Over 160 vintage vehicles retraced the Old Pacific Highway in style over the weekend, as part of the annual Coasting the Coast event.
A convoy of trucks, buses and cars set off from the Old Berowra Toll Area (now the Cowan Rest Area), winding their way through Gosford, Wyong and Charmhaven before finishing up in Swansea.
Organiser Guy Ellis told Big Rigs that numbers were up on last year and he was “very happy” with how the day went.
“It went really well,” he said.
“The weather gods were good to us, and over 300 people turned up.
“We had some very cool vehicles too – everything from Clipper buses to big Ford trucks to Reos.”
This was the third year of the event, which was started by former firefighter Ellis as a way to celebrate road transport history.
“We’re reliving yesteryear, when that route was the only way north along the coast,” he said.
“We celebrate the heritage of the road as we go along, and marvel at the engineering feats that everyone takes for granted now, like the Mooney Mooney bridge.
“We have other truck runs like Haulin’ the Hume, which is from Sydney to Yass, and Crawlin’ the Hume, which is from Melbourne to Aubrey.
“This was like the missing link. It’s local, it’s not too long – it’s only 106km – and it’s a very scenic trip.”
Ellis said the event is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.
“Truck guys wouldn’t normally mix with car guys, because they are different identities,” he said.
“But because they all come together at this event, they get chatting and they appreciate what other people are passionate about.”