Day 1 - Northcote to Newlands Arm

Day one of our Alpine Roadster Run, and it feels wonderful to be travelling with my brother in our roadsters again. We left Northcote this morning and headed to Newlands Arm, near Paynesville, where we’re staying with our other brother and his wife at their country getaway near the Gippsland Lakes. As we’ve done on our previous roadster adventures, we deliberately stayed off the main highways. Instead, we plotted a route that took in some of the best driving roads Gippsland has to offer. They might not have the altitude, endless switchbacks or dramatic scenery of the European roads we drove on during our Euroadster adventure in 2023, but that hardly mattered. Roof down, good roads ahead and my brother travelling with me made it feel like old times.

After arriving at Newlands Arm, our other brother took over as tour guide and showed us around the Gippsland Lakes. It became a wonderful afternoon of wildlife spotting, with koalas, kangaroos and plenty of cockatoos along the way. We finished the day in appropriately Australian fashion with dinner at a local pub, enjoying a good meal while reflecting on the day’s travels. One day down, plenty of great roads still ahead. It couldn’t have been a better start.