Cooma is one of those towns an hour or so from Canberra which we frequently drive through without stopping because we are setting off for some more exotic location and just want to get there and set up camp. Well on Saturday we decided to stop for a change and visit Motorfest and it was certainly worthwhile. Cooma Showground was full to capacity with vehicles on display, I estimate there were around 500 at least. An absolutely remarkable turnout for a town with a population under 7000. You can see how many vehicles were there in the photo below, if you look carefully you can just make out the Club’s white pergola and our vehicles near the white bus on the right of the above photo.
There were the obligatory V8 Falcons, Commodores and Toranas lovingly displayed in concours condition. There was also the rare and unusual: a V12 Toyota Century, various enormous Yank Tanks, a smattering of Italian supercars, and even a display of early bull dozers. The stars of the show were of course the Series Land Rovers, admired by all and the subject of much envy.
The purpose of the trip was to let people know about what our Club has to offer and we did speak to a couple of prospective members. We will see if anything comes of this. Perhaps more important than drumming up members was the opportunity to get to know existing members. As new members it was a great opportunity for Sue and I to have a chat, hear about all the interesting places people have been and learn about the Club. We met some other members and former members who dropped by for a chat, Graeme Williams from Bega, John & Margaret Cooper, and Harriett Foster & Don Howard.
To sum up: a nice relaxed social outing, the weather gods were nice for a change, the company was agreeable and everyone enjoyed themselves. You can’t ask for much more than that.
And if you want to see more photos of the day, go to the Club’s Facebook page, and you will find them there under Media/Albums.
Participants:
Matt Bolton: Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series
Andrew Lockley: Land Rover Discovery 4
Peter Mercer: Land Rover Series 2
Ralph Radovan: Jeep SRT Grand Cherokee
Ian Voerman & Annie Parkinson: Land Rover Series 3
David & Margo Wade: Land Rover Defender TD5
Rob & Sue Phillips: Nissan Navara
(Trip Report by Rob Phillips)