Hi Steve,
I just read your editorial on the Classics, and thought I would jot a few lines on our reccy trip in the Elan to the Snowy Mountains region.
Carol and I left here Friday morning (with the roof on) in quite wet conditions to meet Colin in Wangaratta. We got almost as far as the Camelot Castle near Yellingbo and were advised that an accident ahead was holding up traffic for 2 hrs so we turned back to Cockatoo then went right towards Avonslea but took some wrong turns and ended back where we started so had to do it again, this time turning onto a different road which did take us via Macclesfield and Seville etc to Yarra Glen for a coffee stop. The rain eventually stopped and the remainder of the trip was uneventful.
Saturday morning was nice and fine as we departed Wangaratta and drove up through Beechworth, Yakandandah, Kiewa etc and onto the Murray Valley hwy where we got stuck behind a few cars and a slow horse float for about 20 km till we got to the only
passing lane in the whole stretch of road where we could put the pedal to the met—ooops fibreglass and get past the entire procession then it was clear road to our scheduled coffee break at Corryong. We also turned into Khancoban CBD?? to check if it has changed since we last stopped 20 years ago, and were joined by the MX5 club from Wodonga who were also in the mountains for the weekend. We left them after a bit of small talk and proceeded in normal sporting fashion up the hill, always mindful that the mobile cash register can be hidden anywhere but we managed to get to Jindabyne without seeing one. We gave both Elans a good Italian tune-up with several long stints in 2nd and 3rd up the steeper bits and left quite a bit of Michelin rubber on all corners.
On refuelling in Jindy, I had used 15 litres for the 200km spirited drive. We stayed over night at the Jindy Hotel with nice views of the lake and a terrific meal followed by well earned sleep and a full cooked breakfast before heading off through Berridale then Adaminaby for a coffee stop where we caught up with the MX5 group again. This time they were just leaving so we only had some bikies to ride/drive with till we turned left at Kiandra for the steep trip down the Elliot Way towards Tumbarumba then turned south and stopped at the historic cafe/PO at Tintaldra where we were entertained by a wonderful lady called Betty Walton who writes ballads and poems
as well as tell great stories about the region. She is a real legend and well worth the stop.
The next stretch of winding road follows the Murray River to the Hume Dam where we decided to join the freeway for the final leg back to Wangaratta as we were a bit weary after doing the equivalent of two six hour enduros in the two days. We stayed there the night and arrived back in Drouin Monday afternoon.
Final fuel top up totalled 100lts for the 1500km trip= better than 40 mpg. I am puzzled how the Webers give that result on such a drive, and almost the same when driven sedately on the economy run.
The original idea for this trip was to see if it would be suitable for a future Cup Weekend event, but having completed it I now think it would need at least 5 days to enable a more relaxing pace and a rest day in the middle. (Not everyone would enjoy the pace for such extended periods.)
Cheers
Ian Mallows