Cruise Martinborough - January 28-31, 2021

​After attending the Orewa Rodders' Beach Festival for the last few years we decided to go down to the Cruize Martinborough  in the Wairarapa for a change of scenery. It was 3½ days of pure car fun, although over 9 hours driving down in 35 degrees with no A/C or a working temp gauge was a challenge, so we stopped at the Tui factory to cool down!

Thursday; the cruise was to Lake Ferry on flat straight roads - bliss.. along with afternoon wine tasting (not on the official agenda) as there are over a dozen wineries within easy distance from town.

Friday; a cruise to Masterton and a car show at lunch time, then in the afternoon a short drive to the Motoplex for a ‘Drive’ on the drag strip.  No times were taken as it was not an official drag outing but plenty of pedal to the metal as there was a flag drop to test how quick you can go, before heading back to Martinborough for an evening cruise to Greytown for drinks and dinner at the “Swan”.

Saturday; a car show in Martinborough town square, followed by a cruise and a car show/park up at the Tauherenikau Race course, which doubled up by holding the South Wairarapa country music festival. While a small number listened to the music, the majority watched the grasskana where some of the old cars had a blast in the farmer's paddock next to the parking. After a short interjection from a local, it was confirmed as an approved event and we continued to see a great selection of cars spinning around kicking up grass.

Sunday was the breakfast and prize giving which we missed as we left early. In total there were about 300 cars, so smallish compared to Beach Hop, Americana, and Orewa, but nice flat roads, along with meeting new people and seeing different cars was a plus.

Weather was cooler on the cruise days than the drive down, but it certainly didn't stop anything happening. The drive home was again hot and long and we stopped in Taupo to let the engine cool a little (new temp gauge in a container somewhere that was supposed to be installed before the trip). There was some powerboat racing on the lake, which was a bonus to see.

All in all we had a great time seeing different parts of this great country we have not been to before - I will not mention the low house prices compared to Auckland.                                                                               Regards, Chris & Barb Baker