finally got the truck cleaned out from queens birthday on sunday. finally got some photos uploaded today.
Stayed at blackball fri-mon
Sat went exploring lots of dead end (locked gates) roads between there and Ikamatua. got this shot on one of the side trips (Cragiburn road)
Sunday did Napoleon Hill from Waipuna end
the river was fairly high and at this point the trail bikes we met were having trouble crossing
Having not been there before and running the track backwards from brief instructions I wasn't expecting the tunnels off the side of the river but good thing they were as if the whole river was flowing though them we would have had little hope of getting through
Went round and over the tunnel and dropped back down just beyond the second one
Met Daz and a mate just before heading up the papa track
I got up no problem in my cruiser but did some track work on the hill for the shiney to get up
also met another chap heading down
Also tried to find to road the Sewell Peak but I think the Kart and Gun club have been put in recently and its all changed???
Monday we tried Mt Fox, got up there ok but couldn't get out the other end all locked gates, met these other chaps at the gate out and they 'said' they didn't have a key but have a suspicion other wise. Had to back track a fair way but met some people loading a digger on a truck and had to wait for them, turned out we knew them so they let us out a different route which saved a lot of further backtracking.
Lunch at Moana and then the shiney went home and two of us cut through to Kumara to go through the forest to the top of Cockeye but new locked gate there so went right round to shanty town end and headed up there entering the creek at about 3pm, some badly washed out bits and got nicely stuck
Broke about 4 temp shear pins and also needed a tow and hilift over a stump to get out. Got to the top of the track after 2 hours and started heading back just on dark, got out in ½ hr at a fair pace and headed back to Canty only to run out of fuel about 5 mins before Rangiora!!!