and we didn’t spend as much time down there as we would have liked. At that stage, good internet was needed!

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        1. Funny, as we did it in a long weekend 🙂 Just got back from looking at private gardens [a Garden Festival] and we were at one where there was no mobile coverage. We stayed there the longest and really enjoyed wandering around!

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  7. Suzanne, Such stunning scenery and incredible road trip in a beautiful vintage car. I was at a vintage car show in Malta and the cars were well loved. Thanks for sharing the story and your photos.

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    1. Yes, the top photograph was taken in France, we came across in our first year of housesitting. Been to a few vintage car shows around the world, and they all have one thing in common in that the cars are well-loved.

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