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A Must-Visit in Taranaki

From the multitude of things to see and do when visiting the Taranaki area, one standout is a museum dedicated to the motor industry in this part of the world.Along with our Australian motoring friends, many New Zealanders have long had a strong affection for the Holden brand. For car enthusiasts of any persuasion, a visit to the Hillsborough Holden Museum must surely rate as a must-do.As a young newly married man, my father-in-law was the manager of the new vehicle preparation division at Reo M...

Taranaki Touring: Gardens, Heritage and the Forgotten World Highway

Our May club run took us west to New Plymouth for a memorable two-day trip filled with good company, scenic roads, local history and plenty of enjoyable stops along the way. From the dramatic coast near Urenui to the peaceful beauty of Tūpare and the winding adventure of the Forgotten World Highway, it was a weekend that had something for everyone....

Coffee, Cars, and Coastal History: April Run Highlights

A group of 20 members gathered at Loxies Café in Morrinsville at 10:00am to begin our April club run with coffee and refreshments. It was a great chance to catch up before setting off on the road together.Led by Mike Peace, we enjoyed a scenic and interesting drive through the countryside to the Paeroa Maritime Museum - a destination that turned out to be a real highlight of the day.A Hidden Gem in PaeroaThe museum proved to be a wonderful surprise. Packed with fascinating artifacts, it of...

Cars, Camaraderie and Commercial Legends - a different kind of Club run

Our club outing this month was definitely going to be different, because the end result was going to be a trip to a Mercedes-Benz “Man Cave”. These are few and far between and I know that some of our partners and wives were a little hesitant about going on such an excursion.However, the day dawned with brilliant sunshine and fine weather, so off we went! I was able to arrange the use of our retirement village’s Mercedes Sprinter to enable a group of us to travel from Papamoa in leather-sea...

Arapuni to Putaruru: Coffee, Convoys, and a Cracking Museum Stop

The regular team plus some new members assembled at the Rhubarb Café in Arapuni in somewhat miserable weather where, as usual, the coffee and service at the Rhubarb was great.After coffee we convoyed at a leisurely pace along Lake Arapuni to Lichfield then by SH1 to the NZ Timber Museum and Trainworld just south of Putaruru. It is one of these places we have all driven past many times without stopping but this museum has a great collection of forestry and timber related artifacts and Trainworld...

Christmas at the Top - a Memorable Day at Skyline Rotorua

Well, golly gosh, it hardly seems like 12 months have passed since we all enjoyed Christmas lunch at Vilagrad Winery at Ohaupo, but here we are already at Christmas for 2025 and yesterday we celebrated with 21 members of Midland Mercedes-Benz Car Club at the Skyline Gondola and Restaurant at the top of Mt. Ngongotaha at Rotorua.In weather typical of the Bay of Plenty at this time of the year, we were able to enjoy an almost cloudless day with temperatures hovering around 25.0deg. as we all assem...

A Sunday of Stars: Mercedes‑Benz, Metrology and Mechanical Mastery

This month’s outing commenced with morning tea at “The District Eatery” tucked away down behind Mercedes-Benz dealers Ingham Prestige in Te Rapa. Following morning tea we proceeded to Ingham’s, where dealer principal John Ingham met us all and had opened his showroom to allow us a private viewing of the very latest models of “G” Wagon, GLC, plus saloon and coupe versions, available here in NZ. John’s in-depth product knowledge enabled him to answer the many and varied questions com...