By Stephen Broadbent

The inaugural Piha run took advantage of the daylight saving clock change and allowed everyone a Sunday sleep in for the 1pm start.

Meeting at the Northwest shopping Centre from 12.45 we expected maybe 5 or so cars, so it was a surprise to all to have 17 cars assemble on the roof top car park. Two new members Steff and Alasdair brought along a lovely 1275GT and a mk1 Cooper. Greetings done and the first assembly point mapped into GPS’s and iPhones, Ray brought a new twist by offering to take the lead with Jo as co-pilot.  What a lead it was, lovely flowing twisty roads, ideal for Minis, saw us pull on the side of the Piha road with everyone still in group. The drive over to Piha was done in sunshine and the spiral down to the parking location at North Piha led to many photo opportunities, waves and smiles from those out enjoying their Sunday. Bringing up the rear in the only BMW Mini in the group gave me a chance to see people with Cell Phones videoing us, smiling and waving.

Picnic time at the overcast North Piha surf club gave us time to chat and take some photos before heading back to Piha for much needed coffee and food. Again, pictures and smiles galore as we pulled into the Piha Store. Ray again offered some spirited driving along the Karekare road back to the Arataki Visitors Centre. Only one member needing a Piha rescue as a large bump in the road collected an exhaust. Fortunately a stop by at some local friends provided a fix.

Our next stop was Wynyard Quarter, led by Richard and Trent as we set up for an impromptu photoshoot with Auckland as the backdrop. A quick drive around Wynyard and onto Queen street for more photos saw us disperse at about 6pm.

Hats off to all for making this such a fun day out. Everyone agreed that the afternoon run time really worked for this session and plans for the next beach run should be drawn up, so pack your togs, picnics and get those naughty Mini’s cleaned ready for the next one.

By Richard Underwood
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​A great event was arranged by Gary Ashton on Sunday 16 September and we were spoilt by the beautiful weather – fine blue skies. 

Round one (our previous attempt at the run) was disappointing due to a storm, which meant that the roads were closed to the Lighthouse.

This time, we met up at the Lions club in Waiuku at 10 am. Yours truly showed up first, and I was concerned about the turnout, thinking I was running late. However, we had a good number of members and cars. 

We set off in a convoy around 10.30 am and drove through picturesque country roads that were made for Minis, because of their windiness, narrowness, and smoothness. NZ Speed from Sky TV followed us and filmed our event, which will be aired on a Wednesday night in the near future. 

Our first stop was Karioitahi Beach where people were riding their dirt bikes, off-roading and horse riding on the black sand.  We parked up for about 20 minutes and Sky TV started their interviews with Mini club members about their cars, and how they got involved with Minis. Sky loved our cars and what we do. Many club members appreciated being in the spotlight. 

As we set off in convoy for the second time heading to Awhitu Lighthouse I could see from other club members’ smiles on their faces that they were enjoying the driving. On the way we had some slight hiccups which were two flat tyres and one chipped windscreen. What I loved about that is when it happened, everyone pulled over to support the unfortunate members. Meanwhile, as tyres were being changed, to my surprise, the video man interviewed me on Minis in general which I was quite willing to do. Once the cars were fixed, they were back on the road again. 

At last, after driving for a long period, we ended up at our location, Awhitu Lighthouse. We all parked up together in a circle which created a lot of attention from the lighthouse visitors. Whilst we proceeded to visit the lighthouse and look at the views of Manukau Heads, Sky TV continued obtaining coverage of our cars. The day wrapped up with a welcome picnic.

 
Personally I want to thank Gary Ashton for his organisation and for creating an enjoyable event for all the Mini club members that attended. I hope similar navigational trials reoccur in the future.

by Deryck Freeland. 
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In spite of the 4 Seasons there was a great turnout (1300 visitors) for “Wild Wheels” at MOTAT on Sunday 2nd September.  MCCOA’s 9  classic Minis, each a credit to the owner, created considerable interest, comments, and thanks from the general public. 
We had the day to look around MOTAT and many took advantage of the free tram ride to the Aviation section. We were also given a free glass of wine/beer to keep the warm/cold at bay and listen to the band while devouring the Father’s Day burger & chips from the food truck, or coffee and snacks from the other eateries around the museum.
Our location was a great spot in the front of the Transport Pavilion, which has now been updated and reflects some of the history of the local motor industry. Exhibits varied from Hilary’s Antarctic Ferguson tractor, to the Giltrap/J. Reid  Formula  A car (reputed to be worth $1.5m in its present state), together with videos etc., kept us busy and sheltered from the weather at times.
At the end of the day the weather improved for a dry trip home.

It looks like the MG Track Day at Hampton Downs was fun! We'll update this post when we hear more from the competitors.. err, I mean, participants. 

By Grant Bowyer. Photo by Zak Gould. 

We had a great turnout at Caffeine and Classics today for the Mini's 59th birthday, despite the overcast conditions and the threat of rain (which didn't eventuate). It's possible some cars were there for the Daffodil Day run instead of the Mini's birthday, but mostly it was all about the Minis. 

This was the first C&C since they introduced the "nothing younger than 30 years old" rule, and everyone was interested to see how it would work. The car parks seemed to fill up more slowly, but in the end they were just as full. There were definitely more classics than usual, and a number of cars we hadn't seen before. In all it seemed to go quite smoothly. 

Thanks for Tony for getting there early, and for printing out the Mini 59th Birthday display cards!

by Alan Murie

We had a disappointing turn out of only 3 vehicles for the Poker Run. We met at the Manukau City greyhound track between 10 and 10.30 for Gary’s take on a Poker Run. Gary and Catherine had ordered a warm winter’s day, with a glorious blue sky.

Gary’s instructions were quite simple; “You have five destinations to go to. You can choose which order and route to do this in, and answer a simple question at each. You will need to get out of your car to answer the questions. Each correct answer will give you a card for your poker hand at the final destination”.

Steph and Jason, new members, were the first to leave, saying “this will be quick, I know where the first one is". Second to leave was Steve after taking his time to read all the instructions. We had a brief chat to Gary and Catherine and then we were on our way.

Shelagh and I chose to do the run in this order: Barry Curtis Park near the old church; what is special on the Festival Lawn? This took a while to walk around to find the answer.

Pine Harbour private car museum; what is the driver’s name and competition number of the Mini? This took a bit of time to drive to as we followed a procession of classic cars from Ormiston Rd to the Pine Harbour turn off. Gary and Catherine were waiting at the Whitford roundabout to give us a wave.

Brookby School; what is the school motto? Answered without getting out of the car.

Clevedon via West Road; on the monument who was lost at sea?

Jones Road; what is the geodetic code (trig station number)? This was near Hunua.

Then we were off to Kings Plant Barn, Takanini via the Hunua Gorge for lunch. The gorge and Jones Road were the best Mini roads of the day as there was no traffic to follow. We followed Steph and Jason, who had arrived from a different direction, into the carpark. Steve arrived a little while later, having managed to navigate on his own.

Then we had discussions about the clues and destinations. Steve was unable to find the correct answer at Barry Curtis Park. Steph and Jason couldn’t find Jones Road as their GPS only brought up Michael Jones Road. While we ate lunch the cards were dealt out and Steph and Jason were the winners of the poker run with a pair of Kings. We were all winners on the day having enjoyed a nice Sunday morning out.  

Thanks to Gary and Catherine for organising another excellent day out.

The Mini Car Club of Auckland had its annual AGM and prize giving on August 7th. From the size of the turn out and the positive comments we can all be pleased that the club is in great shape. Congratulations to all our prize winners, your enthusiasm and commitment is what makes the club so great:

Bradley Russell Memorial Award for Club Spirit: Chris Roper
                        
Aggregate Club Points Award

• 1st Kevin Taylor: 54 points
• 2nd Tony Maulder: 41 points
• 3rd Richard Underwood: 39 points

Trials Points Award: (Dawn Breaker & Night Trial)

• 1st Adam & Jesica Jenkin
• 2nd Equal - Alan & Shelagh  Murie
• 2nd Equal - Ray & Alison West 

Show n Shine - Classic Mini

• 1st Kevin Taylor    
• 2nd Joanne Wooding
• 3rd Zak Gould

Show n Shine -  Modified

• 1st Ian McKenzie
• 2nd Ryan Murdock

Show n Shine -  Restored

• 1st Grant Bowyer/Brian Smith
• 2nd Warwick Robinson
• 3rd Jim Banks

Show n Shine -  Custom

• 1st Richard Underwood    

Show n  Shine -  BMW Mini

• 1st Viv Taylor
• 2nd Leslie Robinson
• 3rd Warwick Mudgway 

Show n  Shine -  Judges Choice/Ngaire Stephens Memorial Trophy

• Grant Bowyer/Brian Smith

Motorkhana/Autocross Points Award - Graham Crispe Memorial Trophy

• 1st Lee Norman
• 2nd Kevin Taylor
• 3rd Chris Atkinson

Club Model Night

• Best Display: Ray West        
• Most varied Classic Mini  Display: Keith Hargraves           
• Most varied BMW Mini Display: Brian Smith                    

Motorsport Award: Kevin Taylor    

Most Improved Car Award: Chris Westlake
        
Lead Foot Award: Warwick Mudgway (Noisy run to the Puhoi cheese factory.)

Automatically Earned IT Award: Kerry Attwood
            
Dip Stick Award: Richard Underwood (Ripping off bumper at Galaxy of Cars and Brit & Euro Show.)
                           
Switched ON Award: Chris Westlake            

Female Club Member Award/Warwick Robinson Trophy: Joanne Wooding

Certificates of Appreciation

• Aquacut 2000 Ltd – Rex & Murray
• Repco Limited – Rob Apanui
• MiniBitz – Lee Norman
• Customkit Buildings Ltd

​by Sarron Bennett.

After a very big morning at Caffeine and Classics, at approximately 11am a dozen Minis headed South to the Ardmore Café where more club members were waiting. A very delicious lunch and a photo shoot took place at the Warbirds, then we proceeded to Rex Benn's Collectables where we were met by more members.

After an introduction by Rex on how his collection began with a 1929 Austin 7, he gave a brief run down on what to expect in his 2 barns of collectables. In the barns Rex gave a very informative and humorous rundown on the many and varied items that he has accumulated over many years. The barns are very well laid out, with plenty of space to wander around and view the treasures that abound on the walls, ceilings and shelving.

As there are so many items, phones, machinery, clothing, models galore etc etc, it is very hard to give a summary of the items, but there is something for everyone, male or female and in our 1 1/2 hr visit we were all kept interested.

A very worthy afternoon, and a big thanks to Rex and the organisers from the Mini club.

(Editors note: Rex asked that photos of his collection not be shared publicly.)

by Tony Maulder 

Over 40 Minis assembled at the Caffeine & Classics car show’s 5th Birthday. At the first few shows 5 years ago only 1 Mini showed up!
 
Fifteen of these Minis left for our Cheesy Tour at 11 am. Four Minis, (ESTATE, DEEDOC, SWORK5 and the low yellow brick), got lost at the 1st few turns and were rounded up by “Ernie” the grey Cooper, and brought back along to our first stop opposite the Z petrol station on East Coast Road, Milford.

Here we met a couple from Alaska in their white BMW Cooper who spotted our tour map at C&C, and filled up with petrol to join the tour.

The tour route followed East Coast Road to the Dairy Flat airfield, led by three MINIs: Tony and two Warwicks.

We had a stop for photos at the Dairy Flat Caltex station before going through a lovely Mini road to Downers Yard at Wainui.

Familiar territory to Andrew's Pork Pie Min Min. Not so for Helen's blue clubman, finding pleasant country so near to town. A couple of other blue Minis were the Muries’ DeJoux, and the brilliantly painted Mini of John and his son. Brian and Grant's green Mini was grunting off after the BMWs here. Sarron following along in his green machine. A BIG green harvester slowed the tour down a bit on the way to Millwater and the back of Orewa.

Then we got to the motorway and sped off into the tunnels with Mini tunes played by the “exhausts and horns” band of 15.

All too soon, 12.45pm, we were at the Café at Puhoi Valley Cheese and parked our cars as arranged in the office car park, as the main carpark was jam packed. We were met here by KP and Margaret who got our huge reserved table. Our meals for 17 of us arrived in good time considering how busy the place was.

Just after 2pm we were fed and began our journeys home after a good day of car show, Mini driving and food, and oh, don’t forget, ice cream for some.