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Dub day afternoon

27 April, 2023

VWs’ annual gathering in der Kapital attracts more each year
By Christopher Moor

 A Volkswagen show happened on Sunday December 11, exactly a fortnight before Christmas. Wellington’s fifth annual biggest little VW show again took over the car park for the day at the Parrotdog bar, Lyall Bay, in 2022. Classics from the greater Wellington region and beyond graced the concourse.
Organiser Andy Bray was very happy with the numbers, estimating 38 had parked up – my total was 40 including the Type 2 Kombi and a camper, the welcoming crew at the gate. There appeared to be more Kombis — the generic type 2 vans – and campers taking part in 2022 than in 2021.
He didn’t mention the weather, which was fair enough as it was nothing to complain about; the show’s history of fine days continued uninterrupted.

A 1985 Audi Quattro and two 1969 Porsches, including Andy’s 911E, represented other Volkswagen divisions in their little own area, prompting someone to ask if this was the naughty boys’ corner.
The oldest two cars I saw were two 1956 saloons with oval rear windows and I remembered the pale green one from previous years. Its roof rack was packed with luggage, so we could only hope this was for a summer holiday the owner might soon be enjoying. A venetian blind over the rear window took me back to when the VW was a new kid on New Zealand roads in the 1950s.
Eye catching personalised plates on head turning cars are something I look out for at shows. I achieved both with a 1969 purple metallic Beetle that told me IM BUGED. Another happy memory for me from last year was a 1966 VW Kombi with the registration HIS VW.
Parrotdog is a dog-friendly venue. Some car owners brought their dogs with them, and several families included theirs in their visit to the VWs.  It was a fun outing for everyone and their best friends, made more enjoyable by the free entry.

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.

A diamond in the rough

24 June, 2025

Two years ago, Lew finished a thorough restoration and the impressive ute has taken on a new life and colour. Lew plays down the amount of effort required but, despite his protestations, I suspect he put a lot of time into the project. A few unwanted tenants were evicted along the way.
“It didn’t take me long. There had been mice living in the firewall, which had caused a bit of damage. It apparently broke down and was pushed into a shed. It was 20 years to the day when I pulled it out and it sat in my other shed for 3 years before I started on it. That’s why it’s in such good order — it’s been kept in a shed for so long and still is.”