The meeting place for the run to the Rezz Hotel on the 29th October started at St George Bakehouse, Salisbury Plains at 9.45am and departed at 10.25 am. Eighteen vettes arrived and parked and everyone gathered inside for coffee and cake, yum! Chatting away, and as usual time had gotten away from us so l shuffled all the members outside for the safety briefing and rundown of the cruise.
This run was a great team effort by, myself, Joy, Peter& Shirelee, thank you to all as it made the run more fun, as they say more hands make light work. An overall talk about the run and off we go. This run only had one set of traffic lights turning off to One Tree Hill, but l am sure l saw more than one tree, go figure that, it all ran smoothly, until Kersbrook where Tony had issues with the big block with the flatbed as his only option to get home. In the end, it was a minor electrical issue. We missed you both Tony.
Stopping at chain of ponds so no one would miss the turn off, we then turned onto Tippett Rd then onto Gorge Rd. It is a lovely sight to see a large number of vettes winding through the countryside on a perfect spring day. Time was on our side so l decided to stop at the kangaroo creek dam carpark for photo opportunities, it was tight but we all got to park, stretch our legs and take a few photos. Several motorbikes (Wayne Gardner wannabes) came through past us quite fast, so with that, it was off on the last leg of our run to the Rezz for lunch.
The peace and tranquillity (Serenity Now!) of Thorndon Park, opposite the Rezz Hotel was broken at about 11:30am with the arrival of the cavalcade, Fred Hamood, the owner of the hotel was there to greet everyone and virtually everyone in the hotel rushed outside to view the spectacle.
Some members had chosen to go direct to the hotel, so they assisted with the parking of the vettes on the lawn area out the front of the hotel. We had a full house of twenty-three vettes, so had to use the spill over section for parking as well.
Picnic tables and umbrellas had been set up for us near our vehicles, under the shade of gumtrees for an enjoyable lunch and afternoon. Everyone grabbed a drink and staff came to our tables to take lunch orders. In the meantime, Fred the hotel owner had taken a real liking to a blue C8, so Ricky the owner was kind enough to take Fred for a drive, you couldn’t wipe the smile from his face, as it was his first time in a vette, and what a vette it is, thank you very much Ricky. I hear Fred has been scrolling the classifieds looking for a new “company” vehicle. Lunch arrived and was enjoyed by all, perfect weather and great company for a Sunday afternoon picnic amongst Corvettes overlooking Thorndon Park.
Shirelee conducted the raffle with about 20 prizes on offer for members (car cleaning kits, model Corvettes, garage signs and other goodies) and there will be a few winners using their car cleaning kits already. On behalf of the club, we also presented Fred with a club shirt and a few other goodies for his generosity in hosting us and looking after us on the day, highly possible we could have him as a new member in the near future.
Whilst everyone was enjoying lunch, Fred was busy inspecting our Corvettes to pick his favourite, which was difficult for him. In the end he narrowed it down to three and chose the “McGarrett”, Kirsty Smith’s (and her detailer Sean’s) Z06 C7, and presented them with a commemorative, “Vettes at the Rezz 2023” leather bound wine box, congratulations Kirsty and Sean!
The Corvettes looked impressive lined up in front of the hotel; they were a big hit with patrons, families and kids visiting Thorndon Park and with a steady stream of members of the public stopping and admiring them throughout the day.
A few more drinks were consumed and members started leaving at about 2:30pm with the last of us departing at 3:30pm. Feedback from members received so far has been very positive, with members asking if this will be an annual event? Stay tuned. Thank you to all members who attended and supported the club run and lunch, we hope you enjoyed the day.
Graeme and Joy, Peter and Shirelee.
