With the much-needed rest from the previous day not as long as it could have been, we were woken up for day three by what sounded like a series of long burnouts.
Thankfully it wasn’t, it was actually the Woodstock Thunder Club hunting out the noisiest cars, and the drivers in the line up for the Castrol Edge Thunder Cruise to Onemana were doing their best to give them what they were after.
Entrants were already lining up from 5.05am due to the cruise being so popular and parking spots at the Onemana Beach Reserve so sought after. Considering the cruise didn’t leave until 11am, that was pretty dedicated.
The trip to Onemana from Williamson Park is only 10km, but the parade loops weaves its way around town first to make sure all bystanders get more space to check it out. The extended loop was much appreciated by drivers at the team from Tip Top were giving out Strawberry Toppas at ‘Toppa Corner’ along the way. With the sun doing its best to melt the tarmac, the ice cream went down a treat.
The beachfront reserve went from peaceful and calm one minute and action-packed the next as the cars flowed in. It was great to see the local food vendors making the most of the huge crowds but it would have been nicer to see a few more mobile vendors present to ease the load and shorten the queues. But there was plenty to look at during the wait, and plenty of people to talk to, trade stands to check out, and bands to sit down and relax in front of.
Look out for coverage in our next issue, on sale Monday April 7, and our full 122-page coverage in our 2014 Beach Hop Annual, on sale late April.
