Heaven for
a Midget Driver

The Gold Coast is pretty close to heaven for an MG driver. It's not just the cruisy atmosphere of the place or the joy of driving along the beachfront .. or around the Indy circuit if you know the layout once the concrete barriers have disappeared and it dons its cloak of suburban camouflage - just waiting to leap out of hiding next October! There's a side to the region many people unfortunately never get to see. It's the `green behind the gold' .. the marvelous Hinterland, dotted with volcanic plugs, framed by knife-edged escarpments and cut by roads which lie like fallen strips of wind-blown ribbon through the lush green countryside.

The local legends speak of Yowies lurking in the damp, dark recesses of the escarpment rainforest .. you won't see many - or hear their mournful calls .. but you shouldn't be surprised to hear another throaty growl on any weekend - and I don't have to tell you where it comes from! This is MG country partner !!

There are scores of drives around here which the locals enjoy - but many visitors only find through luck - or by taking a `wrong' turn. Let me share one of them with you. I have a 1971 Mk III Midget .. a replacement for a '67 `B' which was stolen from Pacific Fair car-park the day after Indy '98 while I was at the movies .. a lovely start to a week's holiday (but that's another story). After a bare-metal re-birth the mighty Midget is on the road in all her former glory and on the ANZAC long weekend my wife and I took her for a spin through one of the prettiest drives in the region.

A good starting point for this drive is Nerang. Take the Beaudesert-Nerang road out of town. Pass the turnoff to Canungra and Beaudesert on your right .. driving straight ahead towards Hinze Dam. Pass another turnoff to the right which would take you on a steep haul up to Lower Beechmont - that will have to wait for another day. A couple of minutes later you will pass the Hinze Dam turnoff on your left .. a great picnic spot in itself and a worthwhile visit for a drive across the dam wall to the shaded picnic areas. Once you pass Hinze Dam you can forget the navigation and enjoy the drive .. from here on it's simply a case of following your nose until you get to Murwillumbah.

The road delivers a nice range of driving conditions as you skirt the backwaters of Hinze Dam - the water sparkling through the trees from time to time. Where you now see the gleam of water - there was once a small village - Advancetown - which was covered by the rising waters. One old-timer put up a real fight when the dam was about to be built - refusing to leave the small cottage where he had been born and had lived all his life. But the creep of time - and eventually of the waters - beat him, and his home - like so many others - slowly sank beneath the encroaching waters of the lake. This, incidentally, is a great fresh-water fishing spot .. with good stocks of several species of native fresh-water fish. A lot of us take one - perhaps two for the pan and release the rest of the day's catch .. it's great to see a good fighter swim away and wonder if you'll meet again some day. There are charters available .. or you can head off yourself if you have a tinny with an electric motor, or a canoe - no petrol engines allowed as it's the major catchment for the region's drinking water. Dawn on the lake with a nice big Perch fighting a 1Kg line is something you have to experience to fully appreciate. But back to the trip. After the dam there's some modest inclines and quite a few lovely corners - including a couple of tight left handers at the bottom of downhill runs which will have the engine singing! You're now cruising through the Numinbah Valley towards the village of Numinbah. Several miles (what ARE those kilometre things anyway?) before you reach it - the road narrows. Considerably. There's plenty of room for one - but be ready to put wheels on the dirt in some sections if traffic comes your way. This time of year the smells are literally quite sensational .. the air is crisp and bird calls ring through the canopy. Numinbah village is nestled into the elbow of the escarpment - as you leave it you'll pass over the first of several one-way wooden bridges. On your right you'll be greeted by the trim lawns and bright gardens of the Numinbah Valley Correctional Centre (complete with kangaroo and emu topiary). The prison farm is no longer worked as actively as it used to be a decade ago but there is still a small dairy herd and some farming activity. The Centre boasts an excellent all-weather tennis court (floodlit with change room nearby). Rumour has it the facility was paid for by some former Bjelke-Petersen Ministers who were guests of Her Majesty for a time and fretted for their exercise. The prison farm is framed by some of the most spectacular scenery in the area - walled at the back by the sheer cliffs of the escarpment and overshadowed by a spectacular volcanic plug. But we leave all that in the fading echoes of our exhaust as we power on towards one of the main attractions of the area .. the beautiful Natural Arch. About a kilometre before the arch is the Twin Pines café .. THIS is the place to stop .. for coffee and blueberry muffins to die for! The hospitality is warm - and the coffee and muffins are too hot to handle!! And as a bonus .. there's usually a little stand across the road if you're into jams, pickles and so on. Just 900 metres up the road on your left is the turnoff into the national park .. again - no directions needed - just park and follow the track to the arch .. if you haven't been there before you'll be pleasantly surprised .. it's just beautiful - and very photogenic.

From here it's more narrow, windy road to the top of the range where you'll catch a beautiful view of the mountains and the coastline as you sneak into New South Wales and drop a few hundred metres to the floor of the coastal plain. Another surprise is waiting at the T-junction where you turn towards Murwillumbah .. one of the region's oldest homesteads. We didn't have time to explore - but it's on our return list. A right-turn and straight into town through cane fields and along the banks of the Tweed River. As you sweep left at a roundabout .. brake and pull into the local pub for a cool ale on the verandah overlooking the river. If you have a few scraps of bread .. wander along to the park by the river, throw the crusts towards the river's edge .. and wait to see what comes out to feed. Some of the largest .. and most spectacular water-dragons you'll ever see! There are scads of little ones - about the size of a decent frill-neck .. but if you're lucky you'll see Mother riding shotgun .. YO MOMMA !! I reckon you could saddle a couple of the ones I've seen there. Here be dragons indeed !! And here ends the scenic drive - but it's worth heading back along the highway towards Tweed Heads .. to make one more stop. Take the turnoff to Tropical Fruit World (Formerly Avocadoland). The drive is short - but exhilarating and the rewards at the end of the trip are superb. If you just want to experiment with some of the truly amazing fruits grown on the plantation .. or try the world-class food .. you won't be disappointed. Make sure you have a lash at one of the many fruit-juice masterpieces they whip up too! Again - this is a place where you could quite comfortably spend the best part of a day .. but a quick stopover for some exotic fruit and those YUMMY drinks and ice-creams is truly worthwhile. The perfect end to the day comes with a quick swim at Greenmount or Coolangatta .. towel off - and head home. I guarantee you won't need rocking to get to sleep !!

May your road be tight and winding .. hope to see you up in God's own country some day.

Tony Bartlett

Reprinted from Sprite Torque - July 1999