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More coming soon Photos from Kevin are here
Tuesday 31 Jan - Day 3. ‘BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.’ If you thought “Crazy Chris Baird” was a tough sheriff, I suggest you check out “Justice John Auld” the terror of the ‘Southern Safari 2006’.
Day three started off with “Justice John” making many wallets & purses much lighter. Would you believe he group fined most of us for not coming to his sing-along the night before, and
he didn’t even invite us.
With money in the bank and Vic’s morning chat over, we set off through Daisy Bank Station heading for the Rock & Pillar mountain range. It was obvious that it was a windy day ahead when the gates had to be held or tied open to stop them slamming shut again. After a couple of gates, I had worked my way to two behind the leader, where we were treated to the sight of a wild pig dashing ahead of Vic & Steph. A fine specimen he was too, wearing his little black spotted brown coat. I guess from his level the Nissan looked scary. About this stage I lost contact with the group on the PRS and when I finally established that I was on 12 the wrong channel I found that somehow I was doing the trip report. That was cool with me.
We progressed up to a very old house still in use by shepherds, trampers etc. It appeared to me as if it was made of mud bricks but I’m not sure of that. To one side was a long-drop toilet with no door but had an uninterrupted view for about 100 miles. There was also a magical old shearing shed with rock walls, a bit worse for wear in the fl ooring department, but gave a good feeling of how things were done many years ago.
I got a strong feeling of how hard life must have been. I pictured in my mind, a group of men on horseback miles away, quietly driving a mob of sheep toward the shed and a small boy galloping up to one of them on a draft horse calling, “Dad! Dad! Mum says dinner will be an hour late tonight. She had to stop work to have a baby. She says she’s sorry but will try harder tomorrow.”
On the move again we travel up what obviously was an airstrip. The way the wind was howling up there the planes must take off and land vertically. Our target now was to reach Stone Hut. To get there we wound our way along reasonably narrow tracks with nice drops on the co-pilots side. As we zig zagged our way forward my dearly beloved commented, “I don’t care how much you scratch this truck. GET OVER YOUR SIDE,” her little white knuckles desperately clutching my video camera and her lovely swan-like neck stretched out at full extension with eyes scanning our surroundings making sure wheel placements were correct. (It must be an over reaction from a trip to Denniston.)
Confusion became apparent behind us somewhere, and after radio calls it was established that Jackson was in some sort of strife. Is this mans name really Peter. Peter Jackson maybe. Nah, can’t be. Anyhow he had managed to get himself to about 800 metres above sea level in two-wheel drive. Surely this is a fineable offence. While we waited for Jackson to set himself up correctly I spied “Justice John” using binoculars. Most of us were gazing at Stone Hut in the distance but I’m sure he was taking his duties as sheriff to a higher level. I searched my truck for electronic bugging devices to be sure.
We reached Stone Hut and parked about 100 metres away, where we could all turn about, and walked to this gorgeous hut. It was perched on the tip of a ridge with magnifi cent views all around. It is built out of Schist rock, which can be found in magnificent pillars all over these mountains. The inside had been plastered to make it completely weather proof and like all the huts we saw, it was very clean and smelt fresh. I saw Vic anxiously pacing outside the hut waiting to lock the door and get his fl ock underway again. The 100 meters walk back uphill to our trucks made us feel like we were now the Nelson four wheel-drive & tramping club.
After a short crawl out to an open area, Vic decided to have an early lunch, to try to beat what looked like an oncoming rain cloud. It was here that I discovered why women always go to the ‘loo’ in pairs. It is to let each other know when wild pigs are coming. Well that’s what my job was when I went with my driving instructor, her on one side of a pillar attending to nature and me standing guard Tarzan like, on the other. Hell she must be lucky to have me.
The rain passed around us, the wind kept blowing and we moved on through tall tussock, which swayed in the wind like a thousand dancers from Hawaii. The Tussock ran out as we climbed higher, giving way to hundreds of acres of lovely green Hebe’s. I struggle to grow one well at home and here there were millions of them. As we drove even higher we came to bare open tops covered with large stacks of Schist pillars, some of which looked like they could be pushed over with one hand. The ground was covered with very short plant life about 10cm high.
At a height of about 1450 meters we reached Big Hut situated on the edge of the mountains, facing out over the plains far below.
The most enormous view from this large ski hut went for as far as the eye could see. It also had a long-drop with a view but this time there was a door.
From here we started our retreat down the mountain and very soon we were winding back and forth, making little progress in a horizontal direction but a lot in the vertical. For one hour we crawled slowly down with once again the drop on the co-pilots side. “Get over! Get over!” came the call and I got. If there is one person I feared more than ‘Justice John’ that day it was my nervous co-pilot. If she said get, I got, and really quick. As we continued slowly the objects below grew bigger and we passed two trucks going uphill. They had parked to let us past and the occupants took the break to have a cool beer as they waited for us. We fi nally reached the bottom and gathered in a fi eld beside at a roadside. Vic & Stephanie had a short talk and we split up.
Some headed for Dunedin, some went to Middlemarch, while Linda & I left for Palmerston. Our trip was sadly over. The guy that is married to my wife had paid to go to the rugby sevens in Wellington. It will not happen next time. We had a most wonderful time.
What did we get from this trip?
We have seen parts of our country unobtainable to us before we joined our club. We got to know a group of happy, comical people who can give and take fl ack from each other. We enjoyed everyone’s company. We learned from the Riddell family how happy a family should be. Bruce and Sarah, you get our vote as ‘Truck of the trip’.
Thanks everyone, especially Vic & Stephanie.
Linda & Lex Bloomfield.
Wed 1st Febuary - Day 4 Bill & I (Lloyd) left Dunedin campground to rejoin Bob Dickinson & 6 other vehicles at Middlemarch to do a trip into McCrays opencast mine. On the way we saw stone fenceposts, browngrass, lots of piles of rocks stacked up like "tomb stones", battleships,army tanks-depending on your imagination. Travelled up dusty roads, more brown grass, past Butter & Egg road, back onto seal. At the public lookout we saw huge big mined holes in the ground with huge sandpit toys, then drove back to have a look at Historic Mining & Stamping site. Finally off down Milnthorpe road, Left to Rumrock road. Lunch at Milnthorpe Reserve-site of gold mine and town, now an open paddock with a stone chimney remaining. Cross country onto gravel-through sheep yard full of sheep. Finally we could see the sea. Down through a few valleys to highway 1 at Kaikakito?.3 vehicles headed back to Dunedin, 1 went north & Bill & I took John, Bob & Cookie on overland scenic tour thorough Port Chalmers. Back at camp 3pm before girls had finished shopping & visiting the Chocolate Factory. Chocolate Factory. Jill & I (Diane) arrived 1.45pm at Cadbury Chocolate Factory, along with a few other 4wdrivers to do a tour, only to be told a pipe had burst in the main part of factory so most of it was shut down, but could still do a tour for half price. so we paid up and were made to put silly hats on, & off we went on a tour of the non working factory, was quite boring really. Had a few chocolates given to us and were given some advertising blurb to watch. Tour ended after 90 minutes. (Diane)
Friday 3rd Feb - Day 6
Departed motor camp 9 am (14 vehicles) through Dunedin streets and onto Southern motor loosely following Ken Banner. Exit motorway and into Mosgiel and into Hwy 87. Flash! That was outram, and an onto the hills, turn off at clack junction. Nice farmland with rocky out crops for as far as you can see. We turned onto the old Dunston road and onto gravel and dust. We follow the old Dunston road past the Great moss swamp to Paerau for a well earned cup of tea and a look at the old stone building across the fence and a small creek. Very interesting, the styx hotel, a stable, a jail and some houses. On a bit further we turned onto Serpintire Rd and followed through rock filled paddocks and
lots of gates. We all got a turn and a lofty. We stopped at the old stone church for lunch. Has been used as hut for some years. Exit right up track heading for poolburn and around side of the lake and past small concrete dam. Soon met up with Murray, Kevin and Diane and Dolf and Gwen coming the other way, they continue on to the old church and convoy travel onto Alexandra. Set up camp. Another great day
Jill and Bill Knowles
Saturday 4 Feb - Day 7.
We were rejoined in Alexandra today by Harold and Carmen in the shiny jeep with the equally shiny new gearbox. We departed from the Alexandra motor camp at 9am with 14 vehicles in the convoy. Instructions were to proceed 20km past the dam to a gate enroute to Hanging Rock. It was a bit cooler today after our 30plus temperatures of the previous few days so really helped all those Toyotas from their usual overheating problems. We went past the dam and had 14 different versions of had we done 20k or not, this wasn’t helped by some starting their odometers from the camping ground and others on the outskirts of Alex.
Finally found the right gate and immediately lost again ( an experience we would experience again frequently this day ) before taking the correct right hand turn and proceeding ever upwards to the Rise and Shine Range. We followed a trail of horse fertilizer and much mirth on the prs about four feet drive, mud grip feet and smaller legs on the back to counteract the hill etc. Kevin predicted and the gps confirmed that the wild Spaniard would be found at 800 m. We also found a trail of oil leading to, most unusually not a Toyota, but to Harold’s Jeep, much discussion followed and we agreed it had probably just been overfilled. Luckily this turned out to be right and it ran like a charm for the rest of the day. About as unusual as a reliable Toyota was Bruce’s problem with that triumph of British engineering a Land rover requiring a tow, probably bad fuel. We were off again through the clouds and finally looking back down on them from the tops, at this stage Vic’s tyre that he had fixed the previous day went down so whilst he fixed it Steph gave the out fit who had supposedly fixed it a call, and fixed them ! We then made contact with the ChCh 4wd club through the PRS who were approx 80km away at Lake Onslow clear as a bell. I forgot to mention all the wild thyme that was growing apparently sourced from the old miners gardens years ago; just as well we had plenty of thyme with all that was going on.
After a stop for lunch amongst the most amazing rock formations we were away again into the fog and … you guessed it, lost again. Much consulting of maps, memories, gps, compasses and debates before a scientific decision was made based on
Ennie meeni miine Mo,
Please dear compass,
Which way should I go? Off again along the tops where the gentians were flowering and descended to an old stone hut, Jackson shot up and down a steep hill allowing Raewyn her thrill for the day. From and old adit and stamping battery most carried on to Bendigo where Shrek was found and had great delight in seeing how long a rock took to reach the bottom of a 178m deep mine (between 5 and 6 seconds depending on who counted) also looking round the old huts. A great day out and our thanks to Kevin, Dianne, Ken, Steph and Vic (who didn’t really get us lost that much)
Allan and Astrid Sims
Monday 6 Feb. (Waitangi Day) - Day 9
by Eric Sullivan
At 7.30am, 8 vehicles assembled outside Gore Motor Camp for what was scheduled to be a long return trip to Mavora Lakes and beyond.
After a comfort stop at Lumsden, we continued to Mossburn, the Deer Capital of NZ, and a little further along SH 94, turned to follow “Mavora Lakes 34km” 30km of which was a fast, dusty, gravel road. Beside the shore of the fi rst lake we expected to meet John and Diane Auld who, a day or two before had attended a wedding in Queenstown. Over morning tea, someone suggested that JA may have “run off with the bridesmaid ??”. However, soon after, the Landcruiser suddenly appeared raising the vehicle numbers to 9.
Near the head of the second and larger ‘North Mavora Lake’ we paused at a hut, - a hut complete with Shacklock stove, hot water cylinder and shower ! A familiar face and voice there, turned out to be the TV personality who fronted the TV-1 commercial which centred on “Bridge No 1” “Bridge No 2” and “Bridge ??” which often featured prior to TV-1 News last year. We continued in a north-west direction via a clay and stone track to road end at Boundary Hut and the boundary with Elfi n Station where lunch was taken under a clear sky and warm calm conditions. The trip to this point had been made even more interesting by a very informative commentary from life member Bruce Cook.
From there, it was planned to back-track a little way to a Y junction, from where we would follow another track (known to be rough) to Fork Hut. At the junction, Brent decided to try his hand at fishing in the Mararoa River while Sandra, and Diane Auld took a break and a rest in the sun. I was grateful to join John as his passenger. After two easy fords of the Mararoa River the track of clay and rock got progressively rougher. Vehicles turned back at different stages so that eventually only 4 of the 9 vehicles continued to Fork Hut, - an aging corrugated iron hut with concrete fl oor. It had taken exactly an hour to cover the 7.2km of this very rough track. Returning from Fork Hut we encountered 3 horsemen, 2 of whom were leading loaded pack-horses, - a rare sight these days. Back at the junction, we learned that Brent had landed a 7lb trout, and Kevin has the photos to prove it !!
Turned homewards at 4pm arriving back at Gore at 7.15pm, - near enough to a 12 hour day, 8 of which had been off-roading. Can’t ask for better than that.
Thank you again Harald and Carmen.
Ps thanks to Safari organiser’s for a great 2 weeks away.
Wednesday 8th Feb - Day 11 and final day of the South Island Safari 2006. by Angela and Scotty - Probably just Ang, but lets give scotty a bit of credit too
First day of unpleasant weather, but no dust on the gravel roads as a bonus!
Carmen requested that I write a report on the days trip, but it was already off to an interesting start seeing as we already had a cracked windscreen by this stage of the day... enough said.
Travelled through farmland in Owaka area, encountering a mob of sheep on the road. Stopped for a brief re-group and decided not to take the road over the farmland as planned, with the day-before's mishap fresh on our minds, and the view from the top would be obscurred due to the "Southland Mist" that prevailed on this fine day. (Brolly's and gumboots being the must have accessories of the day)
Minor delay, herd of cows on the road...
Turned off to Cannibal Bay, stopping to rescue a Dutch couple in a campervan that had managed to slip off the road into a muddy ditch. Needless to say they were very grateful!
Onto the beach, passing some Hooker Sealions having a well deserved kip in the sand. We all lined the vehicles up for a group photo, then most of us ventured off for a 10 minute walk over to Surat Bay, the sight of a historic ship wreck.
Next stop Nugget Point, travelling along rugged Southland coastline to the lighthouse keepers house via a locked gate. Discovering that the house was currently being used by "very important" members of the nation, we changed plans and proceeded to the weather forcasting house for a lunch sheltered from the rain. Plenty of interesting documentation there that had been left behind, that could have been noseyed through if we had have had enough time on the day.
Back down to the gate, and a slight struggle to get a carpark as to the popularity of the point, and the general lack of parking skills of the tourists!! A slight shuffle saw us all get a possy before enbarking on the short walk to the lighthouse. The view from the point was magnificent, rugged coastline, small islands that looked like nuggets, seal cubs playing in the rockeries, kelp swirling in the tide swells, and the gusts of wind were definately memorable!
Into the lighthouse for a guided tour and informative talk from John Auld, many thanks for organising a key for the group. Definately a highlight for the male members of the trip by the looks of things..
After a couple of vehicles headed towards home, the remainder of the group went to Tunnel Hill to walk through the southernmost railway tunnel in NZ, hand excavated between 1891-92. Any excuse for the men and kids to get the torches out for a bit of fun!!
and a bit of ghost spotting....
Final stop in Owaka for an icecream and a re-group, before we left the group to continue on with our holiday.
Special thanks to Glen, Morris, Stu and Tom from the Southern Trail Blazers for their local knowledge and time.
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Past club trips 
