Offroad-Express

Hello - over the weekend I witnessed a near-collision (head-on!) on the sand dune leading to the beach at Rimmer Rd. Congrats to the Hilux driver if you happen to be reading this.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on how to keep safe there...?

For those who haven't been there: the access path leads over the sand dune and onto the beach. The path curves quite a bit and makes it impossible to see incoming vehicles, and the sand hill that faces the beach requires 4x4's that are coming off the beach to keep their speed to keep from digging in. The sand is quite soft and does not pack.

Are there better points of access to this beach further north?

Cheers,

J

I thought Rimer Road had been closed

there is a really good sand track a bit further north. when you get close to the beach entrance it is quite soft with a good lookout and spectacular steep entrance and a slightly easier entrance/exit also. would reccomend trying this as its a nice drive and not too many people know about it.

gimmemud wrote: would reccomend trying this as its a nice drive and not too many people know about it.

They do now

Yahnz wrote:I'd be interested in your thoughts on how to keep safe there...?

For those who haven't been there: the access path leads over the sand dune and onto the beach. The path curves quite a bit and makes it impossible to see incoming vehicles, and the sand hill that faces the beach requires 4x4's that are coming off the beach to keep their speed to keep from digging in. The sand is quite soft and does not pack.

Not having been there and seeing it first hand and at the risk of making it sound over-simplified..... but...
would it not be a simple matter of getting your passenger / co-driver, mate in the vehicle behind you, or a bystander to walk to the top of the dune and give the all-clear before proceeding over the blind spot? Whether this be by hand signal if in field of view or over PRS if out of sight.
That would be my preferred option anyway.

I've only been down the new Rimmers Road access once and from memory it was boggy as hell so I can vouch for the keeping the speed up but I also remember it being a bit narrow, two trucks should be able to get through but it's hard at speed.

I think the least you can do is try and stick to the left as per normal and I'm sure over time it'll pack down and become easier to drive.

gimmemud wrote:there is a really good sand track a bit further north. when you get close to the beach entrance it is quite soft with a good lookout and spectacular steep entrance and a slightly easier entrance/exit also. would reccomend trying this as its a nice drive and not too many people know about it.

Is that Wilson road

Armourguard wrote:

gimmemud wrote:there is a really good sand track a bit further north. when you get close to the beach entrance it is quite soft with a good lookout and spectacular steep entrance and a slightly easier entrance/exit also. would reccomend trying this as its a nice drive and not too many people know about it.

Is that Wilson road

Wilsons doesn't have any legitimate beach access, its a dead end road.

Rimmers road is more dangerous than it used to be because of the lack of visibility. If anyone uses it I would highly recommend using some of the options above to reduce the risk.

I've been told the opposite, that Wilson road was a dead end but now it's been cleared?

I'm going up there tomorrow morning so I guess I'll find out.

We want to plot as many points on our GPS units incase the shit hits the fan and we need quick access to the road for an ambulance or Helensville A&E

Andrew1706 wrote:I've been told the opposite, that Wilson road was a dead end but now it's been cleared?

I'm going up there tomorrow morning so I guess I'll find out.

We want to plot as many points on our GPS units incase the shit hits the fan and we need quick access to the road for an ambulance or Helensville A&E

Andrew

Howd you go

We had a pretty good day in the Range but we never managed to get up to try Wilson, completely forgot until I was half way up the beach from Muriwai

Weather was pretty ratshit but that's all good, more mud

Need to replace my wheelbarrow wheels though

Dangerous place to play In the Range. Lots of really sharp shrapnel and unexploded ordnance floating around under the sand (20mm HE rounds spring to mind straight away) waiting to hurt you or you pride and joy. Not to mention it is a restricted defence force area and the fines are not too pleasant either.

Andrew1706 wrote:Weather was pretty ratshit but that's all good, more mud

Where do you find mud on Muriwai Beach???
Your not driving in the forest are you??

I know of what can happen if you play around there and no we weren't in the forest, just a bit of a play in the odd swampland here and there, time for some Simexs and some real mud tracks I think

Anyway, on the trip back down the beach I noticed the old Rimmers rd with the big log right across the top of the entrance which I hadn't noticed before and then remembered that the new entrance is a bit further down and I noticed one dune with a lot of tracks coming out of it and it was marked with one of those white and red road side markers but also noticed another dune a few hundred meters further down with the same marking?

The swampy area is where we drop bombs and blow sh#t up, so it is worse than the forest. we cant do stuff in because of the fire risk.

what happens if you get caught in the forest

93beachbasher wrote:what happens if you get caught in the forest

I would imagine you would get a trespass notice and possibly a fine.