New Pajero in the Sand

[fweddy]

My father is at the moment way up the top of the north was staying with a friend up there.

Seems they went for a drive yesterday. I got this email and photos:

Your dad thought you might appreciate seeing these pics from yesterday's trip up north. Asians got their brand new Pajero bogged. Three four wheel drives could not pull it out! All three of us began to dig ourselves in but pulled away so we wouldn't end up in the same predicament!

From a little of the offroading we did today, your dad also said you would probably enjoy it very much up here with your 4WD.

Looks like none of the vehicles are particularly equipped and it seems they tried to pull him out but were looking like digging in themselves so to their credit, they left it rather than do some thing stupid.

Never heard the end result tho.

[fweddy]

Found out a little more.

Apparently the drivers had parked there and gone 'playing' in the sand dunes, its quicksand and when they came back and it was sitting about on the floor pan, as they tried to drive off the wheels just sunk down, apparently it got to the point that the wheels were at full stretch with the vehicle sitting on the pan.

A while ago DOC went in there with a brand new Hilux, parked it up and went working up the river or something, came back later and it was submerged up to the windows. Tried to pull it out with an older hilux but that also went down too, first one was written off (sand and salt water right through everything) the other one was an insurance job.

Apparently quite patchy - some places are ok some are not. Its the top of 90 mile beach.

[al889]

We went up there on a tour years ago in a converted Unimog bus, the thing was a beast. I was amazed to see normal tour buses down on the beach. the driver said he often had to pull them out. We parked in the stream that leads down to the beach to play on the huge dunes. it was a way cool vehicle