Te Aroha Cruise In - written by Peter Lee

​After a very early alarm call we made it to BP Papakura where Alan and Francis Huljich were waiting for us to cruise down to Te Aroha. We chose the direct route down Highway 1 onto 2, driving to Netherton and turning right into Awaiti Rd, then Highway 26 to Te Aroha.
 
 We arrived a little after 9am and were lucky to get admitted to parking in one of the back streets. It was the last of the allocated show car parking areas, and not long after we got in they closed admission. Being one of the 1st big car shows since the lock down, attendance was well up on previous years.
 
This year there was a greater mix of club displays, ranging from VW kombis and beetles to Zephyrs,  Falcons, Jaguars, Lotus sports cars and the Parlor Van Club, all adding to the show. Notable was a lovely Mk1 Lotus Cortina, along with a little Fiat Bambina tucked amongst the US iron, and a very nice Austin Healy Big 6 which just added interest to the whole Cruise In.
 
The sculptures sited up and down the main street also add to the show spectacle. This year there was only 1 band playing all the old favorites. They had two market places, one on the clock tower road, the other in the domain at the bottom end of town.
 
The US sourced cars and trucks were just awesome, with just about something for everyone. The standard is always on a upward trend and new and better builds keep appearing at these outings. There where so many vehicles on show that you just had to stop and pay close attention to the detail in the build, and it is impossible to put into words how to describe the standard of some of these vehicles. There where so many people wandering looking at the displays that it was difficult to get photos, but the ones I managed to take show how good some of the cars that were at Te Aroha.
 
We ran into several club members who had also traveled down, all enjoying the show, which was well worth the early morning alarm on a warm sunny day to be there. Cheers, Peter