2020 Club Motori Italia Lufra Cryptic Drive

Where - or maybe the question is how - was there a clue alluding to camel dung contained in November's CMI Lufra cryptic drive?  We contestants obviously missed it but it was no doubt there.  You may have set the bar a bit too high this time, Graham!

Camel poop aside, the drive - held on Sunday the 8th of November - was  a great day out, combining glorious weather, some delightfully twisty country roads, lovely scenery and a couple of dozen or so competitors in a mainly Italian fleet pitting their wits against the devious mind of crypto-meister Graham Mitchell.  The only certainties of the day were its starting and finishing points, Salamanca's Retro Cafe and the beloved Lufra Hotel at Eaglehawk Neck.

In true cryptic style, Graham set some observational, botanical and biological tasks, requiring participants to describe certain features en route and to collect specimens of eucalypts, hawthorn blossoms, feathers and sea shells, with extra points awarded for the quality and / or novelty of the latter.  It seems that she who sees sea shells upon the seashore may have been at an advantage, with the closely-fought contest partially being determined on that basis.

After a staggered-start (I'd like to suggest we Le Mans' style next time 😁), competitors found themselves chasing long-extinct carnivorous marsupials and horse-drawn conveyances on the Queen's Domain, before heading over the Tasman Bridge and acquainting themselves with various tradies' residences and some quite monumental gate posts, to name but a few of the challenges set on the way to Richmond, Sorell and beyond.  

From Sorell, Graham had us head into Dodges Ferry and Carlton Beach, still collecting clues, before  following the Carlton River through Connellys Marsh and Dunalley.  Apparently there were some Leyland P76s, definitely a couple of MTT buses that probably haven't seen action since the days of paper tickets, plus a rather flimsy-looking tractor at Murdunna, before the highlight of the day - a camel train, complete with an Akubra-wearing bushie and his cattle dog - happily sharing the Cubed Coffee car park and Pirates Bay lookout with quite a crowd of bemused onlookers.  I don't know how Graham organised this but I'm very pleased that he did!  

 

It's probably fair to say that we have all missed our annual dose of the Lufra this year, CMI's hill climb that kicks off from, and centres around, the hotel having fallen victim to the C-word.  It  was therefore great to be able to end the cryptic drive in their light-filled dining room and to reacquaint ourselves with the wonderful staff. 

The Lufra team did a fabulous job, serving up some really tasty dishes, complemented by not too many local wines and beers.  They also kindly made allowances for the slackers amongst us - me, actually - who hadn't preordered.    

It seems that the Roberts family - Tristan, Emily, Jasper and Stella - are crypto-wizards, taking out first place with 22 points (Tristan and Jasper having come second in the Bothwell event?), while Steve and his tribe - Rosie, Millie, Eve and Gerrard - came in second on a score of 19, beating out the Watsons in third, equal on 19 points, but featuring sub-par sea shells.  Tim and Felix Morgan (4th), and Stewart and Linda Peacock (5th) made it to the outer-podium, each ending up with a creditable 18 points, but with the former's shells being deemed to be superior.

Thanks go to Graham and anyone else that may have assisted him on the day (David Button certainly arranged the catering side of things), the crew at the Retro and last, but not least, the staff of the Lufra.  We miss you and hope to be back in 2021!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Photos by JJW & AGW.