Thursday 12 November, 2015

Everyone was very punctual and ready to leave as scheduled. The weather was fine but a very cold bleak wind which was felt by us all.  Our leisurely drive down to Whakatane ended at the beginning of the Toll expressway where there was obviously a green flag waved which we missed and the Monte Carlo began…   What a magnificent sight, seeing those powerful machines going through their pacers as we followed the lovely drive down the coast to our lunch venue.

In due course we all arrived at the Red Barn Bakery Café where all the cars were lined up in their true form ready for their next stage of the race…A lovely array of delicious food was displayed which we all enjoyed with our much loved coffee fix and various other hot drinks.

Our journey continued over the hill to the popular Ohope beach and weaved our way down through the countryside to Opotoki to Eastland Pacific Motor Lodge where the Moteliers were very welcoming an efficient and in no time at all  we were all settled in to our very clean and some very new units. After unpacking we all left in convoy to Roger & Colleen Clark’s beautiful rural property about 10 mins drive from our motel.

What a wonderful splash of colour greeted us all after we had driven up through their avocado orchard.  Their bright abundant display of colour, rhododendron’s, aquilegias, roses, not to forget the amazing show of bromeliads which obviously thrive in their conditions with no harsh frosts like we experience. We visited their garden 2 years ago in the winter, so wonderful to return and view it in its glory at this peak time of the year. We were then provided with an amazing spread of home baking and coffee/tea provided by Colleen and her family. (Maybe Roger too, maybe not….).   The selection would have put any café under threat. The ginger crunch and chocolate squares to name a few, must be mentioned.

After we had been very spoilt and lavished with wonderful food a tour of the garden and some exercise was a necessity. Whilst this was on the agenda the men folk (and a few women, I must add) went on a tour of Roger’s  sheds to see work in progress and finished projects.

Thank you both again for an enjoyable visit and warm hospitality.

Back to the motel where we were all informed to be ready to be shuttled out to a lovely Irish Pub, the Masonic Hotel where we were to share a meal together after pre dinner drinks in the bar. The drinks were very reasonably priced and certainly no measure lines on my wine glass.  Apparently this could be the reason why I mixed and mingled so well that they thought that I should do this report….(Not even abridged !!!)

A wonderful trip which we enjoyed so much and I am sure we can vouch for everyone else too.

By Heather and Ces Thompson

Day 2

Saturday 14 November, 2015

Saturday morning dawned fine and sunny and after a hearty breakfast in the hotel dining room, we headed off in convoy to the Eastwoodhill National Arboretum of NZ, home to the largest collection of northern hemisphere trees in the southern hemisphere – 135 hectares of over some 5000 different types of exotic & native trees, shrubs & climbers, sourced from nurseries around the world in Japan, America, Europe & NZ.

Eastwoodhill was founded by Douglas Cook who started farming the property in 1910. After being injured in WW1, he recuperated in Britain and was inspired by the beautiful gardens & parks he saw there and on his return to NZ, he commenced development of Eastwoodhill. Following his death in 1967, Mr Cook’s dream has been continued by the Eastwoodhill Trust Board and his collection has since been expanded and enhanced in many areas.

With such a large area of parkland to cover, we all headed off in different directions on the many different walks! Some took off at a fast pace to skirt the higher ridges of the Arboretum with good views, some joined a guided walking tour of the Homestead Garden & surrounds, some boarded the 4 wheel drive chariot for a guided tour a bit further afield, (ably driven and with commentary from Bill Harding) and others wandered along the trails at their own pace, enjoying the grandeur, beauty & quietness of their surroundings.

After a couple of hours of being ‘at one with nature’, we made our way back to the Visitors’ Centre where a delicious ‘Boxed Lunch’ and hot/cold drink awaited us – lots of chatter & smiling faces, so a morning well spent!

Next stop were the picturesque Rere Falls, 5m high and 20m wide. With the recent rain, the water was cascading over the full length of the falls and they were magnificent. It was here that Geoffrey & Rose’s E-Type decided it had done enough touring and refused to continue the journey, leaving G&R at the mercy of the AA! Fortunately, we have a wonderful ‘local garage’ at the home of Ron & Dorothy Hopps’, so that is where the E-Type rested until ‘parts’ could be sent from Auckland. G&R  unloaded their car and were able to continue their trip with us – as passengers!

A short distance from the Falls is the Rere Rock Slide, a 60m long natural waterslide, which I am sure gives an adrenalin rush as you take off down the slope, for those seeking ‘thrills’ on their holidays – unfortunately, no one was prepared to take the plunge that day!

Next stop was ‘The Falls Station’, Warwick & Pam Hickling’s family farm for a brief visit.

Back to the Emerald Hotel for a quick change and we were off to the “Bushmere Arms” for dinner. Robin Pierson has been the Chef-cum-Proprietor for the past 20 years and has restored this late 1800’s weatherboard hotel to its former glory – polished rimu panelling complements a collection of ornamental fittings from a bygone era. As you enter the main door, you are greeted by a magnificent rimu bar, a fireplace (with mounted deer head!), stained glass lampshades, a mix of NZ landscape paintings and a collection of pottery jugs & plates – all the charm & ambience of yesteryear.

The Conservatory with its stained glass dome, looks out onto beautiful gardens of colourful roses, mature trees, a magnificent fountain with water lilies and a bell tower. Behind the manicured hedges we discovered an orchard and an expansive vegetable garden, the produce going to the restaurant kitchen. Certainly a garden for all to enjoy. The exceptional meal was prepared by Robin,  who had to be coaxed out of the kitchen at the end of the evening so we could all thank him!  His attention to detail was paramount – pan fried fresh fish with smoked bacon Lyonnaise potato & basil dressing OR Fillet of beef grilled medium rare with wood mushroom porcini essence. For dessert – Bailey’s Brulee OR Sticky date roll with butterscotch sauce OR Fresh strawberries in a brandy basket.

The chatter & laughter in the room that night was infectious and a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday” was sung to Maralyn (our Secretary), which added to the joviality of the evening! It was close to 11pm when we returned to the hotel – the end of a truly wonderful day ‘on the road’ with the BOP Jaguar Drivers’ Club. Thanks everyone.

By Judi and Chris Simmonds

Day 4

Day 5

Tuesday 17 November, 2015

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day, which was lovely after the overcast cold day previously. Buffet breakfast was served between 8-9am and a lot of us had packed up our luggage into our Car for a 9.30am take off. Some of the group had already parted our Company the day before as had commitments that they had to fulfil back at home.    Because of the unknown terrain, and possible difficulty on the Gentle Annie road some of our Members had chosen to travel home via the Napier – Taupo highway. Out of our 17 Cars that started the journey on Thursday there were 9 Car Drivers who wanted to face the Gentle Annie road to complete their Trip.

A group of 4 Cars left earlier than the rest of us, as we were told they need to go to Taihape to purchase the 98 octane that was required to get them home again.  We were in the second group of 4 Cars and left the Hotel in convoy at 9.10am lead by Don & Lynley.We all headed off toward Taradale to get onto the road that would take us over the “Gentle Annie” to Waiouru Army Museum Café where we had all arranged to meet & have lunch together before all heading off in different directions for home.

This road that we travelled on was amazing, and very picturesque, with beautiful yellow broom in full glory all along the way. The road was very easy to travel along through all different types of terrain, through a couple of gorges with lovely rivers flowing below us, and such lovely rolling, green farmland on the Taihape side of the “Gentle Annie” The road was aptly described as “Gentle” as we did gently climb up to plateaus and along the gentle winding high country road. We at one stage stopped as Don & Lynley just wanted to make sure all were OK. We had a quick leg stretch, a “Werthers Original “handed out to us all from Beth, and a group photo.

We arrived at Waiouru about 2 ½ hrs later after such a great Trip. We joined the first group of travellers, for a quick bite of lunch and had only been there about 15minutes when Heather & Cecil arrived, so was good to see that they arrived safely also.  From this point we all parted company and our journey home took us up the Desert Road to a stunning vista of Mt Ruapehu & Ngauruhoe topped with snow and looking stunning. What a perfect ending to such a great Trip. We took the by-pass behind Taupo and headed home through Rotorua then the back road home to Tauranga.

What a wonderful drive to end such a great Trip and we just want to acknowledge Sheryl and all those who planned, booked, and made the Trip so interesting, memorable, and enjoyable for us all. Thank you all.

By Dave Penn and Liz Standen-Penn

  There were 3 attractions lined up for the day by Sheryl: Morning Tea at club members’ Ces and Heather Thompsons’ residence in Matamata, Lunch at an out of the way Punnet Café near Cambridge and finally a visit to the ‘Avantidrome’ Cycling Velodrome, also in Cambridge.

For the Taurangan troupe, the day began with the usual clear blue sky and blazing sunshine and thence to a marshalling of the members at the Western BOP Council carpark. A stern blast of her whistle gained Sheryl the full attention of the members; our driving orders were received loud and clear and off we went. The warm, fuzzy feeling on the way lasted as far as the Kaimais summit – from there we were met with a dark and stygian view of the Waikato plains below. Dense cloud blanketed the whole province and the spirits sank somewhat.

If readers have the same memories as I, they will recall that from this point, on a club journey a couple of years ago to The Styx Café in the backblocks of the Waikato, I myself, wife Beryl and Mrs G.P.S Garmin (on the dashboard) all disagreed on the route to follow and the Dents eventually arrived at the Café very late and with me in a high state of dudgeon after following feminine logic instead of the instructions given to us for the trip.

No mistakes this time? Well, yes.Another careful plan went out the window, nearly followed by the (bleep) Garmin. I had diligently updated the thing the night before and switched it on in full confidence as we motored on. Instead of the mellifluous English voice of Mrs Garmin, we heard a guttural, unintelligible stream of advice in a foreign language we had never struck before. A subsequent check later in the Garmin ‘Tools’ menu (I didn’t even know it had one, let alone a choice of language!) showed that the we-know-best people back in the USA had updated it online with the first entry in their alphabetical list of languages – Afrikaans!! They never asked me if that was OK!

End of story.  On this trip I carefully positioned us towards the back of the cavalcade so that I could see and trail Jags in front of us and thus we coat-tailed Michael Creak’s E Type the whole way to the Thompsons’ residence.

And what a marvellous setting greeted us when we arrived mid-morning. Jaguars lining up on parade on the extensive lawn, morning tea outdoors on a grand scale: scones with lashings of cream and jam; savouries; sandwiches, cake and of course tea and coffee. Ces and Heather were killing us with kindness. Their beautiful residence had a marvellous semi-rural setting and Heather kindly invited one and all to do a walkthrough of their home – which wowed Beryl for one, after five years of living in our confined city apartment dwelling.

This was clearly going to be one of those great club outings. As we reluctantly set off for the next venue the sun crept out of the grey blanket over the countryside and from there on it was just another Tauranga style sunny day.

The next event was lunch.  As if one had any room to put it? Some Jag drivers ahead of us disobeyed Ralph and Sheryl’s directions at Cambridge and took a “shortcut” through town instead of via the town bypass. What did Beryl tell me? “Follow them – we’ll miss the big trucks in front of us”. The town was jammed with locals enjoying a very big market day occasion. Inevitably, we sat in line with the abovementioned deviant Jags at the main highway intersection – watching all our other mates drive past from the abovementioned bypass. The abovementioned Beryl was offside with me again……[Sheryl, these events are becoming injurious to my mental health – and maybe our long marriage].

The relatively new Punnett Café was located in a strawberry growing area (Punnet? Get it?) on the outskirts of Cambridge and required a lot of skill to find it – it was cut off from its original access by the new SH1 Cambridge Bypass and thence along several country roads.  Lunch in general was not my cup of tea, I’m sorry to say.  The place was overcrowded, over noisy – and overpriced ($9 for a small bottle of light beer -that’s Auckland Viaduct pricing??). Food was OK. At least the company of fellow members was just great. [NOW I know I’m going to be offside with Sheryl].

From there a quick journey to the Avantidrome. The Avantidrome indoor cycling stadium was a real eye-opener. Opened in April 2014 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (naturally), it seats 1,525, is 77m x 120m in area, equivalent to a 6-story building in height at its centre, consumed 3,500m2 of concrete (= a 30km footpath!) and cost $30million – funded by central and local governments, trusts and commercial sponsors. The centre of the main track complex can house 3,000m2 of other sports events and includes a raft of exercise machinery, bikes and – yes – motorbikes.

It’s an Olympic sized facility and is to host the UCI Track Cycling World Cup this December.

Our guide answered a lot of questions on our tour. In answer to the most obvious question – how come cyclists don’t fall down the 43.5 degree slope of the track?  Centrifugal forces my friend – and the fact that each (imported Siberian spruce) board (***) is a fraction of a cm. below the one above – so assisting the cycle wheels to stay on track. Crashes? Yep.  Highest speed ever?  75kmph. (*** – laid end to end the boards would total 52km in length.

See what the rest of you members missed that day? Thank you so much Sheryl for another great piece of organisation, sorry about my rant at The Punnett management and more than sorry Ces and Heather refused any payment from the Club for their wonderful generosity that morning.

By Jack Dent

Waitete Café, north of Waihi off SH2, was easy to find with its big yellow sign, and there was plenty of parking for everyone. By the time we had all arrived at the cafe from different directions there were 24 Jaguars and 48 members. A great turn-out for the middle of winter!

Inside we found a very welcoming restaurant with sun streaming through the windows. Over the next couple of hours we all enjoyed catching up with various friends while having a delicious lunch of our choice which ranged from steak, fish, omelettes etc. to tasty desserts of the speciality – homemade icecreams and cheesecake. For those who wanted, there was a bar serving German-style beer and wine.

Unfortunately the sun did not continue and in fact a small weather “bomb” dropped heavy hail over Waihi later in the afternoon making some of the streets appear snow-covered.  Very pretty, but Jaguar drivers tend to get a bit nervous about their pristine paintwork in those conditions.  Fortunately everyone had left the area by that time, so a lucky escape.  The return home was made independently and I am sure we were all glad to have had such a cheerful Sunday outing with good company.

P.S. Since writing this I have heard that some members didn’t in fact escape the hail. Some were caught in the hail storm whilst driving home through Paeroa, Te Aroha and Katikati!  Thankfully no damage was done to their cars.

By Gill Sutton

Footnote from Sheryl:

When I originally thought about a day outing for our members for August (usually the worst month of the year weather-wise), I envisaged possibly around 20 hardy souls may venture out so I named this outing our ‘WINTER HIBERNATION RUN’. Obviously there were far more people suffering cabin fever than I anticipated – 48 people in fact!

Once our numbers exceeded 30 people, Roland, the owner/chef of Waitete Cafe politely requested that we pre-order our meals to make it easier for everyone. To exacerbate the matter, Roland had also just recently had hip replacement surgery (on both hips at the same time) and although he had brought in two additional cooks to help in the kitchen, he was still trying to oversee everything that was going on in the kitchen on a pair of crutches!

Although I don’t like having to ask our members to pre-order our meals, sometimes it becomes necessary in certain circumstances, and this was definitely one of those instances. Thank you all for obliging without a murmur of complaint from anyone. That just goes to show that it’s the camaraderie and driving around our beautiful countryside in our Jags that are the most important aspects of our club outings and food comes third!!

Part One – Friday 5th June – Musings from a long suffering Wife  

Some Jag excursions can be more eventful than others and the recent trip to Auckland proved to be just that.

We left home at 5pm on the Thursday on a dark and wet night. Mistake number one. At Otamarakau we heard a loud noise over the throaty roar of our V12 E-Type. Oh no, a puncture, the first one in many years, and what fun things proved to be. The Bags were spread on the road around the back of the car as the spare tyre was extracted from the boot and Roger showed me a strange place to show off his muscles as he had to lift the Jag up so I could slip the jack under the car. Mission completed and the changing of the tyre with a little pen torch proved difficult but the exercise was completed.

The boot was repacked and we were ready to carry on with our interesting weekend. Alas it was not to be as the car refused to start. Out come all the bags and tools again.  Roger had knocked off the wires to the fuel pump. It is just as well he is a dab hand with repairs as he can usually nut things out even with the light from the smallest torch on the market. Mistake number two.

Surely this should have been eventful enough and the trip should now be enjoyable. What was enjoyable was our evening with the Bourke’s.  There were more surprises in store for us the next morning when Roger went to move the car only to discover he had a floppy gear leaver in his hand and the car stuck in first gear. Again this could have been sorted if he had the time but this was quite fortuitous as it enabled us to kill two birds with one stone.  We called the AA who took the dead car away to repair the gear lever that needed a $2 screw and also to fix the puncture.

All was not lost as John and Raewyn lent us a car and off we went to meet everyone at the Fairview Golf Club. We suggest that the Jag Club dubs in and buys this car as a spare for the Club as it is not the first time it has been lent out for similar problems. What a wonderful venue to meet, a place that tickled our taste buds with the delicious array of food and after a brief stop we assembled to leave. I gazed longingly at all the new cars that don’t break down then tried to open the door on the borrowed car, no luck as it was locked. Roger insisted he had opened it and ever the helpful man tried to put the key in the door lock. It wasn’t to be – as Dorothy Hopps informed me we couldn’t have their car!

Our run the Kiaua was uneventful but to my astonishment as we shot past a sign I thought I read “Bird Naturist”. I wondered what on earth Sheryl had in store for us, the mind boggles, all us old girls taking our clothes off, surely a first for any Jag Club. No such luck, it actually said Shore Bird Naturalist Centre. This stop was interesting but as the tide was wrong we didn’t go on the walk to see the birds.   The fish and Chip lunch met all expectation, and was appreciated by all.  A lovely picturesque run took us to Waipua Hotel were we settled into our lovely rooms. The evening was spent eating a beautiful Buffet Dinner along with lots of fellowship and laughter.

In retrospect we are better prepared for mishaps on future trips among the, don’t travel in the dark and I now have a torch downloaded on my phone.  In concluding our thanks must go to Sheryl who organised the trip with her usual efficiency.

By Colleen Clark

Part Two – Saturday 6th June 

We woke to a very foggy mist over the Panmure basin, which soon lifted and the sun came shining through during our breakfast time. We all had a leisurely, relaxing, chatting time over breakfast, and there were lots of meaningful conversations and catching up time and making new friends for the likes of us newbies to the Club.

Sheryl informed us that it was a free day to do as we wished and suggested the Howick Markets, and handed us all out a brochure about the Howick Historical Village as a place of interest close by worth a visit.   So once again it was time to feed some information into the SatNav so that it enabled us to look like we kind of knew where we were going.   10 mins later we arrived at a small bustling village, with cars & people every which way.

We spent approximately an hour and some credit card transaction’s perusing the local & distant offerings in the market place. (Macadamia butter from Katikati. Had to go all the way to Howick to buy it. Ha ha!!!!) It was also great seeing some other Club Members contributing to the local economy and thereby boosting the moral and coffers of the market stall holders. (Hope those enormous pears were great to your taste buds Michael & Shirley).

It was then back to the Jag and SatNav to head off to find the Howick Historical Village close by.   After finding the alternative route into the Village (as our Jag was just going too fast to be able to take the correct turn off), we arrived safely, hanging out for a good coffee fix. The sun was fully out and very warm, making for a really pleasant 2 hour walking, & learning experience around the Historical Village. The Howick Historical Village displays both Maori and early European history. The buildings have been laid out to present the early period of colonisation of Auckland. It was such an interesting place to explore. To see how these people worked and lived made us so appreciate our modern homes and living standards of today.

These people were called ‘Fencible’ which comes from the word ‘defencible’ meaning ‘capable of defence’. These soldier –settlers, called the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps had served in the wars for Britain in the 1830s and 1840s and retired on a pension. They were offered a new life in New Zealand ; a free passage with their families , and a cottage with an acre of land to become theirs after a seven year term, in return for certain military duties including compulsory Sunday Church Parade.

In all there were 10 ships that brought the ‘Fencibles to Auckland, and the 2,500 men, woman, and children on them, had a major impact on Auckland.  In Auckland, privates were settled in double-unit cottages, sergeants in single – unit cottages (also provided for privates after 1848), and officers received a fine homestead with 50 acres of land. Examples of each of these can be seen in the village. All in all we found the experience was really informative and well worth the visit, especially as we looked on the list of surnames of the families who had arrived and found, both Dave’s family surname and Liz’s mother’s family names on the list. Most were from Ireland.  Thank you so much Sheryl for sourcing this as a place of interest.

We finished the Historical Village experience off with another coffee at the Homestead Café, enjoying the pleasant company once again of Michael & Shirley. (Who was following who here?).   It was then back to the Jag and back to the hotel to have some R & R before drinks at 5.30pm.  We looked out our window to see a wedding party setting up. We waited with interest to see the bride’s arrival, and noticed two brides and thought ‘wow’ a double wedding!   However there was no bridegroom to be seen. !!!!. The company was great, the meals were great, everyone was very friendly, and we thank you all for our  1st Trip as newbies to the BOP Jag Club, and look forward to enjoying many more great times with you all.

By Dave Penn & Liz Standen-Penn, Tauranga  (New members, April 2015)

Part Three – Sunday 7th June

After spending 2 nights at our lovely hotel – the Waipuna Hotel at Mt Wellington – we had all enjoyed our stay so much, and the company of all of our fun group, that we didn’t want to leave. Our rooms were modern and spacious, all the staff were excellent and the extensive buffet dinners and breakfasts were fantastic. It was very relaxing sitting in the light and airy restaurant having breakfast in the sunshine overlooking the picturesque lagoon and catching up with fellow members (including several new members) before heading out for the day. The only thing that was missing throughout this whole weekend was our President and his wife, John & Raewyn Bourke! They were coming right up to the last minute but the rain during the past week had fouled them up completely with their kiwifruit harvesting. I know that both John and Raewyn were very disappointed that they couldn’t make it and I can assure them that they were very much missed by everyone on the trip.

The Waipuna Hotel is a large sprawling hotel set amongst 6 acres of parkland grounds and as there were around 50 of us on this trip we had members staying on all 5 floors. We booked all of the Bureau Rooms facing the Panmure Basin – a very attractive salt-water lagoon.

As we checked out of the hotel today we were all looking forward to visiting a very special private car collection near Brookby. We weren’t disappointed! We all arrived at the owner’s farm property and were given a private tour of each of his 40 cars! They were all British cars and in immaculate condition. Most of the cars were housed in a fantastic purpose-built complex and his later model cars were all in separate lock-up garages underneath his huge sprawling home which overlooked his farm. Unbelievably, every single one of his cars had a current WOF and registration! He said he gives each car a turn when he drives to the city! All of these cars were extremely rare and enormously valuable.

At the end of the tour I thanked our host for very kindly showing us his cars and I presented him with a magnificent book on behalf of the Club, featuring the best of New Zealand’s private car collections. I phoned him a couple of days after we returned home to thank him again for his wonderful hospitality and he said he was absolutely thrilled with the book and miraculously he didn’t already have one!   We finished the weekend off with lunch at the John Hill Estate Vineyard Restaurant near the Hunua Falls before saying good-bye to everyone and heading home. Thus ended a great weekend in Auckland!

By Sheryl Murray

Sunday: BUTTERFLIES, BUGGER AND BARNS

The second day of the club trip to Thames was the first day of autumn and the day dawned fine and clear over the Firth of Thames. The programme for the day involved three “B’s” – Butterflies, Bugger and Barns.

Our first visit after a leisurely breakfast at our various motels was a visit to the Butterfly and Orchid Garden located 3 km north of Thames and inside the Dickson Holiday Park at Tararu.

Once all the members’ cars were parked up on the extensive grounds of the holiday park and several photographs were taken, we proceeded to the large hot house.

Inside we were greeted by a myriad of colourful butterflies flitting amongst a tropical backdrop of orchids and flowers towering up to the ceiling. The hot house is kept at a temperature of 28 C and a humidity level of 80%. We learnt that butterflies generally have a short life span of about 2 weeks once they hatch from the chrysalis, so to sustain the butterfly population the garden has to breed and import up to 1000 eggs every month.

There were some quite large wing-span butterflies of the ‘owl’ variety which caused a bit of a stir as they flapped around at low levels weaving through the gathered crowd of club members. The combination of tropical plants, flowers and the butterflies provided a contemplative start to the rest of our day with a lot of challenging photo opportunities presented when the butterflies settled on a plant or in some cases on the shoulder of one lucky member. After a posed club photograph and video session took place of all the members standing beside their cars, we set off to our next venue.

Our next ‘B’ was the ‘Bugger Café’ for lunch. The café was located over the new Kopu bridge on State Highway 25 to Auckland about 5 km from Thames. Some members found that by entering ‘bugger’ into their GPS system was not a guarantee of locating the café! However eventually all members arrived and a set lunch was served in a prompt and efficient manner by the café staff.

The ‘bugger’ theme was evident throughout the premises with quotes from former All Blacks and other celebrities. A visual slide-show illustrated many humorous ‘bugger’ situations and this provided lots of chuckles from members enjoying their lunch.

After lunch we all ‘buggered off’ to our third ‘B’ venue which consisted of two large red barn buildings – the Vintage Barn and the Model Barn, located off State Highway 25 in Orongo Road. The Vintage Barn housed a massive display of about 4000 models of farm tractors and associated machinery. There were also full sized tractors and a truck on display in the barn surrounded by cabinets full of models.

Jeremy Welch, the proprietor, has collected the models over a period of 27 years. The barn housing the models was built about 4 years ago and in addition to the outstanding model collection there were a number of outstanding and rare exhibits.

The rarest item on display was the Victor truck, built around the 1920’s in the USA. Jeremy told us that these trucks were only made for a few years and he thought that this one was the only one left, at least in the Southern Hemisphere.

Another rare item was the Swedish built ‘Munktells’ tractor. This was manufactured around 1934 and only 20 were imported into NZ.

Another highlight was a model of the first internal combustion engine farm tractor operated in NZ, circa early 1900’s, complete with a complement of dignitaries and farm workers and built to a high level of detail. Richard Robinson, a model maker from Rotorua, built this model.

Jeremy then opened up the second barn on site which was aptly named the Model Barn – a retail shop where many of the models displayed in the Vintage Barn could be purchased. A number of members took this opportunity.

By about 2.00pm our visits were all over and the club members took to their cars for the road home.

All in all, a very sociable and relaxing weekend of activities complemented by warm and sunny weather.

Thanks Sheryl for the organization.

Footnote from Sheryl

Many thanks to Max & Carole Killingback and Tas & Shirley Scott for writing such an excellent summary of our weekend away in Thames. Much appreciated!

Also, a huge “thank you” to Bruce MacDiarmid and Mark Thompson once again for cooking all our meat for us on the BBQ. You did a superb job!!

Above all, our grateful thanks to our wonderful hosts Marshall & Lesley Hutt and their 2 boys for having us at their place on the Saturday. Under the circumstances it was a gallant effort for them to still have us considering Marshall had been in hospital and only got home 2 days before our visit! That is what you call “true kiwi hospitality.”

Altogether, there were 64 of us on this trip and we all had a very interesting and sociable weekend together and it was great to meet so many new members as well. My sincere appreciation to everyone for mixing so well and for making the weekend such a success.

By Tas & Shirley Scott

Saturday: FABULOUS WEATHER, FABULOUS HOSTS, FABULOUS COMPANY and FABULOUS CLUB!

Ten days before the trip Sheryl emailed us all with the full itinerary for the weekend and the list of all the members going and which motel we were staying in. (There were so many of us that we had to be spread around three different motels). With all this information in tow we set off for the weekend knowing exactly where we were going, what we were doing and at what time.

All the Tauranga members met at the Nourish Café, Te Puna at 9.30am for morning tea. It was such a lovely calm sunny day that we all sat outside and enjoyed the last official day of summer ‘al fresco’ style. We even had some unexpected free entertainment as our President and his wife arrived in their XJSC with steam billowing out from under the bonnet. John had topped up the radiator the previous night and in his rush he didn’t screw the radiator cap on straight. Roger & Colleen Clark were following right behind them in their E Type and their windscreen got covered in green anti-freeze! Just as well they didn’t have their hood down at that stage!

Fortunately we had an hour to spend here so John was able to let the car cool down a bit which gave him enough time to have a quick coffee, then he topped the radiator up with enough water to drive across the road to the garage and fill the radiator up properly again. Some of the ladies took this opportunity to dive into the fabulous ‘Heaven & Home’ shop next door for a bit of retail therapy! Of course, this is a “must do” on any of our club weekends away – the retail therapy I mean! We then all headed off for Thames just after 10.30am.

After driving through the lovely countryside for about an hour and a half we arrived at our various motels in Thames for a pre-arranged early check-in. All the other members who came from different directions arrived at various times whenever it suited them. Some of us went down town to have lunch and others took theirs and had it in their motel units.

At 2.45pm we all assembled on the road outside the Thames High School which was an obvious landmark with plenty of parking and easy for us all to find. Once everyone was present and accounted for, we all headed off in convoy for an impressive 5 minute drive (no faster than snail-pace) to our BBQ destination at Marshall & Lesley Hutt’s place. Their two young sons had even hung bunches of green balloons on the street posts along the way so we wouldn’t get lost.

When we arrived we were greeted by Marshall (who is also a fellow club member) and he directed us to park on their grass tennis court and other adjoining grass areas. We then made our way to the pool area. This was a very large and impressive entertainment area surrounding the pool with lots of tables and fixed window seating etc and there was even a separate kitchen with bathroom facilities for guests’ use.

Marshall’s wife Lesley greeted us all when we got to the pool area and their two boys took jugs of iced water around to everyone which was a most welcome gesture as it was such a hot summer’s day. Their huge sprawling property was situated on a fantastic elevated site with stunning panoramic views of the ocean and islands beyond. Some took their togs and had a dip in their lovely warm pool while others were more than happy just sitting around chatting and enjoying their drinks & nibbles.

Six o’clock came and it was time for the BBQ. (We all took our own meat, salads and plates etc). There were two huge commercial barbecues permanently positioned by the pool and two of our men offered to be our personal chefs and cooked all the meat for us all. A big “thank you” to Committee member Bruce MacDiarmid and his friend from Auckland, new member Mark Thompson who did the honours. Our steak and sausages were cooked to perfection!

Towards the end of the evening, President John Bourke formally thanked our wonderful hosts on behalf of all of us present. He then presented Marshall with a bottle of wine and the event organiser, Club Captain Sheryl Murray, presented Lesley with a very attractive flowering orchid plant and a thank you card.

After a fantastic evening we all said our good-byes to our fabulous hosts and departed for our various motels. We stayed at the ‘Tuscany on Thames’ motel along with 13 other couples from our club and we finished off the evening by having a relaxing few drinks and some meaningful conversations around the motel pool. It was such a lovely balmy evening as we reflected what a great day we’d had and we then retired with thoughts of looking forward to what’s in store for us all tomorrow.

By Max & Carole Killingback

Arriving at John and Raewyn’s estate was a pleasure in itself – beautiful grounds and equally beautiful house. Three Gazebos had been erected with large tables – fully populated with thirsty Jag Club members, their glasses in full swing. The overflow of people spread out over the terrace.   Everyone laughed and joked about their experience of the last hour or so.  Two barbeques were fully laden with scrummy steaks and sausages – Thanks to Randal – who seemed to have broken the bottom half of his shaving mirror, and Russell Butterworth.

Soon the serving table was full of delicious meat, salads and potatoes which proved very popular with all present.  But alas, something was missing, oh that beautiful seafood salad.  Not to worry, it was quickly brought from the fridge and everyone made a dash to top up their plates – well worth waiting for.

John Bourke then welcomed everyone and carried out the presentations for the Orienteering run.

13 Answers Correct – Barbara Hogg. Well done Barbara considering she was driving and answered the questions absolutely correctly. Two others answered 13 correctly but with small errors.
Funniest  Answer (Piece of Machinery  = a Moa) – Shirley Creak.
First to Register – Jack and Beryl Dent.
Last to Register – Warren and Nola Spooner.
Longest Distance Travelled (in a Morris 1100 Utility) – Ron Hopps from Gisborne.
For Effort in Restoring an Aston Martin DB V8 Injected  -  Roger and Colleen Clark.

Congratulations were in order for Rochelle and Mark’s engagement – well done and all the best from all of us.

John also introduced Maralyn Davies as the new Club Secretary.

The turnout was extremely pleasing – 61 people in total and a large range of different Jaguars (plus an immaculate Morris Ute (Ron Hopps) and a gorgeous Aston Martin (Roger Clark).  John also mentioned that the BOP club is understood to be the third largest Jag club in NZ – Auckland and Christchurch being larger.  (Since the President’s Bash it has been reported we have passed the Christchurch Jag Club and we are now the second largest Jag Club in New Zealand).

Neville Barlow brought us up to date with the web site (which Jack Dent has now taken over). Neville would urge members to view the website as often as possible.

John closed the formalities by thanking all concerned who helped the day to become a resounding success.
A great selection of desserts was then served – again proving very popular.

Our sincere thanks again to John and Raewyn for their hospitality and friendship – the two main qualities we love about the people in this club.

By Peter and Maralyn Davies

The Jaguar Drivers’ Club (Bay of Plenty) Inc preceded the ‘President’s Bash’ with a countryside tour or orientation foray which started out from the Rustic Pumpkin Café beside SH 2, to the north of Katikati. Fortunately for all and sundry the weather for the day was simply outstanding.

The purpose of the orientation run was to test the observation skills of the participants against those of the course-setters.   They were requested to answer a series of sometimes testing questions in respect of places and things passed by whilst traversing the route.

A total of 29 mostly Jaguar cars were driven and crewed by almost all of the 59 members attending the ‘Bash’. That number was in excess of half of the Club’s membership, which represented an excellent turnout. Amongst the field of participants, the oldest Jaguar was the splendid XK150 Roadster of Don and Lynley Bowater, the model being produced between 1958 and 1961. Another classic Jaguar was the 1966 Mk2, 4-door saloon of Chris and Judi Simmonds, a model produced between late 1959 and 1967. Instead of one of their E-Types, Roger and Colleen Clark brought along their very attractive 1970 DBS V8 1 Aston Martin which Roger had totally rebuilt over the last few years.   And what a superb job he had achieved. Perhaps the most unusual runner was the Morris 1100 Utility (re-engined with a 1300 cc unit) of Ron and Dorothy Hopps of Gisborne, which stood in for their Jaguar XJ6.

The circuitous outing included section of the Old Tauranga Road, Waitawheta Road, Pukekauri Road, Frankton Road to Waihi Town Kenny Street, Barry Road, Golden Valley Road and Trig Road North to Waihi Beach Road. En route a series of testing questions were posed about this and that alongside thee quieter section of the run. Naturally there was a certain amount of bunching-up and reruns at this or that point of difficult to answer questions. Perhaps the most intriguing inquiry was in respect of a fairly derelict chink of machinery rusting away in the front paddock of No. 44 Waitawheta Road. I believe several of us elucidated from a resident of the property that the item was a Silage Turner.   Needless to advise that was an answer that did not satisfy the rather exacting question-setters.

The calculated length of the overall trip was some 82.6 kms. However some of us were led astray by a certain inexactitude in the ‘destructions’, missing the right-hand turning into Golden Valley Road. Thus, those of us in that frame of mind headed off towards the Coromandel. That is until we separately, if collectively realized that something was amiss and rerouted to retrace our correct course of ‘attack’ and resume everyday operations!

The venture ended at the splendid home and gardens of President John Bourke and his wife Raewyn where the actual ‘Bash’ took place.  Here an excellent summer afternoon BBQ was held at the conclusion of which orientation prizes were announced and presented. The overall winners of the excursion were Ken and Barbara Hogg in their Jaguar XK8 with a number of other participants receiving meritorious awards.

By Geoffrey “Grumpy” O’Connell

Around 11.30am we arrived at our lunch venue; the charming ‘Falls Retreat’. This delightful hidden gem was nestled amongst mature graceful trees opposite the Owharoa Falls, just off the main road in the Karangahake Gorge. Despite the fact that there is no sign on the main road (SH 2) advertising this amazing place (because Transit NZ won’t allow it), this place was buzzing with tourists, locals, passing cyclists and groups like us! This sprawling retreat is full of character with the main part of the cottage style restaurant being inside for the winter months and a huge outside area for ‘al fresco’ dining during the summer.

Because we were a large group of 34, we were ushered to a delightful part of their outdoor area which was all under cover and had a lovely welcoming blazing log fire. This was a very nice gesture as there was a bit of a nip in the air when we arrived. Because of this expansive outdoor area, they can cater for quite a large number of diners in the summer months and we noticed there were a lot of staff working that day who were all very welcoming and friendly and gave us excellent service. Most of us had a lunch size main and dessert and we all thought the food was very tasty.

The owners of the retreat, Brad and Emma, are a young couple who moved here from Melbourne in 2008 and opened the bistro 3 years later. Brad is a multi-award winning chef who serves delicious rustic food including gourmet wood-fired pizzas and a full a la carte menu. He also won the NZ Beef & Lamb Ambassador Award for two consecutive years – in 2013 and 2014.

The bistro is open for lunch as well as dinner at night and is also fully licensed. As it is such a popular bistro, you would need to book for dinner at night, especially during the winter months when their days of operation may be reduced and dining confined to inside.

After lunch, Sheryl had organised for us to visit the Victoria Battery Tramway & Museum just down the road but unfortunately their locomotives had broken down and weren’t able to be fixed in time for our visit. This late change of plan didn’t seem to matter to anyone because they were all so relaxed and it meant that they were able to stay longer at this lovely relaxing place and continue to enjoy each other’s company instead.

As only a couple of people in our group had been to this unique venue before, or even knew it existed, this was a very interesting Sunday drive and obviously enjoyed by all.

On Thursday 13th November, the Manawatu trip got underway. Seven beautiful, shining Jaguars met at the Pyes Pa crematorium. Unfortunately Sheryl and Merv were very poorly having picked up a bug on holiday in Norfolk Island, so our usual, stalwart trio could not join us. We hoped that Beth was not suffering from too much from a bad case of fomo, (fear of missing out!)

Another nonstarter, literally, was the E-Type belonging to Geoffrey and Rose, so sadly they did not join the trip.

We all had a take away coffee from the excellent café across the road then played ‘pass the empty cups’ until the last one, John, had to find a receptacle for them all.

With John declaring he didn’t want to go wrong, Randal led to Taupo.

Our pre ordered lunches at the Wairakei Golf Club were delicious and other members met us there. After a chat as though we hadn’t seen each other in decades, we left for our afternoon stop at Flat Hills Café. We weren’t going to arrive in Palmerston North hungry, that’s for sure.
The trip south was beautiful and uneventful, apart from Randal’s undercarriage scraping and screeching a bit. This he fixed when we got to Coachman’s, our hotel for four nights.

Drinks and nibbles in Judy and Selby’s room kicked off the evening. We had to have dinner in shifts as the restaurant couldn’t cope with our rabble all at once, so the girls went first. Max thought he’d come with the ladies in order to have an early night. When the boys arrived he wasn’t allowed to dine with the ‘skirts’, according to John who then plied him with red wine, resulting in Max having a great night and retiring much later than was good for him.

We had a wonderful first day of driving and getting to know our newest members who, I’m pleased to say, fitted in really well and will be allowed to come again!

FRIDAY
By Marilyn Jamieson

Meeting at 8.20am for directions for our Mystery Run we were given the directions for a very enjoyable run through the lovely countryside of the Manawatu region.

After exiting the hotel in small groups (so as to get across the road) we followed the instructions through town and out into the countryside. We met up with the first group who left a time before us, coming the opposite way at an intersection and had to scratch our heads – had we come the wrong way? – but no, our intrepid leader had taken a wrong turn, but found his way back!!!!

We wound our way up into the wind farm region with its beautiful views and the turbines looking very majestic. One of our group hadn’t been up there before and wanted to do the tourist thing, so we went onto the viewing area. I must admit I did stay in the car as the wind was very windy. I guess that is why they use the area for wind farms!!! The drive up through the valley with its beautiful views; the Manawatu River below with glimpses of snow on the Ruahine Ranges; all were really lovely. It seems amazing at this time of the year to still have snow so low down. As we travelled to our morning tea destination through the back roads we were amazed to find a farmer washing the road down (obviously where the cows crossed for their milking), I thought you wouldn’t have seen this in the old days. So much for progress, at least it keeps the underside of the Jags clean.

We arrived at the beautiful Oruawharo Homestead for our morning tea. We were provided with a Devonshire Tea in the new church, which had not long been transported there. This wonderful estate is used for weddings etc. and after our morning tea we wandered up to the homestead for a talk from the very interesting owner about the history of Oruawharo. It was amazing to think that before it was bought by the present owners it was going to be demolished in 10 days. The work that has been done since then is mindboggling, as we were told there were blackberry and vines growing all through the rooms and it was in a very dilapidated state of repair.

The ballroom, where we had our talk, had a beautiful carved timber ceiling that was cleaned from mould etc.with steel wool at 1 square metre a night. This room was very large and I felt for the workman’s neck, having to look up doing that job each night. It has been restored to its original state and looks lovely. If anyone has not been there it is well worth putting onto your future list of places to visit. We all could have listened to the talk for a lot longer with all its’ rich history.

As it was we left a bit late for our next destination, which was lunch in Dannevirke.  Everyone had to have a quick lunch as we were due at our next stop at a certain time, the Tokomaru Steam Engine Museum.  I must admit that at this point I left all our intrepid explorers and joined some of the others who wanted to do their own thing.  I had the call to do a bit of retail therapy rather than see a steam museum.

After leaving Dannevirke, another of the intrepid travellers took a wrong turn and seemed to think they were going to Napier. After an hours travelling they realized they were in the wrong direction and finally met up at the museum. The lady of the car however still managed to fit in some retail therapy upon arriving back In Palmerston North. My better half informed me that the museum was very interesting, especially for the guys, and was run by an older couple whose life has been restoring and taking care of all the machinery etc.

From there they travelled up to the Bent Horseshoe café for afternoon tea and then drove back to Palmerston North. A very diverse day with a few mishaps and a round trip of 230kms.

Thanks John for putting in lots of effort to organize this mystery run and I really did enjoy the morning we spent viewing that lovely old homestead.

LADIES’ DAY OUT
By Colleen Clark

Saturday dawned grey and miserable but thanks to Lindsay Bowater and her initiative the Ladies had a Mini Van, a very competent driver and a day of Chick company and shopping.

We left the Hotel deciding the steady rain wasn’t going to stop us as we were on a mission and shopping indoors had to be the way to go. Two hours later after many bank accounts were depleted, much to the delight of the local retailers; we thought we would give Crosshills and the much anticipated Craft Market a visit. The wind blew and the steady rain persisted but we still managed to shop. What a disappointment for the organisers as the Market was definitely a worth a visit with so many interesting stalls.

The weather and mud defeated us after an hour but the fun wasn’t over as our Van sank slowly into the mud. This required first pushing by girl Power followed closely by the organisers organising a tow rope. This wasn’t the fault of our driver – this must be understood by any men reading this. It was the fault of the traffic director who sent us downhill to park even though they were asked if we could park by the buses.

Carole Killingback suggested a visit to a wonderful antique shop in Sanson, which was enjoyed by all.

The day concluded with a beautiful group dinner at the Elms Restaurant and a brisk walk back to the Hotel as the Taxis were too busy to pick us up – and another successful Jag day out was concluded.

SATURDAY – AT THE RACES
By Bruce Jamieson

The boys are off to Mansfield Motor Races, the girls are off to the Markets. Well that’s the idea anyway. But Jim Hickey and his weather changed things a bit for us. The rain arrived, going side-ways at 90km an hour. But only for the morning anyway Jim told us.

We all met in the foyer after breakfast for team brief from Camp Leader John, looking for Plan B. Plan A, the Motor races to be looked at as soon as the rain eased. While looking for Plan B, to fill in the morning, Roger Clark spied a chap in the foyer wearing shiny red shoes, but he also had a Ferrari shirt to match. After talking to him we were told there was a Big Boy’s Toys Show on at the Showgrounds. That was Plan B for the morning.

At the hotel in the Conference Room, off the foyer there just happened to be a wedding type exhibition, with all types of gowns and attire on mannequins. Roger once again spied one of these mannequins wearing frilly bras and knickers and he thought he might take it for a dance. When Ron Hopps saw this, he couldn’t help but ask Roger if he preferred his women faceless or legless, but this one was totally armless.

The boys were then off on Plan B to Big Boys’ Toys until the weather cleared.  After looking around the show Bruce McDiarmid and self had a coffee. I put my empty paper cup in the rubbish bin, but Bruce put his half full cup in what he thought was a rubbish bin. This just happened to be an exhibitor’s spare stock bin – OOPS!!!!

The rain cleared, but it was still blowing. Back to Plan A, the Motor Races, 20 minutes away. Car-pooling, 4 E-Types lead, followed by EX 150, EJS and then myself in my Silverstone. The rain had stopped and by the time we arrived at Mansfield the sun was out, but the wind was still blowing at 90km!!!!!!! The track was drying fast, so it was agreed a good day’s racing was to be had.

Warrick Hickling had his V12 EX120 race car there for the first time. It is still a work in progress, I was told. With 700 to 800 real live horses up front, 4 turbos, it sure goes. The first race he got 2nd.  Second race he blew a turbo, but still managed a 3rd. A credit to Warrick and his team. In short the racing was great.

We headed back to Palmy knowing the ladies would have had a great day also.

An hour after we had returned from Mansfield an XJS owner turned up.  When asked, “where have you been”?  XJS driver replied – half way to Wanganui.

It was a great and interesting day, with a lot of us coming back with red faces – (from the wind…………….)!!

MONDAY
By Stephen Ward

The winds were still howling but the rain showers were getting more infrequent. Up, refuelled and ready at the early time of 8.30 am to meet up with the Manawatu Jaguar Club and their ‘Posh Picnic’ day.

Meeting point was the Ashhurst Domain where we found twenty cars from the local club which together with our lot made quite an impressive sight as we wound our way to the picnic area on the Totara Reserve further up the Pohangina valley. What a grand sight it was, nestled in the trees, away from the wind. The locals brought out their china and silver cutlery together with heaps of cucumber sandwiches, scones, etc. I would have made them all winners but due to members voting Don Irvine and Glenys Bird won the bottle of wine. Our tables/ground rugs looked very meagre in comparison but we weren’t ‘Posh Picnic’ minded.

After lunch we made our farewells and headed further up the valley following our leaders, John and Raewyn Bourke. Really great roads here, well sealed and no traffic. On to the Heritage Rhododendron Park near Kimbolton for coffee ($5 entry fee included a cup of coffee and a biscuit) but no time to look around at the gardens which would have taken a few hours, yet we all had to fill in the attendance book!

From here it was down the long straight road to Feilding to the Coach House Museum and their wonderfully large, new building. Here were displays of Maori settlement and early European history together with period farming implements, very well done.

Then a race back to the hotel and the obligatory pre-dinner drinks in one of the rooms. Actually two rooms were used this time  as the ladies were so noisy they had to vacate to a second room but still commanding a steady flow of drinks to be brought to them. Another fine dining experience at the hotel and then off to bed, well for me and Denise at any rate, and so the end to another great few days away with the BOP JDC, many thanks to the organisers. By the time we arrived back in Auckland we had travelled about 1,000 MILES, what a great way to spend six days, even if petrol did work out at 70 cents a mile!