I believe it was only last month when I wrote about our rejuvenating Otago-Southland trip, after lamenting about drive after drive cancelled due to rain. And I find myself now, staring down the barrel of a long Waitangi weekend, totally rained out again. There’s nowhere in the South Island escaping this weather bomb. The silver linings are these: our editor will be pleased I’ve had the time to write this piece instead of go adventuring, and we have had one 4WD trip to ring in 2022, so therefore I have something to write about!
(Sounds about perfect to me – but maybe you’re going to need to buy some kind of amphibian for future trips? – Editor)

But seriously, what’s with all this rain?
We started our New Year’s trip with a couple of drizzly days camping in St Arnaud. We didn’t get up to much driving, but we did have some time to utilise and critique the “kitchen” set-up. See, we’ve been working (not very) hard to improve the accessibility of frequently used cooking items so that quick sandwiches and cups of tea don’t require a whole dismantling of the gear in the back of the 4WD and the inevitable Tetris scenario putting it back in. We’re not fancy enough (ie: no winning lotto tickets) to have nifty rear window compartments or fancy rear drawer storage like one might see on that one Australian 4WD show… so our kitchen is pretty DIY. In fact, we aren’t fancy at all. Some of you may get a kick out of how simple and underutilised our set-up is even after the ‘reno’, but hey, it’s a work in progress! And it sure has made cooking at camp a lot easier!
Like many vehicles, the Pajero has some useless cut-outs in the rear door panel, offering some creative space maximisation options. We discovered a moderate sized hole if you discard the stock tool kit (truck isn’t stock, so stock tools no longer useful!) and another smaller space next to the rear windscreen washer fluid. This made the perfect compartment for dish soap sponge and a scrubber.  
A big step prior to cutting the back door card panel apart was getting a new back door panel at the wreckers. Ours was beat up after years of trips, with clips missing, leading to the frequent jab to the panel to try to get it to go back in place. If you own a “classic” 4WD, you know the maneuver. We found a tidy door panel, perfect for cutting holes in! The other step you might not consider is the amount of dust that needs to be wiped away from inside the rear door cavity. There’s a layer of plastic in a Pajero that protects the wiring, and with half of the dust from the Clarence Valley still caked on it, I could see why!
With some reinforced boxes slipped into the back door cavities, and some elastic strung across the tool compartment, we managed to create a plate and cutlery cubby, as well as a washing station. We used simple black book cover adhesive to soften look and feel (and sound!) of the metal door against the utensils. Inspiration from our mate ‘Big D’ after a few beers led us to use Velcro to attach the cutting board directly to the rear door panel, completing the conversion from tool area to cooking station. We had already created a fold-down plywood table on the back door as well, so when folded up it tidily covers and protects the cookware during 4WD activity. To our delight, the kitchen doesn’t even rattle as we drive down the road, a bonus as I was expecting noise-dimming modifications to be needed in the future.
With the kitchen a bit more sorted and our sliding 12v refrigerator already in use, there was one last food related annoyance to improve: water. Thus far we had been relying on multiple 10L water containers for long trips, which are bulky and space hogging and borderline dangerous if not secured well during 4WD trips. We had looked into water storage a few times, but the options always felt too bulky or too expensive. With a toddler and all his accoutrements, space is limited and precious in the Paj. After months of head-scratching, we decided to make a cutout in the bed platform, just over and in front of the rear wheel well. This allowed access to a hole not easily utilised from the back of the truck. The good people at Burnsco in Christchurch walked us through hose clamps and fittings, in the end sorting us with a perfect 20L tank and hose set-up. We now have tap water available right at the “kitchen table”. Lush. We really should have done this years ago!!
Luckily for us, the rain cleared out of St Arnaud for New Year’s Eve. We loaded up on fuel and supplies, and drove east, turning down the dirt road towards the Letham River. With Big D and his new white imposter Pajero and Dom’s Gen 3 Paj in the crew, our three Pajero convoy headed off to ring in the new year. The drive up the Letham is relatively gentle, with some slightly spicier side options if desired. The disappearing rainclouds gave way to 30+ degree heat, so laziness and the lure of swimming distracted us from side excursions. We ambled our way 38km to the end of the track, home of Bottom Gordon Hut and many, many sand flies. As another family had already made the hut home for New Years, we circled back and eventually found a beautiful swatch of native bush and many many more sand flies to call our camp spot not far from Caves Hut. Wait, did we miss some Caves??
The Letham River provided a cool respite after a hot, hot day of driving. We watched the little guy throw rocks and Dom dangled a fishing line while the fish cruised past with disinterest. The trick was finding the balance of leg in the water to cool off, but not get too cold, while also not getting sunburnt or mauled by sandflies. I call it The Art of Camping in New Zealand.
While we kept dinner simple, I was still pleased with my ability to chop veggies and meat and prepare them with fried rice far quicker thanks to the new set up. Clean-up was also noticeably easier, with accessible water on tap and a dishwash station right in the door. Gone are the days of opening three Sistema boxes just to get to the sponge, hallelujah.
The morning cook up was just as streamlined, and I would be remiss not to mention the impressive new coffee instrument we got from my mother-in-law for Christmas. The French press coffee situation has been taking up some considerable space in the camping box for a while; but on this trip we got to test out the “minipresso” hand-pump espresso maker. It’s approximately half the size of the French press, but if I’m being honest, it’s the novelty of camping espresso that gets me.
Following coffee, packing up the gear, and taking the wee man on approximately 82 trips across a nearby swing bridge, the convoy set off back the way we came. With a little more desire for a challenge, we turned off on a side excursion along Boulder Stream to Old Boulder Forks Hut. The drive is still relatively mild but requires some intelligent choices crossing the aptly named stream and has a bog or two along the way for those interested. The Old Boulder Forks Hut is at least 84 years old, with its oldest graffiti dating 1938, and more remarkably, a 1944 signature by one Sir Edmund Hillary.
The plan had been to cruise up the Branch River next, but the day got away from us with the lure of swimming and sun and cold beverages. On our own little private bend in the river, we pulled the trucks together, awnings out and togs on. With more rocks thrown, more fish pestered and everyone’s souls feeling refilled it felt like the perfect way to ease into a new year.  
Unfortunately, our convoy all had to head separate directions after our afternoon swim, lamenting about the short nature of our trip. As we followed each other down the dusty road to the highway, we chatted on the radio, saying at least we had the Waitangi trip to look forward to in a few short weeks. …oh dear.