Rally Nippon 2013 in Taiwan: Day 3— Eastward Bound
This is Part 3 of the Rally Nippon 2013 in Taiwan. For Part 2, go here.
Day 3 covers the longest distance. We headed off from the Penbay International Circuit in Ping-tong by passing the subtropical southernmost tip of Kenting (a surfing town), to traversing the central mountain onto the Pacific east coast, then heading north along the Pacific to the seaside town of Hualien.
Each day starts with an overall check-up. All systems go with our 1967 E-Type.
The two main north-south highways ended right before Pen Bay. By now, we are starting to see a lot more fan cars riding alongside us along the balmy coast. They all waved excitedly and religiously took snaps of all the classics that passed. Looks like it’s going to be another great day of driving.
Quick stop at an oceanside cafe. More overwhelming crowds since this is also a popular pit stop for tour buses. Here, we are still on the west coast of Taiwan (to the right of this picture is the Taiwan Strait).
The 80-strong convoy – inclusive of lead and service cars – then cuts across the central mountain ranges (basically the heart of the entire island) in southern Taiwan, toward the Pacific east coast…
After hours on a twisty one-lane mountain road, the view finally opens up to…
…the Pacific Ocean!
1964 E-Type Sr.1 OTS
Passing by yet more small pockets of development along the Pacific…
Finally arrived at the Indigenous Botanical Garden for an organic wild herbs hot pot lunch. It is already way past lunch time so the convoy was famished.
Cutting across the amazing East Rift Valley, where an infinite expanse of mountain ranges run to our left and right.
A pit stop at a national park before we continue on
A modern train sped by the classics.
The last formal pit stop of the day, at an old sugar factory. Again greeted by hundreds of enthusiasts…
The sumptuous curves of the E-type against the historic mills
1965 Shelby Cobra 427SC
1956 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider
Pressing on…
About 20 kilometers away from Hualien (that day’s destination), we pulled into a gas station and noticed the big cat’s water temperature was alarmingly high…
My buddy Mitch in our support van quickly diagnosed the problem to be a faulty relay leading to the radiator fan. With the help of the rally’s technician, we ran a direct wire from the battery to the fan, temporarily averting the overheating problem.
Day 3 ended with a small scare, plus very tired legs. By now, the entire convoy had passed us and settled into the hotel.
A glimpse of the less fortunate cars after 3 days.
Garage check-in at the end of day 3.
This is Part 3 of a four-part series. Join us for Part 4 tomorrow.
Motoring Con Brio 
Thank you so much for sharing this. Beautiful photography and evocative text.
Simon Baldwin said this on January 16, 2014 at 9:26 am
[…] This is Part 4 of the Rally Nippon 2013 in Taiwan. For Part 3, go here. […]
Rally Nippon 2013 in Taiwan: Day 4— The Final Stretch | . . . said this on January 17, 2014 at 12:00 am