By now you will have seen a bit of what we get up to in the Nelson 4 Wheel Drive club.

You are very welcome to contact our membership officer Lex Bloomfield on 03 528 8729 (a Motueka number) or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with a view of joining our club. You only need a 4 wheel drive vehicle (not a 4wd car).

Benefits of joining our club are as follows:

However, our foremost thought is safety for our club members and families. There are rules that MUST be adhered to, and if you cannot or will not follow the rules, you are NOT welcome. So before contacting Lex to gather more information, we suggest you read the rules. Some of them will not mean much to you just yet, but Lex is happy to answer any questions you may have.

by Harald Ahlfeld - September 2010

On 28th November 1973 thirteen men met at the “Chez Eelco” Coffee House in Nelson. They all had one thing in common: they were 4WD enthusiasts. These 13 men are known as the founding members of the Nelson Four Wheel Drive Club. The objects and aims of the club were outlined at this meeting, they are as follows:

- a social and recreational club
- to join Search & Rescue, Civil Defence, and assist in other allied services
- to hold trials and gymkhanas and have regular trips in Nelson and other districts
- to gain access to normally closed areas eg. forestry, Lands & Surveys etc.
- and finally to increase knowledge of 4WD vehicles, driving skills and techniques, and assist           
  in parts and equipment finding.

The second meeting, held just one week later, was mainly to discuss a proposed day trip over the Maungatapu track. At that stage there were already 25 members. The trip was a success. Club fees were $3 single and $5 family.
A constitution was formed and in June 1974 the decision was made to incorporate the club. This took several years to finalize. The first rally was held on 16th June 1974 (Maitai Valley).
By the end of the seventies the club had 60 members, although 1979 was the year of the closed petrol stations and the carless days. Trips were advertised in the newsletter with information on how many tanks were needed for the round trip. Club members had to plan ahead on which trips they would go on in order to conserve fuel.
In the beginning of the eighties - still carless days and petrol restrictions - the committee was wondering if the interest in club activities had changed. Weekend trips, mostly further away, became less popular perhaps because of the costs involved, and day trips and fun days were the order of the day. Quite a few members took an interest in rallying. A Jamboree held in late 1981 was very successful with vehicles attending from Kaitaia to Invercargill.
10 years down the road, in 1983, the club had 85 financial members and held at least one trip and one open meeting each month. In 1985 at an open meeting the decision was made to join the Southern Zone of the NZFWDA. Rallying was still at its height, but there was no shortage on other activities like camping and day trips.
On 16th February 1992 a marker was erected by members of the Nelson 4WD Club on the Maungatapu track to mark the place known in NZ history as Murderer’s Rock, and presented to the people of Nelson as part of its 150th birthday celebrations. This plaque was replaced several times over the years and it is very sad to see it vandalized soon after its replacement.
New Zealand’s first ‘Coast to Coast’ Safari was held in February 1993: Teams of three started on the Westcoast of the South Island to make their way offroad to the Eastcoast to Kaikoura. It took some arm twisting of course to get the majors of both towns involved, especially at the ungodly hour at the start. This was an instant ‘hit’ and created a lot of interest from all around the country, so that numbers of participating vehicles had to be limited. In 1997 the organizer left the club after he decided to run the ‘Coast to Coast’ as a business, taking the name with him. The club organized another C2C in 1998, this time not as a team event, but later came back to the previous format. Also the name had to be changed: it became ‘The Lakes Tour’ or ‘Sea to Sounds’, so these ‘Coast to Coast’ drives are still “on” today - they’re just called differently: ACC (Across Country Cruise). Hopefully Dr. Nick Smith has nothing against the use of this name.
During the mid nineties the interest in competing at trials somehow faded; the trucks got more and more modified and the costs involved were simply too high. In the end only 2 members of the club were competing at trials.

In 1996 the Day/Night Enduro was born, a winch challenge on a smaller scale, but also very popular with entries from other clubs as well. 1997 saw the first ‘Southern Safari’ for “sight seeing fourwheel-driving”. These trips are organized as a holiday, from 1 to 2 weeks, emphasis more on sight seeing than 4wheeldriving, but the odd challenge is included as well. Over the years 2 very well attended North Island Safaris were thrown in, the next one is planned for 2012.
In 1998 the club joined ‘Tread Lightly’ - after the withdrawal from the NZFWDA, which the club joined again in 2005, though.
Additionally to the monthly club newsletter the website 4wdnz.net was installed in July 2002 to inform members of upcoming trips, reports & photos published of past trips, useful links to other 4wd activities etc. etc.

 

In 2003 the first trip for the public (fundraiser) attracted 70 trucks and went very well: these trips are still on (the next one will be this year end of August), to raise funds for different charities. Over the years the Club also assisted Search and Rescue at various opportunities; Civil Defence has a list of members who would be able to be on call; trips for the disabled were organized as well. After the big snowstorm in 2008 members of the club returned a favour to Nelson lakes farmers: for letting us use their properties for club trips in the past we helped them to clear their fences of fallen trees.

Coming back to 4wheeldrive activities: Anzac Weekend 2006 saw the first (Out of the back of) Reefton Challenge, an event over 2 days on challenging tracks around Reefton: teams of 3 vehicles competing for glory on grade 5 tracks. The next challenge was in 2007 and the most recently in 2009. There might be a wee break before holding the next one to give the tracks a chance of recovery.

Easter 2007 the National Trials of the 4WD trials were hosted (together with the Mid Canterbury 4WD club). 2009 the final of the National Trials were hosted by the Nelson club alone.

A low key version of the National Series Winch Challenge attracted 20 entries from all over the South Island. The NZ final round ‘Top of the South Winch Challenge 2010’ was held at the beginning of June together with the Marlborough 4WD Club.

In order to widen the scope for trips, the Nelson Club has now reciprocal agreements with several other 4WD Clubs allowing members of either Club to join in trips of the other one.
Of the founding members there is still one active in the Club. He and other early members should be gratified to see that although the emphasis on one or the other activity has shifted over the years, the aims of the Club as outlined in the very first meeting remain valid and with 91 financial and 2 life members the Club is still going strong.