Cayenne/Macan Register Run

Pretty soon we were onto the Western Highway and driving at the 110 kph speed limit in safety and comfort but not for long as the next turn took us onto the Pentland Hills Road which is the old Hamilton Highway and is a single lane road in either direction. How fortunate are we that the various Victorian Governments have created the wonderful major freeways throughout Victoria? I just wish a little more foresight had been shown in building some tunnels under Melbourne to reduce the constant traffic congestion that we see every day. This road takes us into the town of Myrniong and I think of the number of times I have had to spell Myrniong when confirming my previous address< Myrniong Grove, in Hawthorn East. We go past The Plough and I make a note to check out the menu as the place looks interesting.

The run notes then say to turn right onto the Greendale - Myrniong Road towards Greendale, however, I have the feeling some of the GT cars may have turned back onto the Western Freeway. I will explain this later. Through the hills and down into Greendale where there is a quaint little pub where I took my friend from New York for a drink years ago. It was an eye opener for her having just hopped of a plane from the Big Apple. The locals were quite impressed as well.

From Greendale we headed for Trentham and received the rain that was forecast for the day. It got pretty cold, down to 6 Degrees and the rain was pretty heavy. Interesting that the aerodynamic shape of the 911 means that the rear window remains dry at speed above 80 kph.

Turning right at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Trentham I am thinking that Ken and Harriet have prepared the ultimate pub crawl in the west of Melbourne. Now it’s on to Woodend and we pass the Pig and Whistle hotel, go figure another pub. Driving through Woodend I am seriously focussed on finding the clock tower as it marks where we turn right. There it is right opposite the Holgate hotel where I have been on a midweek run with Michael O’Brien, what a great idea these were, let’s do some more.

Then it was up over Mt Macedon and into the fog and boy its cold outside but at least the rain has gone and the roads are dry again. We pass the Mt Macedon hotel and I recall that it was owned by the used car salesman Kevin Dennis a long time ago. We turn left into Syndicate Road and pass some beautiful properties many of which were established in the early 1900’s as a place to escape the Melbourne summer heat. We pass a huge horse training complex and I wonder who owns it and that there must be money in racing. Through the three single lane bridges hoping that Porsche cars have right of way after slowing to 60 kph. Focus on the sharp right turn into Barringo Road or end up in a farmers shed. What a “barn find” that would be. From here its pretty straightforward as we drive through New Gisborne and past the Baringo Food and Wine Co. Kon has taken us there before and serves great food at reasonable prices.

As we go through a series of roundabouts those GT cars from the “breakaway” pass those of us who stayed together in the Peloton and I think to myself, where have they been? Maybe a coffee stop along the way or checking out one of the many pubs.

We go through Gisborne and turn onto the Gisborne-Bacchus Marsh Road for a 32-kilometre drive on a relatively straight road in brilliant sunshine. Thanks to the forecasters at the bureau.

Soon after we arrived at the Bacchus Marsh Golf Club and were made welcome. The dining room has a good view overlooking the fairways and 18th hole and a big fireplace. The food was reasonably priced and the servings quite large. Not everyone came in for lunch and given that eight cars, drivers and passengers had pulled out prior to the start we were down on numbers which meant we were all able to sit on the one table and catch up with those we knew and meet some new friends.

There was lots of talk about the run which I really enjoyed and plenty of references to the Woodend clock tower which location is now firmly etched into my brain.

Being the great host Ken had arranged a raffle and the winners were able to select a bottle of fine wine. The winners were, Harriet Anson, Ken Anson (I see a trend forming here), Maria Del Gallo, Stephen Lofthouse and Debbie Weinbach. All seemed happy with their wine selection and we appreciated that Patrick was on hand to take the photos of the winners and I am sure some great shots of the people and cars on the run.

Many thanks to Ken and Harriet for organising the run and to Kon in absentia for preparing his run which we might do another day.

As we said goodbye and headed for home it was pretty apparent that all that attended had a great day.

As I head off, I am looking for reasonably priced petrol on the way home.

Prize winners:

Harriet Anson Maria Del Gallo Stephen Lofthouse Debbie Weinbach