Category: News

Sunday 17^th May 2026 run to Longview Vineyards

We started the day with 30 members arriving at The Bridgewater Hotel ready for the run to Longview Vineyards.

Everyone was in high spirits as the weather had finally broken and we managed to get a pleasant sunny day albeit damp from the previous night.

John and Cintra Amos had organized the day and our thanks go to them for producing a wonderful drive and picking a magnificent venue.

They say a picture says a thousand words so I thought I would just post a couple of the day to give you an idea of how the comradery between members holds the club together.

Our compliments go to Longview Vineyards on outstanding service and generosity in their servings and the attention to detail on the day.

The Chef came and spoke to us offering tastings of his Tiramisu whilst others sat and enjoyed the beautiful view sipping coffee and eating desserts.

A fabulous day for an Autumn run, thank you to everyone who attended and once again to John and Cintra for organizing the day.

Also please keep these dates available

        Tuesday 16 June – dinner – Kent Town Hotel

        Tuesday 21 July – dinner – Secrets by the Parade

        Saturday 15 August – Tour and Lunch at Coopers Brewery (optional run?)

        Sunday 13 September – TBC

        No run set for October as Stately Affair in Victoria planned for 9-11 October

        Sunday 15 November –Stuart & Rhonda

        Sunday 6 December – Christmas Lunch and Observation Run – TBC

Author Martin Farkas

Sunday 12^th April 2026 saw 22 AMOC SA members meet for a drive through the Adelaide Hills heading to the Barossa Valley and dining at Vintners Bar and Grill.

The run had been organized by a couple of cheerful members who are always looking for ways to stir the pot and keep members interests up. Tom Hutchinson and John Hendrickson are becoming well known for their meticulous approach to planning a big day out.

The drive did not let us down with long sweeping roads and a mix of challenging corners through the hills which took around 1.5hrs.

I especially enjoyed the trip as James Hardstaff, the Aston sales specialist from our Dealership here in Adelaide (Solitaire Automotive) very kindly lent me the new 2026 Vantage S roadster for the day.

I could write pages of praise for that car, what a machine it is and it has me thinking about my choices in life.

On to the day at Vintners Bar and Grill.

We had 4 new members join us being Ben and Julie and Markus and Belinda who were welcomed by the other members and seemed to enjoy their day.

The food was fabulous, the company was enjoyable and there were some very funny conversations around the table.

Comradery between Aston members is quite unique, I think the glue that binds these people together is the thrill of driving their cars and enjoying fine food and funny conversations.

If you are ever in two minds as to whether you should attend don’t even give it another thought, just come and enjoy the day, we all do.

Author Martin Farkas

A smaller group of 9 cars and 17 guests of AMOC SA enthusiasts, met at the Highbury Hotel car park, Main North East Road, Highbury 11am for 11:30am start time.  It was an exceptionally warm sunny autumn day for March to tour around the North Eastern areas, driving through Humbug Scrub and Parra Wirra Conservation Parks and finishing at Sneaky’s Restaurant for lunch at 1pm.

We all met at the designated starting point and had sufficient time for a brief catch up and chat with each other before commencing the run.  We welcomed our newest members Bruce and Sandra Davis to their first official AMOC SA monthly run.

Arriving at our lunch venue we were directed to park our cars on the lawn area right in front of the restaurant and were then greeted by welcoming staff who directed us to our table.  The ambiance was bright and cheerful with plenty of excellent quality Italian food – a banquet or a feast!

Discussion centred around the run that took us to a different part of the State that we had not visited before, scenic drive,  good roads which many had not travelled before, great lunch venue with a good variety of food and large serves.  A great day was had by all!

Author Julia White

We were supposed to gather at 10.00am for a 10.30am departure but as the weather was picture perfect everyone was ready to go by 10.15am.

It was probably a prudent move to leave early as the run that John and Cintra Amos had organized was a short but enjoyable run through the Adelaide Hills to our secret destination and surprise exhibition.

John and Cintra had organized a private viewing of what you could only describe as an envious collection of historic racing vehicles and memorabilia.

Our host Chris welcomed us and allowed us to park beneath the beautiful autumn foliage on his property which made for some lovely photos.

Chris is an absolute wealth of information about every aspect of his collection which kept everyone focused on what he was saying and certainly educated a number of us.

While we were going through the collection we were told to hastily exit outside as there was a surprise in play that Chris had organized.

As we exited one of the sheds a red G-Zele Westland Gazelle helicopter in beautifully restored condition showcased some evasive maneuvering flown by Jim Whalley, South Australia’s first chief entrepreneur, a high flyer from RAAF and test pilot background and also an air force squadron leader who flew F/A-18 Hornets.

This was a real treat and quite a surprise as Chris had organized the fly over and meeting as a special treat for the AMOC SA.

The private viewing of the collection cannot be described accurately in words as it was a culmination of so many fantastic experiences crammed into 1.5hrs.

We then continued the run through to our final destination being the Golding Winery.

Even having lived in Adelaide for 65 years there are still places that are hidden gems and without other people’s suggestions we would probably never have known of this venue.

We had a private table under the pergola with perfect weather and a truly beautiful outlook.

Everyone seemed to be relaxed and enjoying themselves as we were served with our lunch made up of specialty entrées and shared gourmet pizzas.

Thank you so much to Chris, John and Cintra for making Sunday a truly memorable day.

Please note the calendar of events has changed slightly and May’s run is now going to be at “Our Place” in Willunga with the run organized by Grant and Julia White.

Mark your calendar for Sunday May 25^th where we will be celebrating the 90^th year since the foundation of the AMOC.

A very special thank you to Harley Cooke for organising the run. Harley was unable to attend the event as he had a previous engagement with the F1 in Melbourne but still went out of his way to create an interesting day for those that attended.

It was an extremely hot day peaking at 40˚C, however the scenery driving through the heart of the Fleurieu Peninsula made it all worthwhile.

This is a special part of the Adelaide Hills connecting many of the seaside towns along the coast and peninsula.

Lunch was a casual affair with magnificent views overlooking the course which has been listed a number of times in the top 100 golf courses in Australia.

Member Tom Hutchinson presented us with a detailed rendition of local history as his family has been entrenched in the area for numerous generations. It was an informative and sometimes humorous narrative which had everyone on the edge of their seats.

Written by Cintra Amos

On Sunday 16 February 40 AMOC members gathered in the Victoria Hotel carpark before setting off on a leisurely cruise through the Fleurieu Peninsula. 

Among the group was the stunning purple Aston Martin Valour of Glenn Drayton and Deirdre Butler.  This new and extremely rare car (world-wide production of only 110 vehicles) features a V12 engine coupled with an old-school manual gearbox.

 After a recent very hot spell, it was lovely to enjoy some milder weather as we enjoyed our cruise organised by Julia and Grant White to the award-winning “Swagman Restaurant” at the Softfoot Country Alpaca Farm.   The day was fully-subscribed and we filled the restaurant!

Housed in a converted shearing shed overlooking Highland Valley, we all enjoyed a convivial afternoon of delicious slow food including a variety of bush foods sourced from their own garden, where some members took a stroll after lunch.

We had 28 members attend on a very warm 35 degree day which started with an observation run through the Adelaide hills leading to the lunch venue. This run was organized by Chris and Jan Barron who have prepared numerous runs for us throughout the years and have always proven to be a hit.

Being an observation run it made for some serious competition between members as the couple that answered the most questions correctly won some Aston merchandise and wine.

Richard Avard and Andrew Brown won first prize with Fred and Marina Pascale coming in a close second and third place was taken by Tom Hutchinson and John Hendrickson who all received some lovely Aston goodies.

After the run members were greeted with a welcome drink and an opportunity to relax looking over the greens of the golf course.

Xmas decorations and Bon Bons created the atmosphere for a festive and generous meal of Beef Fillet, Mashed Potato, Broccolini, Red Wine Jus and Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon, Green Beans, Spanish Onion, Walnuts, Balsamic Reduction.

Duck fat potatoes and pear and parmesan salad completed the selection.

We held a brief AGM where the new committee were elected unopposed for the coming year.

Martin Farkas Area Rep, Harley Cooke Assistant Area Rep, Cintra Amos secretary and Bitten Pedersen as treasurer.

The committee will be holding a meeting during January to set the dates for the runs through the year with the first run being Sunday, February 16^th. We will be visiting “Softfoot Country” which is an Alpaca farm and has an attached restaurant called “Swagman Country Dining”.

This run is being organized by Grant and Julia White and looks like it will set the benchmark for the remaining runs for 2025.

Martin Farkas AMOC SA