OBSERVATION RUN

29 March 1998

On the 29th March, a long time ago, two little known explorers, Schoemaker and Ducati set out to explore an area which became known as the Gold Coast Hinterland. Sometime in the modern day, to the day a group of twelve Subaru enthusiasts led by the descendants of Schoemaker and Ducati set off to follow the explorers path through the hinterland. Each armed with a trip meter and a cryptic set of instructions outlining sights and landmarks along the way.

To prevent too much damage to the historical trail, cars departed at spaced intervals. I was one of the last to leave and my navigator promptly fell asleep. He is after all only 19 months old and had been up since 5am preparing for this trip. In the first 13km I was very busy looking for seven landmarks. I was struggling to read my trip meter and write answers to the clues to prove I'd followed the trail faithfully.

At the end of 48kms I was ready for a rest, my navigator was waking up and my brakes were in need of cooling down (in this they were not alone). We headed for the historical river mill for Devonshire milkshake. This growing museum and family park was only a stream when our explorers came through, but we fed their turtles and Lyrebirds and headed off again. If you’re in the area stop in and feed the animals and talk to them about the time they met Schoemaker and Ducati.

We travelled on and began the twisty roads up to Beechmont. After travelling 71 kms we stopped again at Beechmont Arts and Crafts. It was at this point I noticed I had bumped my trip meter and sent it forward some 26kms. A quick tour of the shop and back to the car to recalibrate the kilometre markers on my top sheet. My navigator was presented with a toy wooden truck for his efforts and we headed off again.

The next stop was Rosins lookout but we forwent this pleasure as it was 11.30am already and the navigator was looking for his lunch. We headed on to Canungra and the homeward stretch. After 101.5 kms from out start point and some 47 questions the explorers thought they'd throw me a wobbly question about the name of a town. I got one quick look at it and had to spell it correctly. Here it is Biddidaba (I hope!). These explorers sure are funny!

We skirted around the back way through Beaudesert and back to Jimboomba. After 63 questions and 156 kms I was stuffed and very hot. My navigator was asleep again and known to be very hungry. I filled my car, recorded all necessary information and headed back to Arnold and Pat's place for lunch.

All twelve Subaru club members had arrived safely back to Pat and Arnold's. Arnold spent his lunch break discussing the trip with Ducati and tallying our totals for the day. The winners of the observation section was Cameron and Julie who with the help of their two navigators scored 92 points, tying with Clint and Charleen in OKA and Bruce and Pam, but were declared the winner due to a better economy result. I received the dubious honour of coming last in this section and being presented with a bag of compost. The winners of the economy section was Jeff and Sue in the Liberty wagon who scored 43.06 MPG. David and Big John received the bag of compost for this section. They travelled in David's RS Turbo Liberty and scored only 22.43 MPG, this coupled with travelling an extra 20 kms meant they had had a very interesting day. I managed a respectable 30 MPG and gained a new respect for my bus.

After a nice lunch and the navigator got the chance to cool off in Pat's lovely pool, we headed for home. I received the very dubious honour of writing this report on this historical trek after it was decided I was either brave or stupid for attempting this run without another adult in the car. Next time I think I'll do it the same way, just be more precise with my answers. I had a fantastic day and saw some great scenery. I must thank Pat and Arnold for searching the archives and introducing us to the little known explorers Schoemaker and Ducati and showing us the way through their interesting pathway.

Toni Condon SC372