The one event that is the highlight event of the Southern Lotus Register calendar is the annual Trans-Alpine run, and something not to be missed. Unfortunately business pressures, etc have prevented me from participating for the last 2 or 3 years but this year we made sure to be part of it. So we dusted off old SNODGE and headed for the starting point, the car park of the Christchurch Press printing facility.
There was a great turnout of 25 cars and 48 people including a number of first-timers. The organising committee had everything well planned and it wasn’t long before we were off, heading for Nelson via the Lewis Pass. The day didn’t look too good to begin with so most started off with the roof on but that didn’t dampen spirits or enthusiasm.
First stop was Culverden for morning tea, then on to Murchison for lunch and a welcome leg stretch (very necessary for those of us in dinky little cars!). The weather warmed up considerably once through the Lewis and the run through to Nelson was a blast. The Motel was well located and had plenty of room for all the cars, well off the street.
Saturday dawned to a beautiful stunning day and we headed off with our notes. The local SLR members had planned a brilliant tour for us and what a great run we had through some excellent back roads with beautiful gorgeous scenery that finished up at Kaiteriteri beach for a catered lunch. Kaiteriteri must be one of the most beautiful spots in the whole country especially on the perfect day we had.