Wellington-by-the-Sea

As some of you know, I have a bit of a weakness for things that go fast; that's probably because I can't pedal my bike into that territory. Anyway, as we were heading into Wellington, I spotted a sign to the Southward Motor Museum. I had never heard of this place but as we had some time in hand, I decided to drop in for a fix. My co-driver wasn't quite so keen but as I was driving at the time, that wasn't going to matter, well not until later anyway.

This must have been one of the biggest motor museums that I had never been to. In the foyer was a pre-war Alfa Romeo 1750, seemingly showroom fresh. It was red of course and I wanted it desperately. Inside, it was even better (or perhaps worse). Alongside gridlocked American cars from the 1900s to the present day, there were some racing cars, including two Maserati 250Fs.

I had watched Juan Manuel Fangio driving one of these cars at Silverstone in the 1970s; he was by then well into his 60s (for some reason that seemed very old at the time) and was a living legend. He could certainly still drive magnificently, drifting the Maserati from curb to curb in a way that must have made Grand Prix racing so exciting in the 1950s.

Elsewhere in the collection was a pre-war Mercedes 540k that had been bought from Bernie Ecclestone when he was feeling a bit short. The $4M would no doubt have boosted his finances, if not his height. Actually there were two of these cars in the collection. Would Sir like the fixed-head or drop head coupe?, The total value of the collection must have run into billions.

Just in case your taste for exotica had become jaded , there were all sorts of more ordinary cars there too, which I can only suppose must have had some sentimental appeal to the collector. These included examples of unusual cars that I had owned or remembered from my youth, including a Messerschmitt 3 wheeler and a Reliant Kitten.

At the very bottom end was an Austin Allegro. Now, who would want to collect one of those I cannot imagine but maybe Sir Tom fancied owning something that, within a few years, would probably become truly unique.

There was also an extensive collection of motorcycles and bikes , including a Pedersen. This will be meaningless to most people but was designed and built by a man in Dursley, Glos , who had made his reputation and money as the inventor the first commercially successful cream separator. In the early 1900s it looked as though his 'bridge-truss' frame could be a serious rival to the diamond-frame that is still used on bikes today. Pedersen was a poor businessman however and both he and his novel bike design died in obscurity.

We've been in Wellington (New Zealand's capital) for a couple of days, visiting the wonderful Te Papa museum and also riding the cable car and walking down through the botanical gardens. It's a compact and attractive city with a huge harbour and plenty going on. We've been staying at the Youth Hostel which is excellent and within walking distance of everything. Tomorrow we're off on the ferry to South Island where we hope to pack in loads of activities as we're aware that we're running out of time already!