Long weekend of driving in the Yarra Ranges

"Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too)" (havecarwilldrive) 06/09/2014 at 07:48 • Filed to: None

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This weekend was a long weekend here, so despite the weather making it clear that winter had now arrived, my wife and I headed out of Melbourne for the weekend. For various reasons we took my wife's car, a 2008 Ford Focus base hatch 5MT, leaving my Mazda 6 at home and allowing me some manual transmission driving on some of the best driving roads in the region. We stayed at a holiday cottage just out of Healesville, and my parents rented another cottage at the same place. This also gave me the welcome opportunity to do quite a bit of driving in my dad's 12-month old Volkswagen Passat wagon.

Driving up to Healesville on Friday evening was an uneventful affair. About two thirds of the drive is through suburbs, and coupled with Fiday night long weekend traffic it was not the most exciting journey. Even the last section, which is more 'country' roads was hampered by traffic and the fact the it was beginning to get dark. However, it was still a welcome chance to get reaquainted with the Focus, which was my daily driver for almost four years, and then our shared car for five months before we bought the Mazda from my dad almost a year ago. Whilst not luxurious, it is both comfortable and nimble. One reason I prefer it over the Mazda for longer journeys is that its seats are supportive and comfortable, depite their humble cloth coverings. Stop-start traffic in a couple of places gave me a chance to refresh myself with the car's soft clutch, and to remember why an auto can be sometimes a welcome convenience, even for an enthusiast like me.

Saturday's activities didn't involve much driving, but on the short distances covered it was a chance for me to drive dad's Passat, a car I have only previously driven for a few brief trips. The Passat is a real contrast to the Ford, it has a real feeling of quality, solid-ness, and almost like a 'real' luxury car. Sitting in it, the interior is well crafteed, cohesive, and the materials of a generally high quality. All the essential controls are easily at hand, however there are a few too many buttons on the steering wheel for my liking. Driving the couple of kilometres into the centre of Healesville, I was impressed by how well it absorbed bumps in the not-so-well-maintained roads and and gave a general feeling of security. Having not driven a car with a DCT before, I was not sure what to expect but was impressed by how smooth it was under acceleration, and not intrusive on downshifts. The low speed experience is a little odd and sometimes jerky, but becomes less intrusive once you get used to it.

Sunday offered a chance to get in some real driving as we headed to Marysville for the morning - a journey that invloves traversing arguably the best section of driving road in the region, the Black Spur. Once again we took the Passat. My dad was not keen on missing out on all the fun, so we agreed on a compromise - I would drive there and he could drive us back again. Unfortunately the journey there was hampered both by traffic and the fact that my mother was in the car, but it was still a chance to get a feel for how the Passat handled on some nice twisty roads. In its favour, its steering is nicely weighted and with the transmission set in sports mode it was capable of some hasty progress. Unfortunately, the price of the car's compliance on rougher roads is suspension that doesn't communicate the road as well as I'd like, and the steering also falls short in the communication department. Also, I really noticed that it felt like a larger car than I'm used to and I really felt the car's (relative) weight. However it was a far from unpleasant experience, just that roads like the Black Spur were clearly not in the forefront of the engineers' minds when developing the Passat.

That afternoon, finding myself free as my wife was in need of some rest, I decided to head out by myself in the Focus to experience some more of the area's roads, and enjoy some driving unencumbered by easily-scared passengers. Heading south out of Healeville towards Warburton, climed the windy road to Mount Toolebewong. Having driven the Passat earlier, this drive was a refreshing reminder of how enjoyable the little Focus can be on a good road. Spending most of my time in third gear with the revs high, the Focus can be eagerly thrown from apex to apex, whilst continuously communicating its every move. Using a little lift-off oversteer to tighten the car into the corners, I was in my element, just man and machine (and a good road!). The Focus is living proof that an affordable car need not be unexciting, nor that an enthusiast needs to spend a lot of money, nor give up practicality, just to enjoy the driving experience. Of course, that is not to say there are not cars that would have handled those roads better (Miata, anyone?), but I was able to thouroghly enjoy myself, and also feel sufficiently involved in the driving experience.

However, after not long I found that the map had deceived me, for what I had thought would be a left turn (which I had not planned to take) was in reality the continutation of the road I was on. As the road remained good quality bitumen, I decided to continue and for a few kilometres I enjoyed some sweeping corners on a well-made road. However - at a point that appeared completely arbitary - the two-way sealed road turned into narrow gravel. Whilst the gravel surface was good quality, there had been quite a bit of rain the day before making it even more slippery than usual. Generally, unsealed roads are one of my favourite places to drive, but with the damp conditions, coupled with a steep drop on one side of the road, after travelling a few more kilometres I decided to turn around. This was no easy feat however, as I had to drive for a little while before finding an area wide enough to turn around. Before turning, I got out of the car to make sure that the surface was solid enough as wasn't going to leave me bogged in th emiddle on nowhere. Thankfully it was, and I headed back to the way I came to return to my planned route.

On returning to the intersection where I had made my unplanned 'left' turn, I was dissapointed to find that the way I had planned to go was also unsealed. However it was at least a little wider, and there was no steep drop-offs to be seen, so I continued on per my orginal plan. This road however seemed to be covered with a thin layer of mud on top of the gravel surface, which in the damp conditions didn't provide much in the way of grip. However, proceeding at an appropriate speed I made it back to some bitumen, and was even able enjoy the low-traction road in a couple of places. The remainder of my drive consisted typical country back-roads - a lane in each direction with the occaisional sweeping corning, but nothing too exciting. I returned to Healesville refreshed by my time driving just for the sake of driving - something I should endeavor to do more often, I think.

We headed back home late on this (Monday) morning. We took the same route as we had on Friday, but with more light and much less traffic, which proved to be much more enjoyable (and quicker). Overall we had a much-needed relaxing weekend, and I was reminded that there is nothing I enjoy more than getting behind the wheel and pointing my vehicle down a windy, country road.

Edit: here's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! over the weekend as well

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thebigbossyboss > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 06/09/2014 at 07:56

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Awesome. If possible could you provide us some type of google map of your travels? I am not that familiar with Australia. Also....your winter looks awesome.

Here is our winter in Ottawa

PG; the scalpel wielder > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 06/09/2014 at 08:15

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any issues with the passat? my dad is about to pick up the same model. wish we had cool roads like that near here

Jon-o > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 06/09/2014 at 10:20

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That's it i'm moving to Australia. looks amazing!

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > thebigbossyboss 06/09/2014 at 18:26

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Yes, winter here is not so bad. The coolest it got overnight over the weekend was just above 0°C (32°F), and the coolest top temperature was around 16°C (61°F).

Here's a map of the drive from Healesville to Marysville,

and here's one of my drive on Sunday afternoon (minus my side trip onto the C505).

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > PG; the scalpel wielder 06/09/2014 at 19:56

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He had a couple of minor niggles early on - one line of the rear window demister didn't work and the radio kept changing back to a specific station - but both were fixed and it has been a good car overall.

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > Jon-o 06/09/2014 at 19:57

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There's certainly some good roads to enjoy if you know where to look. We also have plenty of long stretches of mindless highways as well unfortunately.

thebigbossyboss > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 06/09/2014 at 20:34

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Awesome thanks for the maps. My knowledge of Australian geography is startlingly bad!

That C505 looks pretty fun. Any road with switchbacks....is a good road!

thebigbossyboss > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 06/09/2014 at 20:35

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Jungle! lol.

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > thebigbossyboss 06/09/2014 at 20:48

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Yes, it is quite like jungle, though technically " temperate rainforest ".

Here's another shot at the same location, looking in the other direction:

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > thebigbossyboss 06/09/2014 at 20:52

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This is the road that becomes narrow gravel (see the photo I added in my reply below). The first (sealed) section was great, but once it got narrow and unsealed it was not so fun (particularly in the wet, and with the occasional car coming the other way).