Sunday 17 April 2011: The morning welcomed us with bright sunshine and the wet weather of the day before was soon forgotten as Auckland club cars converged at the Henderson Westgate Shopping Centre.
Although we were kept in suspense about the route from Henderson to Wenderholm, our usual Die-Hard participants were present, enthusiastic to come together and have a casual chat before taking a drive through the country side. By 10.30 am, we all rolled out of Westgate on our scenic drive to the Regional Park at Wenderholm.
Once again, Jack Nazer exceeded all expectations as his route guided us along our country roads with breathtaking panoramic views, which many of us would never have known existed. Answering a few puzzles on monuments, letterboxes as well as some cryptic clues kept the passengers busy as we headed on our way past the hot springs at Waiwera and on to Wenderholm.
Our club barbecue was brought in by Hein Vankan, while David Winn got us the most delicious sausages. Thomas Muller and David Winn manned the barbecue to produce a marvelous picnic lunch for all those who sat around together and enjoyed the garden like surroundings. I counted a total of 10 Auckland club cars at the Regional Park while Barry Bollington was busy with his camera capturing the impressive lineup of our cars as Rod polished his beautiful E320.
Children enjoyed the company of their parents as well as grand parents as they played around the trees while Persees, Baji and Thomas strolled off for a 30 minute walk along the beach after the satisfying lunch.
A truly enjoyable day for all those who attended and I am sure we would all love to do it again with a larger group in the near future. So come on guys… Keep an eye out for our events in the club magazine and on the website and we hope to see you all in larger numbers as we meet and greet each other, time and again on these casual events.
Baji Antia.
