Mud seemed an only too real prospect as we assembled at Clarendon, opposite Richmond airforce base just outside Sydney, for the start of the SCCA Slurp and Burp run through central west NSW to Mudgee - a 500 kilometre round trip.

Gee, it was raining and the forecast didn't suggest much improvement over the weekend! One suggestion later in the day would be to rename this epic jaunt the sludge and fudge run. Sludge for obvious reasons - fudge because not everyone came in a Sprite or a Midget.

All the excuses were valid (well, most) so we had 13 Spridgets (a 14th joined us in Mudgee) and four tin tops in the convoy to cross the Blue Mountains. Of the tin tops one was towing a car trailer - just in case. Everyone had brought their Slurp and Burp Touring Kits with detailed itinerary and information about the winegrowing and historical aspects of Mudgee and Gulgong, the town depicted on the Australian $10 note.

We felt like Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth finding a route through the mountains for the first time. Rain, mist, low cloud, road spray and the occasional very heavy downpour meant that it was hard to tell where we were at times.

This was especially so for those with no windscreen wipers (Mark llA), one windscreen wiper (Bugeye) and non-existent hood-to-screen attachment resulting in as much water on the inside of the windscreen as outside it (Mkll).

Everyone else just had the usual leaks and drips although it must be said that two cars' soft tops were there more in concept than reality. In the missing equipment department, the SCCA Treasurer's one-eyed and frugal view of the world was evident through his Midget's single headlight. Running repairs where made later on.

Like B, L and W, Sprite touring groups are not put off by a bit of weather and they're not late either. We were flagged us off around 7.30am and after both the scheduled fuel stop at North Richmond and the unkind weather, the first of the touring group arrived at Lithgow's Commercial Hotel right on time for breakfast - 9.05am. Being responsible for creating a timetable that suggested trips like this could be planned down to five-minute intervals (ridiculous!), I was pleased that luck had swung the right way for the first leg!

Then it was off onto the Mudgee road and the rain was left behind at Lithgow. Arriving at Rylestone, 170 kilometres from our starting point for a fuel stop, we were still more or less in accord with the itinerary.

The road was definitely more enjoyable in a Midget than when I'd travelled it in a sedan surveying the route. The dry but overcast conditions now made the film making skills of SCCA Social Directors 'Steven Speilberg' and 'Jane Campion' possible. The convoy of speedy Spridgets slowed down to allow the filmakers' 1957 Holden FE panel van to get by and make up ground so that a good vantage point could be found for action shots.

This happened at a number of spots as we crossed the hills near Capertee, then the turnoff onto the Kandos/Rylestone road and further on closer to Mudgee. We're all looking forward to seeing the result!

After Rylestone we cruised through Lue which has a pub - no, we didn't stop here and a pottery - no, we didn't stop here either, although some people had managed to check out the homewares and craft shops at Rylestone and did so again on the way back.

The road into Mudgee from Lue and Rylestone is a Spridget road - neither straight nor flat. As well as the interesting road, part of the enjoyment was taking in the vista as we approached Mudgee and again when we returned the following morning in bright sunshine.

Recent rains had turned the paddocks green on both sides of the road. Running parallel to the road on our left was the line of hills that describes a semi-circle to the south of Mudgee and which gives the town its name, nest in the hills.

In the medium distance a tall church spire popped above the treeline from time to time telling us that we were near the town. The rasp of the trademark A series exhaust notes reverberated across the fields from the line of cars as their drivers used the quick steering and nimble handling to advantage.

Two hundred and twenty kilometres from the start we arrived at the Mudgee Valley Motor Inn which is right in the middle of the vineyards on the outskirts of the town at the appointed time - 12.15pm. Time to register, freshen-up and sharpen the fangs ready for lunch at the Red Heifer Carvery in the Lawson Park Hotel back in town.

Suitably recovered, it was time to visit wineries and sample Mudgee's finest. Poets Corner including Craigmoor, the original Mudgee vineyard, was first stop with full tourist bus accompaniment. Next was Robert Stein Vineyard on a more intimate scale. Of real interest to petrol heads was the vintage motor cycle museum with 1927 AJS and Douglas bikes through to 1950's Matchless and Norton and a 1966 Triumph.

Final stop was the di Lusso Estate which specialises in Italian style wine, olive oil and figs. The big attraction here, which someone had told us about at Poets Corner, was the special cheese and bikkies - free - which came with the wine tasting.

The wines made from Italian grape varieties were interesting, as was the growing black cloud generated by the hot and humid afternoon. The cloud came in from the south-west and moved around to the north circling the valley, a sure sign of hail we were told.

This initiated a sprint to the cars, up went the hoods and we were back to the motel just in time to get inside as the storm broke with lots of lightning, thunder and rain - but luckily, no hail.

In line with the general theme of slurping and burping, time back at the motel was used to prepare for the next instalment - although some essential maintenance was needed on the antique Holden. Its front suspension was no longer firmly attached to the subframe - nothing that a quick bit of spannering couldn't fix.

Augustines Foodhouse was the location for night time slurping and burping. Tall stories unfolded in direct proportion to uncorked plonk as the food cooked by Chef Didier Trehet, French-born and Mudgee resident, came out. There isn't space to describe it in detail but it was tasty and probably worth a whole Jamie Oliver episode.

Here we were serenaded by part-time local resident Paul Davey with Aussie bush songs and a little country music, especially Johnny Cash. Paul scribbled out and sang a special song for the occasion that went something like this -

In between Paul's songs and Rugby World Cup Final scores from the radio in the kitchen (no TV reception), every participant was presented with a certificate recording the fact that they'd had the guts to hack the trip.

And there were special awards for special people - like the club members who put up with an empty, bucking and noisy car trailer for the trip. The Treasurer got one for being such a one-eyed treasurer-type that he reduced his car's energy consumption/fuel consumption/greenhouse gas emissions by economising with only one headlight.

Little did we know that he would trump this effort returning to the Motel after the dinner. Not discovered until the following morning, a taillight dropped off his Midget on a small section of very rocky dirt road completing the one-eyed look.

Other awards included the Stephen Spielberg award for work on the 'The Mudgee Job', another couple got an award for being first back to the motel for RnR after cutting short the wineries tour, and the hardy (if not foolhardy) souls who did the whole trip without working windscreen wipers.

On Sunday morning after another bacon and egg breakfast we headed off for Gulgong. What a morning - fresh after the evening thunderstorm and a bright blue sky studded with puffy white clouds keeping us company as we cruised along Henry Lawson Drive past the vineyards.

At Gulgong we commandeered what we thought was a vacant block of land (it apparently belonged to the pub over the road) to assemble an instant Spridget car yard - Arthur Daley would have been proud. Then it was off to see the sights including the Pioneers Museum - an acre of carefully assembled 'rubbish' - now old enough to have broken through the barrier between rubbish and museum pieces.

A couple of passes up and down the main street in Gulgong signalled the beginning of the return trip accompanied by waves, cheers, brass bands, speeches by the Governor, RAAF F1-11 flyover, guard of honour by assembled local schools….. OK, we got a few waves as we departed!

As mentioned, the bright sunshine, the occasional fluffy white cloud against a very blue sky, pleasant temperature and a line of Spridgets snaking over the hills and around the bends made the drive via Mudgee to Rylestone the highlight of the trip for me.

Back into the slurping and burping we chose the Bridgeview Hotel at Rylestone for lunch and what an inspired choice that turned out to be. Our Treasurer kept finding enough money in the kitty to pay for main course and then the dessert. The meal comprised fresh ingredients, the desserts were sensational and we ate in the ambience of the restored 1860's pub owned by the local historical society.

Just as we were getting back into our cars our car trailer pilot noticed that the bolt attaching the nearside spring to its bracket on the car trailer had lost its nut and was only millimetres from falling out. Luckily the hardware store was open so a new bolt and nut were purchased and fitted.

How ironic that none of the Spridgets missed a beat yet we had a near calamity with the car trailer brought along to transport a sick sporty back to Sydney.

Once at Lithgow the rain began again but this time accompanied by a cold wind so up went the hoods for the return to the eastern side of the mountains.

From the joint organisers' point of view the trip went well - everyone seemed to enjoy the itinerary and the company and we did too, making it a double return on the investment of time and effort.