Lamb Valley - Saturday
Photos here

By Graeme Nicholls

 “No Way” he exclaimed, “we would never be able to fit all our beds, tents, food and lots of beer into a little Jeep”.

 “No problem” I said, “I have this thing that you hook on behind the Jeep, it is called a trailer”

“Oh” he replied, so with that we set sail late in the morning to meet up with all the other brave (or stupid) four-wheel drivers at the turn-off to Lamb Valley.

We arrived at the allotted meeting place at around mid-day to find a fairly small turn-out (must be a bit soft, a lot of these Nelson 4WD Club members), but then there was a shower of dust and stones, and Kooze had arrived in the Jeep with the newly modified front suspension. “Just seeing if it works,” he said, but I me-thinks that perhaps the corner was just a little bit sharper than he thought it was.

Now there was a total of ten trucks, so we made our way up to the camping site a few kilometers up the valley, where the real men set up tents, and the big girls blouses moved into the hut that was there, and then Scotty was spotted up on the roof cleaning out the chimney, so that the softies could lounge around in front of the fire!

Once the domestic duties had been taken care of, it was time to hit the track.  Up the hill behind the camp we went, until we came to a privately owned sawmill, and then we turned onto a track that took us down into the valley behind.  I called it a track, but in reality it was where the skidder had been hauling logs up the hill to the mill, and it was pure clay, with not a stone or gravel anywhere to be seen.  Potters would pay a premium for this stuff!

Sav seemed to get the maximum value from this track, having to winch himself down hill on several occasions, but a few of the other trucks got pulled through and bulldozed the mud out of the way, it got easier and easier, until the two jeeps a the back made it look like a Sunday drive. Most of the trucks needed a bit of assistance at some point on this track, with one unfortunate Landcruiser driver deciding that the track wasn’t any where near wide enough for him, and doing a wee detour down a bank on the side of the track. A bit of self-winching soon had him back where he should have been though.

This track took us in a loop back to the sawmill, where we stopped to have a bit of a look, and a cuppa.

Sav then led us back down the hill, past the camp, and then further up the valley to another track that went up the hillside.  This one also caused a few problems for some, with our rather luck-less Landcruiser driver, who, after several attempts, decided that it was undriveable in his wagon, so Scotty jumped in the drivers seat and proceeded to drive it up to the top for him!!

Back down the hill we went (on a loop track), and then across the creek to do another small track, before heading back to camp, as it was getting fairly late in the day by then.  On the way back, we all stopped at a pile of branches and filled up the back of our wagons with enough firewood to keep us warm for the night

Back at camp, and it was time to cook ourselves a feed, light the bonfire, and have a few beers to end the day on. By about eight o’clock, there was quite a good frost on the ground, so the fire was kept going pretty full on until we called it a day at around midnight.

Thanks to Sav and his helpers who organized this trip for us.

I landed the trip report after a slight navagation error saw us arrive 10 minutes late. En route we past one of the mighty Jeeps parked half way up Spooners with the rear driveshaft hanging on the ground. Lex continued, but only as a passenger.

We met up with the campers at the Lamb Valley turn off for a quick briefing before heading onto the farm, for a small fee of $3. At the start there was a fair bit of grip due to the frost, but once the ground thawed out it became a bit more interesting with the heavier trucks going forward and sideways at the same time.

We followed Sav through a number of tracks with plenty mud, but with a solid base. One tricky section began when the Bighorn got swamped, taking some of its rescue squad with it. A couple of the Cruisers had a go, so I followed thinking I was in control. Unable to get up the other side I some how managed to end up facing the way I drove in, so flew back out before the tow ropes were needed.

Others continued to have a play before we all headed down to the hut for lunch in the sun. Once replenished we continued round the property passing through many gates which eventually took us down to a river. We followed the river, passing though a few obstacles along the way. By this time if you we near the end of the group it made the track a bit more muddy and made for an interesting ride, especially as I was in the passenger seat. "BRAKE' was shouted a number of times.

Our last challenge for the day was a small hill climb through some trees.
The slope became very greasy meaning if you took the wrong line there was no way of getting to the top. Spectators were best behind a trees as most of the drivers plans of getting to the top involved a fair few revs and sudden direction changes. Kevin showed us that he could basically stop and pose for a photo before some how continuing on to the top.

From there we continued on some easy tracks back down to the road. Pumped up the tyres and then back to Nelson.

Thanks Sav for another great days 4wheeling.

Chaz Brooks