Ah , yes! The mountains. Ah, that mountain air. Ah, those mountain roads. Ah, those mountain men!!
The Honda Car Owners' Binna Burra run went off without a hitch .....NOT!
Sarah and I were running late due to car (or is that operator?) problems. As a result we missed the merry mob at the rendezvous point and Shane, in his now famous Civic Coupe......OOPS CR-X (sorry Shane), had to find his own way up the hills. Paul Marwick was feeling generous and gave Leon and David Keeley a lift to the top. David Waller and Jane decided that the newly acquired MX-5 needed a good blast through the hills, just to shake out the cobwebs of course. Paul's City scrambled up the long climb with no hassles and even John Que's Commodore found its way to the top, it had a bit of trouble getting down though, but more on that later.
The drive up through the mountains was terrific. The roads are pretty good these days and while narrow, they do offer the enthusiast the opportunity to drive with some verve, as the corners flowing into one another and the road dips and twists up and up into the mist. Mist? Mist in Queensland? We don't have mist in Queensland! Oh, you mean the rain clouds coming in! (of course by now Richard knows all about Mist in Melbourne !!).
The merry mob finally met up at the top of Binna Burra and we quickly selected a patch of green grass which we jealously guarded from the circling hordes of Alfa drivers. Those Alfas look pretty big when the largest car in your group is an MX 5.
After some games of chase the footy and catch the frisbee, lunch was devoured. The mountain air is certainly good for the appetite, and the chocolate cake disappeared very quickly (thanks to the very generous person who supplied that cake, it was delicious). We had no sooner finished eating when the rain started to set in, and set in it did.
After sheltering under a very small ledge covering the direction sign, and receiving quite a few good cracks about the head from the low eves, we decided the rain was not going away and everyone cleared out.
Sarah and I were the last to leave and we found John Que stopped by the side of the road half way down the hill. The Commodore had started making a funny noise, he said, so he had stopped to investigate and found that one of the spark plugs had wound its way out of the head and was dangling by the lead down beside the exhaust manifold. Some quick work with the multigrips and some burned fingers saw John back on the road again.
All in all a good day, except for the rain. Binna Burra is a nice spot for a picnic and there are plenty of walking trails and grassy areas for frisbee throwing. The drive up the hills is exciting or relaxing depending on the pace you wish to set, and if you wish to see some more of the country you can drive back to Brissy through Canungra. However it is probably good that this was the last function which I organise for some time as each time I have had a crack at arrangements we have been rained out!
Look out for the next
Drive and Dine Day the Association holds. They are a lot of fun!
