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Motueka Westbank |
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Date: 10th October 2010
Trip leaders: Lloyd Knowles & Leo Van Workum
Trip report: Sam Watt
As I contemplated the merits of a cheeky wee Pinot Gris at 1.30 am on Sunday morning with some friends, I thought to myself, this may not bode well for the the West Bank 4WD run tomorrow (or today as it was). However, after a decent sleep I determined to go, as Leo and Lloyd usually put on a good run.
So up to Motueka it was, topped up the water at the fuel station, my water that was, and met up with a very good turnout of vehicles at the clock tower: twenty, I believe. The weather looked fine and after the drivers brief we all headed up Rocky River Road to our start point.
The entrance to the track was through a nice rutted bog hole for starters. Leo led the way and scrambled through. Well, no use delaying the pain I thought, may as well get started, cleared the brain and headed into the bog hole, but not very far! Wrong line I thought, back up, try again, but the ‘big white fella’ was going nowhere fast. This was not right: the bog hole wasn’t that bad! Then a shout of encouragement from the onlookers gave me a clue: ”Try fourwheel drive, Sam”. Hmmm, looked down at the gear levers, yes even in my early morning fuzz that
looked okay, then the penny dropped - forgotten to engage the manual hubs. Hence the reason I am writing this report. After sheepishly engaging same, all went as it should and we walked through the bog hole. I did however feel a little better when moments later Scotty did exactly the same thing.
It was an interesting day’s driving with some quite technical routes if you wanted to try them. However, Lloyd had done a job good of organizing the routes and in nearly every case there was an alternative easy option. In fact at the top of the first climb was a stiff little test that you did not need to navigate at all, but I thought I would give it a try. I attacked it with some considerable gusto, but traction was not to be found and the slippery clay was pushing the vehicle close to the edge, so I ceased attempts and reviewed the situation. I have long ago learned that if you are in a tight spot, wait and get assistance, and what I needed was some spotters to guide me back down. So, with Leo on one side and Sav on the other I was in good shape to start reversing the big fella back down. It was all very controlled, left hand down, forward, right hand down, back, back some more, forward and then safely at the bottom - except, I was facing the wrong way - downhill! How did that happen? So my next first of the day: reversing back up the track. I could see it was going to be one of those days.
We followed Leo around the various tracks, with Leo and Lloyd discussing various options on the radio. Typically it went like this, “Lloyd, do we go right or left here” – “Well Leo, left is totally overgrown, I cleared the right track” - ‘’Okay Lloyd, left it is”. However, as stated above, Lloyd was looking after anyone who did not want to take the tough routes and guiding them around easier options. It was all well organized.
The biggest challenges on the day were some very deep washed out ruts, and unfortunately these caught out two of our less experienced drivers who got cross-axled and laid their vehicles on their side. Fortunately no one was hurt and only minor panel damage, but it highlights that you can never become complacent out on the tracks.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day out, and thanks Lloyd and Leo for a good trip with great views from the ridges.
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Past club trips 