Tasmania Tour 2014

TigerBlue

TigerBlue

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Sunbeam and Talbot Car Club Inc. 2014 National Event 17 -21 April 2014

Jubilee Fifty Fifth Anniversary of the Sunbeam Alpine

Fiftieth Year Celebration of the Sunbeam Tiger.

Continuing as The 2014 Tasmanian Targa Tour 22 – 28 April 2014

What is the Tasmanian Targa? http://www.targa.com.au/tc/page_standard.asp?asset_id=19237


Tour day minus 3 Bonnie and I arrived in Melbourne on April 15th and were met by Event Organizers Darrel and Marianne Misso. Soon we were checked into our room and settled in. Next our wheels for the duration of the Tours arrived. Australian Michael K. (Member of CAT) is working in China but arranged for a friend and Sunbeam owner Lance Boyd to deliver Michael's '63 SII Alpine for our use in Melbourne and Tasmania.

Down under they drive on the left side of course :eek:. To have some time to learn the quirks of driving the Alpine, Lance gave me a demo and quick lesson on driving in the right seat! I had to work out getting into the tight racing seat myself!

Tour day minus 2 We had a free afternoon and decided a drive out to the Yarra wine country, would give me some “seat time” to get more proficient in the car and practice not getting in accidents. It worked out well as a test of sorts plus we enjoyed the scenery and checked out some wine as well.

Tour day Minus 1 The Kiwis David & Judith Craw and Russel and Robyn Craw had shipped their Tigers in from Christchurch and were at the same hotel. We accepted plans to drive with them and locals Terry & Val Sully (SV) to the Ferry Terminal. Made it easy for us through heavy Melbourne traffic. Also great company for a late delicious lunch at the beach before arriving at the Ferry Terminal. By 7:00 pm or so our group and a hundred others were loaded on the O'nite Ferry to Devonport, Tasmania.

Some pic's below. The "Meat" of the actual tour will be posted in a series here and each subsequent posting will have more pic's. Be patient and the "rest of the story" will come in time.

BTW:The "White" Sunbeam in the photos belongs to David Craw, NZ who conceived and built it for himself I might add. The familiar looking trim, lights and mirrors are "Mini" Powered by 5.0 Ford FI and Automatic.

TigerBlue
 
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Nice pics and looks like you had a fun time. Did you get any pics of the white "tiger" next to a Rootes Tiger?
 
Grasshopper

subsequent posting will have more pic's. (like I said) Be patient kidz and the "rest of the story" will come in time.

Questions will be answered? or not when I am done reporting on the trip.

TigerBlue
 
Days 1 – 3 The Sunbeam National Event SAT in TAS

Soon after regrouping we left the Ferry Terminal behind and looked forward to reaching the host Hotel, the Tamar Valley Resort in Grindelwald, by early afternoon.

We arrived at the Elizabeth Town Bakery in the rain and downed a generous (typical of all Australian meals) breakfast. Later the rain all but stopped as we drove into the town of Sheffield. Many of the buildings were painted with murals! See photos later in this post. Then we drove through Mole Creek and the Gog Range Regional Reserve on the way to Longford and lunch. These weren't casual drives. A good portion of the route was on minimally traveled Targa roads. We used follow the car ahead navigation technique.

That worked well enough to find the resort. No sooner had we settled in and it was Happy Hour and Barbecue Dinner.

Day 2 of the Tour, Saturday started with big breakfast of course and a rambling sunny drive on more great sports car roads to the Scottsdale Art Gallery. All of the restaurant was reserved for our group and the food was plentiful and delicious. The owner of the gallery is the great great (great?) granddaughter of a Rootes family uncle. Maybe the black sheep of the family as he had free passage on a convict transport. Our group drove a different route back to the Resort via the Batman Bridge. Finished in 1968 the cable supported span connects the East and West Tamer Highways. We had some time and got the Alpine washed before more drinking and eating started. The theme for the Dinner Dance was Swinging Sixties! A memorable party I think.

Event Day 3 was Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny had hidden Cadbury chocolate eggs around our cabin. The first event was the Easter Bonnet Parade followed soon after by the display and judging of the cars. Series I, II, III Alpine winner was the tall American bloke, me. Trophy to M. King - after all it was his car. In the PM we went to the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Center. A former Gold mine and now a museum. Then checked out another winery on the way back to Tamar and the Awards Dinner concluding the National Event with another whole week of Beamer fun ahead.

Rick N Bonnie
 
The Cake?

Rick - Thanks for taking the time to regale us with the trip you and Bonnie took and the wonderful time you had. Loved the photos. And congratulations on winning (another) trophy for Michael.

But the cake - I'm surprised that no one has commented on it. :confused:
 
The Extended TAS Tour starts

Day 4 Monday after Easter. First day of the diehards continuing on with this crazy Targa Tour for Sunbeams. It was a gray drizzly day starting with breckie in the Tamar Valley then navigating to lunch in Ulverstone. Meat and scallop pies were great! Leaving Ulverstone traffic lights separated the cars into about equal groups of 5 & 5? Our group behind Peter & Renata McDonald stayed on the Targa course roads. Wet and dry always turning and shifting. I was getting it as far as the O' Drive transmission. Works in third and often just right gearing when the grade is too steep for a shift to fourth. Driving the Ridgley Highway we reached the Lodge at Cradle Mountain. A nice rustic place with comfy rooms with fireplaces. (gas)
 
More driving and a Boat Tour

Day 5 & 6 Cradle Mountain to Strahan (pronouced Strawn one syllable). Before departure some went out to Dove Lake in hopes of a break in the overcast. Not! Later we were all back in Tullah for soup, sandwiches and coffee. Again two recommended routes and we always opted for the longer one dishing up more Targa roads. Our reward was a wonderful seafood buffet dinner.

Strahan is on Macquarie Harbor and has boat trips in the harbor and up the Gordon River. Our boat trip took us to historic Sarah Island Convict Labor Camp ruins and to a very dense rain forest. A quite ample lunch was included. That is what we did on our full day in Strahan. No driving! Huge portions of fish & chips in Strahan for dinner that night.

We learned a lot of history of Van Diemen's Land as Tasmania was first known. One thing in particular we learned is how much of Tassie has been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Cradle Mountain is one and the Gordon River is another.

Day 7 we will go to the Port of Hobart. Last picture of Alpine in Queenstown on the way to Hobart. We had a wide range of weather!
 
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Day 7 to Hobart

After the regular morning roll call and briefing, this time in the rain, we headed for Hobart. Our first rest stop was in Queenstown, a historic mining town. Due to a combination of many years of smelter fumes, heavy rainfall & shallow topsoil, the mountains surrounding Queenstown are bare of foliage. While stopped we experienced some of the heavy rainfall including several minutes of outright hail. Press on! Up and over the mountains and nary a straight bit of road more than a hundred yards long. During lunch in the now forested mountains, it snowed. Press on! After another driving break along the way we gradually encountered more civilization. And then we were in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. We navigated the downtown traffic to our Sandy Bay hotel, the Wrest Point Casino. That is not a typo BTW; “Wrest” was the name.

The "line up" of cars pic was taken a couple days later before leaving Hobart.
 
Day 8 Expect the unexpected.

Day 8 Anzac Day. A National day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. It broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”. Our roll call at Wrest Point included observance of the holiday and a presentation on the origins of ANZAC day. Several veterans in our party were duly recognized.

Bonnie and I opted to give the Alpine a day off (no Targa roads) and bummed a ride in the backseat of Mal and Suzanne's Jaguar Saloon V-12. Joining the drive for the day were a couple locals. First stop was the country home of our new friends who were driving a recently restored Hillman (pea green over white). Reportedly they spotted the Hillman shell in somebody's yard. It was offered to them free if they agreed to also remove all of the other car parts on the property.

Their “barn” was full of a fascinating assortment of automobiles ranging from Imps to a Rolls Royce convertible which had been owned by the man's father and is still in the family (needs restoration). And a dog who would chase a stick. Something for everyone!
 
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Day 8 Continued to amaze us

Our second destination was called the Tahune Airwalk. It's a tourist venue offering a series of high walkways meandering among the treetops and offering dramatic views of the Huon River and mountain beyond. Lunch at the Airwalk cafeteria.

Rick and Bonnie
 
TAS Tour Plus

Days 9, 10 & 11. Started with getting together at the car park. Soon we were driving into downtown Hobart to park on the Parliament House lawns. There we showed the Sunbeams and Talbots during the Saturday Salamanca Market. It's a very popular outdoor Market. There must have been nearly a hundred venders with everything under the sun but with a slant towards local Tasmanian products.

Later that sun went missing and soon it was raining. We learned that plans had changed to depart early and we tagged on. Nearly were split off the back by red lights navigating the city to the expressway out of Hobart. A hard rain was falling by then and it was a bit dicey what with the windows fogging and fast busy traffic. We all arrived 121 Km up the road in Ross where we regrouped for lunch in a pie shop. The rain quit and we had some sun all the way to The Ferry Terminal. Another overnight Ferry ride and we were back at the Port of Melbourne. The Tour had ended but the fun had not.

SAT members arranged a luncheon in Mornington on the shores of Port Phillip Bay. We met some frendly new Sunbeamers and saw some Rootes automobiles which were not able to make the Tour.

Rick & Bonnie
 
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