Trip Report - 2nd day
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WE all met at 9am Sunday morning expecting a quick talk about the day ahead, but I must of giggled a tad to loud! Dam! I got landed with the Trip report.
Westport turned on a Magic day not a cloud in sight or that wet stuff Westport is famous for. We headed out of Westport towards Carters Beach. We hit the 1st corner and nearly fell off the road discovered we had a flat! Thanks Clyde! (for the dodgy tyres) We headed off to a farm changed our flat tyre and started the day. The others headed off and waited further down the track for our small group to catch up. Got slightly lost, called up for directions, Sav said go left we went right and there they were! Driving along we found 1st bit of mud and so did those behind us. Brownie stopped to play for awhile so did Murray Davis. Finally we all got through and parked up ready to head off.
2mins down track we all came to a grinding halt someone was stuck in a Bog hole, that was to be the order of the morning between bogholes and flat tyres. Everything was pretty uneventful till we decided to break for lunch and Scotty decided that he would show us his flying skills and found the only stump in the paddock. Once again the mobile tool shop was brought out, Hilift jacks, hammers, etc and after lots of bashing and crashing and rude comments the rim and tyre were reunited on the Green flying machine.
We ate lunch, proceeded to head back out, some decided to stay and play further down the road, the rest of us decided to head home. Great weekend, great company!
A Big thanks to Sav and Flag!
Lou Scott
Trip Report Westport
Sunday Afternoon
By Don Noble
After completing the Mornings mission around the farm, conquering the mud holes and watching Scooty try to turn the Rugger into a stump remover, some of the team decided they had had enough fun for the weekend and started making there way home.
A group of 16 wagons decided to do one more track before departing for home. So off we went taking a back road towards the Cape which linked up to the main highway to Greymouth where we would turn south of Westport
This part of the trip was uneventful, apart from sheriff Chris reporting the Whale was behaving strangely as we neared the Cape, decided its sonar had detected the nearby seals. Soon we turned off the main road into a gravel side road, crossing a river, that was not very deep, exiting the river onto a narrow track, closed in with gorse and scrub. This went for some way and posed no difficulties, apart from trying to avoid getting to many scratches. The track widened slightly as we moved into more open bush. Not to many challenges as we moved along at a steady pace, some steep climbs out of creek beds and some tight corners that saw some of the long wheelbase wagons backing up.
Then we dropped down a step muddy decent into a very rocky river with some good sized goolies this slowed as down as we picked our way to the other side to a steep rutted exit. Once through this a short distance and the track came to it's end. Trucks were turned, short stop for a chat and smoko, then on our way out. Now the fun began as we dropped down into that bouldery river and had to make the climb up the muddy incline on the other side.
This was taking some time, some trucks were struggling here. Out with ropes and winches. One by one we attack the challenge. Some are snatched up with a 30 metre rope, some winched themselves up, and some of as lucky ones managed to drive it. Everyone up away we go as time has slipped by. Arriving back at the main road quick drive in river, inflate tires and we are on our way to Murchison to refuel trucks and ourselves. This was a fun trip which ended a brilliant weekend of 4wding.
Two lads arriving home at 8.30 tired but very happy, thinking about the next trip. Thanks to all who put this trip together.
Don & Jordan Noble.
West Coast 2005
"Its a jeep thing" (by Hillbilly)
Departing the independent republic of Nelson around 6.30am with my friend Colin Lewis (our new editor) for a meeting with Sav and other undesirable in the main street in Westport for some FWDing around the wild-side of the south Island. We chatted with a few others on the PRS radio on the way down and got a real west coast welcome on arrival, (it pissed down with heavy rain.)We had been warned the accommodation would be hard to find because some Country and western pow-wow. So as luck would have it, the first motel(the Buller) took my $85 and put us next to Joe the Plum and his better half. I think thats why we got the Motel as no-one else would want to be there. Also Jackson and wife were there as well.
I missed the morning talk by Sav as I was getting my lunch and topping of the jungle juice for our big day out, these were important to me. Being the last to leave Browne gave me a way and pointed me on the way to Denniston. The PRS humming with all the usual, some thing about a jeep thing , we arrived at the bottom of the hill, then started to ascend the Hill. We arrived at the beginning of the goat track before the top. It is the track that was used on the Surf to Sea trip a couple of years back. Sav made some thing about moving up if you were ready to go as some were letting air out of tires and putting there front hubs in. I moved up and there was no sign of Savs Jeep, so I went forward and up the rough stony bouncier track. Next I get a call to pull over as everyone else was behind me. Confused, I parked up and then a little later on the track and then I knew we were in for a hard day.
Sav had parked his Jeep with all the mods and big Tires and was traveling in the passenger seat of a Toyota Surf. Just behind him was Pat Pritty sitting in a toyota land cruiser passenger seat instead of his fully inflated Rocky. There can't have been any Nissan to take so they decided to go the (bugger me) Toyota way. Crash bang and on and on we went, While taking a pounding from the stony ground. One of the Toyotas stuffed a front CV and with a bit of jabber on the PRS, a spare was found and it was changed then and there. Every time I got to the Garage to get things fixed, I'd have to wait and charged plenty, I think next time I'll take the bits with me to get it fixed on the track in half the time and would cost a lot less and get a better job done.
We had lunch at the top of a hill by a big old winch, with coal around on the ground with most of us relieved that we had made it so far, while the Toyota was fixed by committee. About an hour later in Sunshine did a few more tracks, and passed the burning Mine, Burnards face and arrived at the foot of mount Fredrick. Another track I went through and off we went. This was rough and the Banging and crashing got louder as we thumped and slid as we went up the hill. I got stuck on a rock with both front and back wheels of the ground at one point. Later we popped a front tyre of a rim and while backing up, I forgot to close my drivers door and bent that out of shape. On and on we went, most getting some sort of impressions of Mount Fredrick in there paint work in some form or other. Finely, we arrived at a a sort of car park near the top of the hill. Man it was some of the most hardest 4WDing I have ever done and by the look of every one else I think they were the same.
The trip down the hill had its adventures with a jeep tipping on its side in a slow roll-over and most of us were kept awake with all the banging and clanging on the body work as we all got to the bottom. I was right about Sav and Pat, it was a good move to go with someone else and leave their wagons parked in the barn even if it was a Jeep thing. We went on our way, we went back to Denniston and went and looked at the Jeeps and others as we were thank-full for a good but hard day out. Me and others went for a drive up to communications mast that over looked Westport, was a lovely view, but no sigh of the town due to light ground fog in the setting sun.
In Westport around 6pm, I took the tyre to the Caltex servo, but all the air went through the holes in the sides with a hiss, so we were a tyre down. A quick trip to super value for some Bacon for breakfast, coke for the rum and other stuff, then for a Steak with trimmings and a jug, amber tonic at McManus pub with a game of Rugby on the big screen. But it had been a long day, so we headed back to the motel with a view to looking for the bottom of the bottle of rum. However one glass and a early night was the way it turned out, with my head still full of all the crashing and banging that had gone on that afternoon.
Sunday
On the whale way for the day.
Down Main street again and departed south around 9.15am for a tour of a farm with it's main attraction was MUD, MUD, MUD and MUD. At-least it was not going to be as rough as the day before. We turned of the coast road and went on to some farm tracks that got slippery and the Tow rope got a good work out. There were three full size Whales (Nissan Safari s) amongst the rest off the pretenders and we were getting some bad press on the PRS. We were having some problems as Two point one ton on four tyres has a thing about getting to the bottom of any dirt. We did so the Sheriff lead the pod with his bigger tyres and dave and me behind. If we had used any thing else to toe a real 4x4 it might stretched body work or other bits and prices.
We got round OK but the only one who did not was Scotty s turtle green Rockey that hit a stump in the last muddy bit and bent a rim. He had another working lunch. this time to fix his own. After lunch I pulled out early and headed home with about five others. The rest had some more to do. I enjoyed the weekend and thanks to Sav and all the rest of his helpers for a grate weekend.
Things to fix one Tyre
one brake hose
one watch glass
one back bumper and Tow bar
drivers door
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/ / / / / / HILBILLY ? / / / /
\ ** \ \ \ Re-Tyred \ \ \ \ \
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Past club trips 
