Z Driving Routes & Meets

[theboosh]

So with a few more cars on the road I thought it'd be a good time to start a thread for Aus owners to post any good roads, trips, or meet-ups with the new Z. I'll start with mine from last weekend:

Route: Canberra -Cooma - Bombala -Imlay Road - Eden - Bega - Brown Mountain -Cooma - Canberra
Distance: ~615km
Fuel: ~10.8l/100km

This was a trip I'd planned from a motorcycling atlas I'd received as a present-it's basically two books, one with the good roads highlighted, and the other with descriptions of the roads. Great way to see what's around you that's worth checking out. The goal was to get to Eden for some sun, and check out Imlay Rd down near the Vic border.

Traffic to Cooma can be a bit hectic this time of year with people racing to the snow, but it was actually pretty subdued this trip. The radar cruise control on max sits at a really good distance for avoiding stone chips, & we took it pretty easy. A big reason to purchase the Z was touring, and on this part of the trip we really settled into it. Comfy seats, good suspension, really nice stereo. Nothing too harsh or soft in all the ride/noise/drive qualities of the car.
The view when you're cruising is pretty epic--I love looking out the back and seeing those hips reflect in the sun. The car is a constant mix of new and old. The response of the engine is immediate, the dash in sports mode is ultra modern, but you look across to the triple pod gauges or in the rear view and are reminded of the design heritage.

Imlay Rd after Bombala was the goal on the way down, we saw a few motorbikes out with the same idea. It was a reasonably good forestry road, probably better fun once the car's broken in & taken with some more speed, but a nice way to get to Eden.

Overnight Eden then back via the coast, nice to get some sun, stopped for the always good cheese toasties from the Bega cheese factory, then up via Brown Mountain. Even without pushing too hard this mountain pass is super fun. Awesome surface, tight twisties, and reasonable length.

Home in time for a wash, 1100km in 5 days of ownership. This car is so much fun to drive.

 

[theboosh]

Any lurkers from the ACT & surrounds: Cars 'n' Coffee at Majura Park this Sunday morning. A few of us are meeting up beforehand & cruising over, shoot me a message if you'd like to join.

 

[theboosh]

Good times in Canberra at Cars 'n Coffee! Apparently around 200 cars total, with a really good variety. Great getting a few Z's together & awesome cruising with the different generations. We've got a good local crew & are planning to join on events with the NSW Z Club.

 

[theboosh]

Next Cars & Coffee in Canberra: Sunday 24 September.

If you're a local or in the region, join us to meet up beforehand and cruise together to the event. Pic thanks to @ians.visual.media on IG.

 

[theboosh]

With the snow season finishing early, recently I had an opportunity to get down south and drive the Great Alpine Road. This had been on the bucket list for a while, if you haven't done the drive from the coast up to Mt Hotham I can definitely recommend it.

Route: Canberra-Metung-Omeo-Hotham-Bright-Albury-Corryong-Khancoban-Kiandra-Cooma-Canberra
Distance: `1200km
Fuel: 12/l 100km

Day 1: Canberra to Metung
Down south via the Monaro Highway, it doesn't take long to reach the Vic border. The road here was reasonably interesting to drive but with some large crater sized potholes which would do some damage if hit. If doing this part again, I'd try to hit the coast a bit earlier and go via Eden. Metung itself was a great spot for an overnight stay before the highlight of the trip the next day.

Day 2: Metung to Bright via Hotham
After heading out of Metung for a refuel in Bruthen, I hit the Great Alpine Rd & the objective of the trip down. The driving here was epic, great views and perfect corners. Tight enough to be fun, and not so open that you need to speed to enjoy the curves. I'd heard mixed things about the condition of the road, and when planning earlier was worried we may hit ice or the requirement for chains. None of this was an issue & overall the road was in good condition and fairly quiet. From the top of Hotham down, the road slows down a fair bit with very tight corners, and not many opportunities (or need) for overtaking.

Day 3: Bright-Albury-Corryong-Khancoban-Kiandra-Cooma-Canberra
This route had also been on the bucket list for a while, mainly to check out some high country towns I hadn't been to and also to avoid having to drive the Hume Fwy. Once past Tallangatta, the drive gets super enjoyable, again with open sweeping corners and great views. Khancoban to Kiandra cuts through the national park, the road on this part of the drive was in good condition however it's pretty narrow and there's lots of wildlife around, so I took it pretty slowly.

This side of the main range is much more interesting to me than the Jindy/Thredbo side, with the peaks having a bit more definition & more of an alpine view. There's still a fair amount of fire damage evident in this side of the park but it's a beautiful area.

Rejoining the Snowy Mountains Highway at Kiandra, it's worth a trip in itself & really suits the character of the Z. A loop of the road staying at Tumut would be a great trip.

This was a big trip, the car performed great & the ride's firm but comfortable enough to do a long tour in. It's a really fun car to drive & definitely one to take the long way home in.

If anyone else has been doing some good trips in Aus, add to the thread! I wanted to start something separate for meets & events so others joining didn't have to dig through the long Aussie thread and potentially miss something coming up...& it'd be great to see what everyone else has been up to now there's more cars on the road.