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A 26-day journey from Perth to Sydney in your classic car

8 December, 2014

There’s those road trips that regularly feature on ‘things to do before you die’ lists, around Europe and across America for example. Closer to home, the obligatory trip around both the North and South Island is always worthwhile, but New Zealand’s always had a deficit of size. For that, our neighbours across the ditch have the answer — the Perth to Sydney Classic Car Tour.

The tour covers 26 days and participants stay in motels and hotels covering 3½ to 5-star ratings throughout the trip. Classic car owners are already preparing for the next tour, departing Perth in August 2015, with cars set to be shipped from Christchurch and Auckland.

From Perth, the convoy will visit most of the best sites Western Australia has to offer. These include Cape Leeuwin, Australia’s most south-westerly point, the famed wine and surf town of Margaret River, and Albany, the original home of ANZAC, with great celebrations in 2015 to commemorate 100 years since the Gallipoli landings.

Memorable road signs in traditional Aussie fashion

South Australia is the next destination, covering the Nullarbor Plain over the course of three days, and driving alongside southern right whales and their calves in the Great Australian Bight. Port Lincoln is the destination after the Nullarbor, and Wes Davies, the event organizer, hopes that the Lincoln Classic Car Club will turn out in force once more to greet the travellers, as they did on the last trip in 2013.

A great sign on the Nullarbor

In stark contrast to the barren beauty of the Nullarbor is the city of Adelaide, reached via fertile winery regions. From Adelaide, the convoy travel through Northern Victoria to the town of Wentworth where the Darling and Murray River systems meet at the NSW and Victoria border. Providing a variety of countryside, cities, and everything in-between is the next destination of Melbourne, before heading through the Snowy Mountains, and on to the capital city of Canberra.

Early morning line up at Renmark, near the SA/NSW/Victoria border

The epic cross-country wander covers over 7500km, and 2015’s iteration already has eight couples and cars booked. Wes says that although the route has not changed, he’s learned a lot from the first trip in 2013 — hence there’s been a few changes to the support processes. All cars are now provided with handheld radios and matching GPS units, and Wes will carry a satellite phone and towing dolly as further support. You can’t be too safe when it comes to old cars and big country! Of course, these kinds of trips are as much about the experience as the people you meet, and the Perth to Sydney Classic Car Tour offers the best of both. To book your Australian adventure, contact Wes Davies on 0800 533 868.

All done — the line up at North Sydney, under the Harbour Bridge

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.