Offroad-Express

Hi everyone,i'm from Goldenbay,i've been into 4x4's for many years,my last 4wd was a very modified isuzu mu lifted 7'' ARB lockers etc incredible wagon this,i owned this wagon for 7 years.
I sold this 4x4 about 4 months ago and have now just finished building a VX Landcruiser,making it into a ute,this wagon has also been lifted and has had quite a lot of mod's done old ma emu suspension,winchs,bar work..etc,etc.
My partner and myself have just started doing a 4x4 trip in the south island for 3 months [ towing a 25ft caravan ]keep a eye out for us.....

thats old man not old ma.......lol

Welcome, maybe I'll see you around Nelson.

Hi Hard yaka,just got back into this site,been on the road for the last few months 4 x4ing around the south Island and towing a 25ft caravan had a great time ..I will look out for a little yellow SUZKI when in Neson ..

welcome to the fray...

Thanks Smurf and Ineil [ sorry Ineil on last post,i'm still getting used to forum..lol..] i''m slowly getting the hang of it,i've been using the Aussie 4WD one for a while and thinks its really great having a NZ one..If in the Bay check me out i'm always into a bit of 4x4ing ...lol

Tell us some more about your trip???

Where you went, Good's, bad's etc...?

Gidday mate, done a bit of 4x4n in golden bay while I was living there. Is the gold fields track up behind Collingwood still any good. Rolled my 40 series up there in 2004.

Hi njv6,only been back a few weeks.We have been up and down the South island for about the last 4 months,most of that time we spent in Central Otago and the West Coast.Really do love Central Otago,i have been going down there for about 30 years [ hell that makes me sound old ..lol.. ] mostly in the winter 4x4ing and i have also done 14 brass monkeys [did the first one ]this is the first summer one,made the 4x4ing a lot easier.
We did most the tracks including the famous Whitecoomb Road and the serpintine ..the last time i was at the Serpintine we got stuck for 8 hours in the swamps, we had to winch and dig our way out ,we learnt a valuable lesson that trip turn back if it starts raining and snowing [ it was in early may ]No problems this time though the track was nice and dry even dusty also the track has been upgraded and bypassed some of the more dangerous parts.We also got down to the stamper and water wheel ok very steep and rutted but ok [ the Cruiser does have front and rear lockers which does help ]also got to the church, the track there has also been upgraded and drained [ just hope peope stick to the track ].
The Whitecoomb Road is a whole differant story it is very ruff rutted and swampy we got stuck a couple of times,i think it took us 6 hours to do about 20 k's,the deepest bog hole was up to my waste,my wife [ long suffering...lol.. ] hopped out and nearly went up to her neck,bloody funny at the time thank goodness she has a good sense of humour,she also did a bit of videoing so was good to look back on [ the cruiser filling up with water inside ,winching out of bog holes's etc] we got there in the end arrived at piano flat at about 7 pm at night,still sunny with daylight saving,piano flat is a magnificent place,great place for camping trout fishing etc worth going there just to camp even if you were'nt into 4x4ing, just come from the Riversdale end, thats what we are going to do next time and park our caravan there and do Whitcoomb from the other way
We did most of this few months on our own 4x4ing,WE DO HAVE A LOT OF RECOVERY GEAR and know how to use it and we also know these tracks [still get caught out sometimes ] i would probably recommend that go with a group but if careful it really is a lot of fun even on your own ..we did a lot of tracks on this trip this is just a couple of them WHITECOOMB ROAD being my favorite... [ WE DID A LOT OF EASY ONE'S AS WELL and they were just as much fun ]..Also must explain the only reason i go 4x4ing in the winter [ early may ] is because of my job driving for Fonterra [ i took a summer off this year ] ...Cheers Furnace

Gidday Cornfarmer,where did you roll it wasn't on track to moonlight was it,i seen where someone rolled there a few years back,i rolled mine going through the bush at about that time as well cost me heaps in beers ,..lol..
Yeh the track is still there,ruff as up to the Dam turn off and down to the dam is bloody muddy and rutted [ from Devil boot end ] , 6 trucks had to be pulled up on duck shooting weekend..lol.. bloody funny they did'nt have a clue they were duck shooters not 4x4er's
The track from the turn off and up through the bush is as good as,the bee keeper put a bulldozer through to get to his hives,it's almost 2 wheel drive now

furnace wrote: We did most of this few months on our own 4x4ing,WE DO HAVE A LOT OF RECOVERY GEAR and know how to use it and we also know these tracks [still get court out sometimes ]

I can relate to all your tracks.

The one back out of the stamper is a wee ripper without lockers....

and I think it is great that you are doing them on your own and therefore perfectly know your limits and able to self recover, it can be great touring on your own.

I enjoy 4x4ing on my own [ and partner of course ] as i don't have to hurry and i can explore a bit more,i love mucking around the old gold fields and i'm into photography as well so sorta suits me to be on my own at times
Yes Central Otago is a wonderful place,i just hope some of 4wder's don't stuff it up by driving off the tracks,i saw quite a bit of this in places.. a whole new forum on that one
I also have mucked around in Tekapo up some of the big rivers, that was a lot of fun also,the Station owners were wonderful and had know problems getting permission

I tipped her over down the bottom in a big rut. Was a bit wet & slippery and the RMTs I had on lost traction and ended up with 2 tyres in the air. Never had any trouble getting over that rut untill then .(probably drove it 20 odd times). Yeah a mate of mine up there told me about the bulldozer track, bit of a shame. I pulled a joker from Golden bay in a MU out of a river up the Leatham in Marlborough at about 2am one night, wasn't you was it?

The goldfields was the start of my old Surfs demise too. I tipped it on its side against a large log with a few broken off branches, pushed the whole passengers side in while trying to drive out, didn't realise the damage til I got out.
It makes a great day trip up there though, can make it rather interesting in a heavy rain. I have good memories of a mate standing out in a thunderstorm holding up a live electric fence so we could drive under it to get out

Smurf wrote: I have good memories of a mate standing out in a thunderstorm holding up a live electric fence so we could drive under it to get out

What a mate

Was'nt me Cornfarmer,have'nt done much 4x4ing over that side,would like to though when i get a bit of time
Yeh a bit of a pity about the Goldfields track,but still quite tuff up from the boots and very tuff down to the dam,i would say with a bit of rain the rest will wash out again.I have been up there a couple of times in the last few weeks and it getting worse each time [ or better ...lol.. ]

Hey Furnace,
How long have you been driving for Fonterra? Were you with them before 2001?

If so you'll probably remember me from a previous life, I used to drive a certain un-marked blue falcon wagon around there a bit. For some reason you guys didn't like to see me much!! lol..

How come your not wallaby shooting with the rest of the tanker drivers from the bay?

The bugger's is that where they are...i only drove for them part time last year so havn't caught up withthem for a while

Hi Ineil,yeh i was working for them then,i was driving the whey tankers at that stage [ I've been there for 40 years ...lol.. ],only been working for them part time lately ..I think i remember that blue falcon station wagon [ quite well ..lol..]