It had been a long time since David Coxon’s last visit to the army land at Waiouru, and this time it was a trip with a difference

When I booked for the trip I looked at the very unstable pre-Christmas weather and took the option to stay in the army barracks and have all the catered meals rather than my usual habit of camping and self-catering.  This gave me a small experience of being on a military base and the associated culture – a very different experience to my normal independent lifestyle.

I had booked for the mid-level ‘dull shiny’ trip and as I was traveling alone I was asked by the organisers if I could take the trip leader with me since his vehicle was out of action.  I thoroughly enjoyed having Tony as a passenger for the two days.  His knowledge of the area and experience in driving the eight-wheel LAVs across the same terrain made for some interesting stories.  

I also liked the way he gave me excellent directions on where to go then left me to pick the line, although having one of the senior off-road driving instructors sitting next to me gave me a certain incentive to get my lines right.  No pressure here!  

Warm-up run
After the usual army safety briefing day one started with a warm-up run through some of the tracks alongside the Desert Road.  This was quite easy except for a few minor bogs and the fact that the tracks had been made by LAVs and other vehicles with a much wider track than a 4WD, meaning most people were running with one wheel in the rut and one on the centre hump.  Swapping sides to keep to the shallower rut kept everyone alert.  

Crossing the Desert Road, we paused for the convoy (or ‘packet’ in Tony’s language) to regroup and watch a plume of smoke and ash coming out of Mt Ruapehu before working our way across the desert terrain to the flanks of the mountain.  
This was very entertaining driving with some quite gnarly little sections that required good control, but with little risk of damage if you got it wrong.  This was also an incredibly dusty section for most people – one of the advantages of being in the lead.  

Dust bowl
Our destination on this section was a large bowl where people could have a bit of a play or a break.  It was then back across the desert to visit a mock fortified village, built by the army engineers and used to train troops in attacking such structures.  
From there we had a bit of cross-country boulder-hopping (Tony missed a turn-off) to rejoin the main track back to the highway.  Rounding one corner I was confronted by a mini lake that Tony assured me was quite shallow.  Some parts might have been shallow but I found a deeper section and was very glad of my snorkel.  
A following driver was not so lucky and we ended up with a long pause while arrangements were made to get his flooded vehicle towed back to the camp.  
Mobile again, it was a simple drive up into the hills and down to Lake Moawhango for a late lunch before our afternoon session.  Thanks to some recent road maintenance, this was a lot less challenging and dusty than expected, giving the drivers time to enjoy the scenery as we toured across the hills east of the Desert Road.  

Horses for courses
One of the more unusual hold-ups on this part of the trip was when a couple of wild Kaimanawa horses trotted into the packet.  I have been held up by sheep and even cows, but this was the first time by wild horses.  
The final excitement for the day was when we stopped in a large grassy valley for a play opportunity.  Due to the size of the place I was offered a ride in the side-by-side that was our tail vehicle to help me get around to take photos.  
This machine was fast, fun and extremely capable – at least until on one bounce there was a bang like a gun going off and we shuddered to a halt.  One tyre was shredded, with a hole the size of my fist and another was leaking.  It turned out that we had landed on some metal debris.  Still no harm done, and a very exciting end to the day.

Cross-rutted
Day two was along more tracks on the eastern side of the Desert Road, and to up the driving challenge Tony kept taking us on cross-country short (or long) cuts. Just before morning tea, which was on a spectacular bluff overlooking Ohinewairua station, there was a tricky, rutted and muddy downhill corner where I managed to straddle the rut perfectly.  
On the way back, however, I got my line wrong and fell into the rut. Backing up for another go I got into an even bigger rut, and wedged against the bank. Luckily it was an easy winch out. Most of the rest of the packet took the easy side track but at least I had the fun.  

Lunch was on another spectacular plateau where we surprised a mob of Kaimanawa horses that stayed still long enough for me to photograph them. It was after lunch as we were working our way through a few interesting ‘long cuts’ back to base when the threatened rain finally arrived.  

Tussock bypass
I discovered just how slippery the mud was when I lost traction almost at the top of yet another steep climb up a ridge line and slid all the way back to the bottom.  I let some more air out of the tyres while Tony directed the rest of the packet off the track and up the less slippery tussock.  With a few psi less and significantly more traction I rejoined the packet while Tony worked out a more suitable return route to get us back onto the main track and back to base by mid-afternoon.
While we had been on the ‘dull shiny’ trip, from what I heard the tough trucks covered much the same areas as us but took the muddy (slower) shortcuts that we avoided.

Overall everyone I spoke to had found it a fantastic weekend trip with just the right amount of adventure for a ‘the level they chose. A big thank-you to the Army for giving us access to the land, and especially a thank you to Tony for spending two days guiding us.