Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Highland Cattle (Photo by DHR). There’s a spot out the back of the Tarraleah cottages where, if you stand on one leg and pull the right sort of face, you can  just  pick up some mobile 'phone reception.  That makes the ex-Hydro village in the centre of Tasmania’s Highlands the ideal venue for a proper weekend  getaway, in that you can let the outside world intrude … but only if you want to. UMPH readers might recall that this isn’t the author's first foray to the area ;  he’s previously written about Targa Tasmania's Tarraleah stage, having propped on the side of the road just beyond the village to photograph the cars hurtling by, and he’s blogged of his experiences at Pump House Point, too.  This time, however, his activities were focused within Tarraleah itself. His extended weekend began with a quickish drive from Hobart, the Galant pushing strongly for a very enjoyable 90 minute run through a great combination of ope...

It's not often that UMPH gets a day off mid-week, so he was really pleased that a rare work-free Thursday coincided with the Classic Car Run that departs from the Rivulet Cafe`, Anglesea Street, South Hobart, once a month.  He was also quite surprised to see that the majority of participants were not regulars at Classics by the Beach, which just goes to show how diverse and vibrant the car scene is in Hobart.  Participants apparently usually gather at the cafe` from around 10:00 am for coffee, before heading off on a bit of a country jaunt and a spot of lunch.  This month's affair saw about twenty cars - lots of magnificent MGs, an immaculate Stag, a couple of Porches, a BMW Z3, two or three MX5s, a remarkable 2 litre Bristol, a stately Roller, and UMPH's trusty Galant - heading north on the Brooker, up to Molesworth, down to New Norfolk and back via the Boyer side of the River Derwent to their final destination - lunch at the Claremont Golf Club.  T...