Scotsman's Rally 18 to 20 March 2017
Shirley and I took Mora (2.0L Z3) for a drive on the Scotsman's Rally. This Rally is a 3-day mystery trip run by the Otago Classic Motoring Club. It starts in Dunedin New Zealand and heads off into the wilds of the South Island via as many gravel roads as can be found.
Day 1
06:30 Off from Timaru in the rain for the 2.5-hour trip South to Dunedin for the start of the Rally.
09:30 Rally briefing and given the mornings route. There was a wide array of cars, 15 in total. Mora was the only Z3 and had the lowest ground clearance. The day had cleared and the tops were off. No clues on where we were staying the night. Travel took us through Outram and up through the Waipori Falls gorge and high country farm land beyond. Dropped down into Lawrence via a couple of paddocks and farm tracks (planned route). Lunch at Lawrence.
Received the second route after lunch and everyone turned to the last page to see where we were staying the night. It was Lawrence, an old gold mine town that seems to have been frozen in time around 1930. Back into the cars and onto the gravel roads. A good run out to Tuapeka Mouth and back to Lawrence via some great gravel country roads. Loved the appropriate names given to some of the roads, like Corkscrew Road and Breakneck Road. An afternoon in 3rd gear following an old Audi Quattro.
When we returned to Lawrence there were 4 novity games that we have to compete it. Scores kept and added to the “check point” questions as part of a wider competition. Off to the accommodation, happy hour in a local bar and dinner. 120 miles travelled with 80% on gravel roads
Day 2
Clear and fine, but autumn was definitely here with a very cool light wind. Tops off but jackets and hats on. A Hudson Eight had a flat battery and a generator that would not charge. It was left in Lawrence and the occupants accommodated in a Hudson Terraplane. Headed towards Beaumont but just before we got there, had a right-hand turn onto a farm track. This had us climb up out of the Clutha River Valley (beautiful views) and into Beaumont Station (high country farm). Beaumont Station is the third largest farm in N.Z. at 76,000 acres. Couldn’t really get my head around that number, it just took a long time to drive through. Lunch in Miller’s Flats Pub and a tour through a very old bakery built in 1904. That’s old for N.Z. as it was the last country to be colonised.
Back onto the gravel back country roads to the East of Millers Flats, with a visit to the Horseshoe Bend small hydro scheme. Then back towards civilisation and dropped into the old Teviot station historic stone wool shed. The woolshed was built in the 1865 and destroyed by fire in 1924. It was the largest wool shed in the Southern Hemisphere at that time. It had a stone structure for the first floor that house up to 8,000 sheep and a 40-stand shear floor upstairs. Cars lined up for photos, then back to Lawrence via the Millennium Track for another happy hour and dinner. 100 miles travel with 90% gravel roads. Mora was standing up well to the trip with only a few scraps with stones etc. She was getting very dirty both inside (dust) and out (mud and dust).
Day 3
We were allowed a sleep in and then to head home anyway we wanted. For the Dunedin crowd, it was a leisurely 1.5-hour drive. Shirley and I had 4.5 hours of driving ahead of us. Thankfully is was another bright sunny Autumn day, so tops off again. We headed to Roxburgh with a compulsory stop for freshly picked apricots, apples and pears. We had also raided (with permission) a couple of plum trees next to the accommodation that morning. Lunch at Cromwell then over the Lindis Pass to a rest stop at Omarama. Decided to get off the main road and crossed the Benmore Dam. Raided an apple tree on the side of the road, then off down to and across the Aviemore Dam and back on the main road. Ice cream at Kurow, through Waimate and home to Timaru. 260 miles travel and 0% on gravel roads. Time to plan the cleaning of Mora.
Shirley and I took Mora (2.0L Z3) for a drive on the Scotsman's Rally. This Rally is a 3-day mystery trip run by the Otago Classic Motoring Club. It starts in Dunedin New Zealand and heads off into the wilds of the South Island via as many gravel roads as can be found.
Day 1
06:30 Off from Timaru in the rain for the 2.5-hour trip South to Dunedin for the start of the Rally.
09:30 Rally briefing and given the mornings route. There was a wide array of cars, 15 in total. Mora was the only Z3 and had the lowest ground clearance. The day had cleared and the tops were off. No clues on where we were staying the night. Travel took us through Outram and up through the Waipori Falls gorge and high country farm land beyond. Dropped down into Lawrence via a couple of paddocks and farm tracks (planned route). Lunch at Lawrence.
Received the second route after lunch and everyone turned to the last page to see where we were staying the night. It was Lawrence, an old gold mine town that seems to have been frozen in time around 1930. Back into the cars and onto the gravel roads. A good run out to Tuapeka Mouth and back to Lawrence via some great gravel country roads. Loved the appropriate names given to some of the roads, like Corkscrew Road and Breakneck Road. An afternoon in 3rd gear following an old Audi Quattro.
When we returned to Lawrence there were 4 novity games that we have to compete it. Scores kept and added to the “check point” questions as part of a wider competition. Off to the accommodation, happy hour in a local bar and dinner. 120 miles travelled with 80% on gravel roads
Day 2
Clear and fine, but autumn was definitely here with a very cool light wind. Tops off but jackets and hats on. A Hudson Eight had a flat battery and a generator that would not charge. It was left in Lawrence and the occupants accommodated in a Hudson Terraplane. Headed towards Beaumont but just before we got there, had a right-hand turn onto a farm track. This had us climb up out of the Clutha River Valley (beautiful views) and into Beaumont Station (high country farm). Beaumont Station is the third largest farm in N.Z. at 76,000 acres. Couldn’t really get my head around that number, it just took a long time to drive through. Lunch in Miller’s Flats Pub and a tour through a very old bakery built in 1904. That’s old for N.Z. as it was the last country to be colonised.
Back onto the gravel back country roads to the East of Millers Flats, with a visit to the Horseshoe Bend small hydro scheme. Then back towards civilisation and dropped into the old Teviot station historic stone wool shed. The woolshed was built in the 1865 and destroyed by fire in 1924. It was the largest wool shed in the Southern Hemisphere at that time. It had a stone structure for the first floor that house up to 8,000 sheep and a 40-stand shear floor upstairs. Cars lined up for photos, then back to Lawrence via the Millennium Track for another happy hour and dinner. 100 miles travel with 90% gravel roads. Mora was standing up well to the trip with only a few scraps with stones etc. She was getting very dirty both inside (dust) and out (mud and dust).
Day 3
We were allowed a sleep in and then to head home anyway we wanted. For the Dunedin crowd, it was a leisurely 1.5-hour drive. Shirley and I had 4.5 hours of driving ahead of us. Thankfully is was another bright sunny Autumn day, so tops off again. We headed to Roxburgh with a compulsory stop for freshly picked apricots, apples and pears. We had also raided (with permission) a couple of plum trees next to the accommodation that morning. Lunch at Cromwell then over the Lindis Pass to a rest stop at Omarama. Decided to get off the main road and crossed the Benmore Dam. Raided an apple tree on the side of the road, then off down to and across the Aviemore Dam and back on the main road. Ice cream at Kurow, through Waimate and home to Timaru. 260 miles travel and 0% on gravel roads. Time to plan the cleaning of Mora.
