So it does rain in Perth after all... We descended upon Scarborough Beach early on a Sunday morning. The weather was looking rather dubious, but the rain held off for an hour or so. This gave everyone time to say G'day, check out recent modifications made to the vehicles, not to mention a hearty breakfast at the local cafe.

Mark A's GPX was sporting a bored out throttle body, cold air induction piping and pod filter - courtesy of Perth's RPW. The high-rpm induction noise was quite outrageous.

My own GPX was now glued to the tarmac, thanks to the new Tokico shocks, uprated springs and a set of Pirelli P7000 tyres. Safe to say I was looking forward to the drive...

Dave W, a relatively new participant, brought his black manual GPX out to play. A very tidy car - totally stock, right down to the factory stereo. Dave had also brought along his mate Paul S, proud owner of a red RX-7. This took the cruise total to four vehicles.

After returning from breakfast, we were pleasantly surprised to find another FTO parked alongside us - owned by a couple who had simply come down to the beach that morning in their GPX. They didn't know quite what to make of it when they spotted three other FTOs in the first car park bays. They were not able to join the cruise, unfortunately! We set off heading North up the coast roads. The Indian Ocean was an impressive sight, with some hardy surfers taking their best shot at the waves. You'd have to be mad - it was the middle of winter...

After running out of coastal roads, Mark led the convoy inland, briefly crossing Wanneroo Rd before heading off through State Forest - apparently without much clue where he was going. What he found was an absolutely marvellous drive through the middle of nowhere. It appeared that all the north-south traffic had long since moved to larger routes, leaving Old Yanchep Road used for little more than farm or forestry access. On a Sunday morning, there was hardly another vehicle to be seen.

By this time, it had started raining. It did nothing to dampen our spirits, however, as we weaved our way through wide, sweeping bends, nice long straights and narrower sections of road. Glorious stuff. We did have to be aware of the odd sand-covered sections in line with farm gates, and of the fact that farm vehicles could always be around the next bend...

All too soon, the convoy navigated its way through Yanchep to the Beach Cafe - a no-frills establishment at a great location. With a choppy ocean as a backdrop, we grabbed a coffee or two indoors and waited for the worst of the rain to subside.

There is very little past Yanchep within a reasonable distance, so we decided to call it a day. The drive back down towards Perth took a more relaxed route than the north-bound journey... probably a good idea, given the worsening conditions. Despite the drizzle, it had been an enjoyable cruise, and the "Old Yanchep Road" run would certainly be revisited at a later date...