The Beaches to Bowral & Chevalier Car Show Run BEACHES TO BOWRAL & CHEVALIER CAR SHOW RUN RUN COORDINATOR: Grant Freeman 9521 2556 Sunday morning saw 5 starters at Macca’s Heathcote assemble for the run to Bowral, 1 Mazda MX 5, 3 Mini Cooper S’s and one MGB whose driver queried the ability of the three shoeboxes to keep up the pace. Nothing like a bit of humour to start the day off with (well I thought it was funny !). Down the Highway to Waterfall turning left and through the National Park to Stanwell Tops, along the coast via The Sea Cliff Bridge road then up Bulli Pass turning south again, onto Five Islands Road where our Pathfinder turned left instead of right heading us back to Sydney. A quick turn around the block and we were heading south once again. Taking the Picton Road then left into Mt Keira Rd and a right into Harry Graham Drive. This road has been closed for the past year or two as the local council did major works in one section to fix the falling rocks problem. It is a spectacular drive through lush ferns, huge gums and glimpses of the coast as we cross the edge of the escarpment. After a few kilometres we passed through the historic village of Kembla Heights where the old miners cottages are looking in great condition. A bit further on we pass the Mt Kembla Hotel which was built in 1898 and which I was told is the oldest ‘clap board hotel in Oz’. Back onto the Freeway for a short sprint to Albion Park where we turned west for the run up the Macquarrie Pass National Park. As we approached the bottom of the pass we caught up with a group of classics also on their way to Bowral, several FJ’s, a Monaro GTS coupe and a few others. Fantastic run up the Pass. At the top and before Robertson we took the tourist road (Kangaloon Road) and this is one you should try if you haven’t already. The most beautiful countryside and forests of Grey Gums and White Gums, truly not to be missed. Arriving in Bowral we rested over a  coffee before heading off to Chevalier College. The Car Show had he usual display of Classic vehicles, Hot Rods, Utes, Trucks, Motor Cycles along with stalls selling food and drinks, bric a brack etc, and a few rides for the kids. Lots of visitors and plenty of parking. When my navigator and I were getting ready to leave, I found it necessary to chastise her severely for failing to remind me to turn the head lights off, anyway after having her push me around the College for a while to no avail, a 30 minute halt was called while we waited for the NRMA. MGB’s with dead flat batteries don’t like to push start apparently because the electric fuel pump is also out of action ! All in all it was a great day, travelled through lots of scenic places and we had a thoroughly good time. I would like to thank Grant & Loray Freeman for putting it all together, it is a shame we didn’t have few more Meggers as these runs take more organising than one would imagine and you missed a memorable day. Report by John Kinnane Report by Grant & Loray Freeman Photo by Loray Freeman Beaches to Bowral Run – 30 October 2011 The day dawned overcast and a little cool, well it was 6 am – perfect weather for top down MX5 motoring.  John and Pam Kinnane from the MEG Club met us in their MGB at Heathcote McDonalds where we were joined by three Mini’s from the Mini Car Club.  Our fearless leader aka Doug Linklater, braved the early morning to wish us well as we drove off into the fog.   Down through the National Park, onto the Seacliff Bridge, along the coast road, up Bulli Pass, down the F6, along Picton Road and down the escarpment to the picturesque town of Mt Kembla.   At this stage we had a terrific, traffic free run and absolutely wonderful weather! A slight error on the next turn had us heading back to Sydney but a quick left put us in Figtree where we stopped for a 5 minute comfort stop.  Talk about your Austin Powers moment!   How much can a bladder hold? We set off again and this time took the correct exit and headed for Macquarie Pass.  We crawled along the road from Albion Park hoping to let any cars in front be well ahead of us for the trip up the pass, but despite this we caught up with the traffic which consisted of FJ & FX Holdens, a Monaro and a Hot Rod.  Once the overtaking lane came into view we passed them as the FJ was having some overheating problems.  Onto to Tourist Road which is a great road with great scenery! 2.5 hours after leaving Heathcote we arrived in Bowral for breakfast.  John & Pam took the dog for a walk, the Highway Patrol looked us over and we continued on our way to Chevalier College to check out the hundreds of cars in the warm sunshine. After having a look around and catching up with some old friends, we made our way home via back roads...the only highway  we used was from Waterfall to Sutherland. A total of 300 kms....great roads, great company and if you missed it you missed a great day! Grant.