2009 Transalpine Rally
CHRISTCHURCH, WESTPORT, KARAMEA AND RETURN
Friday & Saturday 30th & 31st October & Sunday 1st November
Words by Kit & Carol Peverill
Pictures by Simon McFedries
The organising committee did their usual splendid job on the 2009 rally with nearly thirty
cars taking part. Camp mother (Jan) gave the motel owners a good leaning on and got some great deals on the
accommodation. Jan also arranged both evening dinners at the Yellow House, (a restaurant in Westport).
Well done Jan.
The Saturday evening dinner was a 'halloween' evening affair which went down a treat, (pardon the pun).
Everyone got into mood of things with fancy dress the norm for the evening. Jan and her sidekick, Cheryl,
kept the party on a high note all night (check out the photos). Well done girls, (it will hard to top
that evening).
The weather was fairly kind to us with a few spots at the start. It was easy to see that the quicker we
headed off West the better. All the cars performed well with only one major breakdown. Bruce and Denise
from Blenheim in their superb Series 3 Seven suffered from a serious electrical fault which shut down the
computer (a computer in a Seven!!). Unfortunately the car could not be fixed at Greymouth and had to be
trailered back home which spelt the end of the rally for our Blenheim members. Two of the Elans misbehaved
a bit, one spat the main battery lead off with the other suffering a fuel blockage, I believe.
Saturday's run was to Karamea via the Denniston incline (Historic coal mine area). Lunch was at the local
pub at Karamea, well known for its homemade pies - good they were to. Back to Westport for drinkies before
our halloween dinner.
Sunday was a leisurely run back to Christchurch or wherever home was.
Simon and Callum did an amazing job in the photo department. Whichever one was driving, the other one was
flat out with the camera. Great job guys (both these characters flew in from overseas to take part in the
rally).
A huge thanks to the organising committee and all those who did things that were needed, (I won't try and name everybody as I am sure I would miss someone out) and a big cheer to all those who took part in the weekend run especially those that traveled a long way to attend
Check out the photos, they say it all! We could only show a few here, unfortunately. (P.S. I believe we are off to Nelson next time).
Kit Peverill, President
