Anzac weekend 2008 was the perfect weekend for a group of keen 4WD drivers to challenge themselves and their vehicles in the Whirinaki forest near Minginui, 90 km south-east of Rotorua.  There were seven of us in total, and although we were of varying ages, experience, and walks of life, we all shared a love for the outdoors and four-wheel driving.  We arrived on the Friday morning, and after hurriedly setting up camp we were off to hit the tracks. Dennis and Tony, with 20 years of 4WD experience, led the group to the first track; a long rocky hill climb which put we less experienced drivers to the test.  The steep hill led onto a dry deeply rutted clay track, which required a tactical and technical style of driving.  After testing the tipping point of my little SJ several times we emerged out the other end of the track successfully and spent the afternoon exploring new tracks while following a topographical map of the forest.  One of the old roads we stumbled across led onto a steep slippery dirt hill which was daring us to try and climb to the top.  After scampering to the top on foot to investigate the terrain the group decided to send my Suzuki up first.  I selected second gear - low range, to try to avoid excess wheel spinning, and went for it. The Simex tyres did their job well and I reached the summit, setting a precedent for the others to follow.  It wasn’t long before it started raining, making the track harder for the rest of the group. Jase struggled up in his Surf but chose to give up.  Steve’s Safari made a valiant effort, almost making it up the now extremely slippery hill but was also forced to abandon his efforts.  Dennis in his Surf charged on up, and showed us the product of many years’ experience in 4WD driving, and countless hours spent in the garage building his 2.8-litre Supra powered Hilux Surf. We called it a day at the completion of the track and headed back to the camp site for a well-deserved rest. The next morning Tony took us to a track he had visited three years ago.  We found it had deteriorated since last visited, resulting in a long day of challenging technical driving and winching.  Tony took on the role of coaching us less-experienced drivers and spent most of the day walking the tracks guiding us across the huge ruts.  Jase, who is relatively new to off-road driving, learned many valuable lessons as Tony carefully talked him down the tricky track.  One particular corner required crossing the deep centered rut causing a rear wheel to lift off the ground, a nervous experience at the best of time. Jase in his Surf handled the pressure well and crossed the rut in a spectacular fashion.  My SJ, with its narrow width, was not always able to straddle the ruts and on one particular section I dropped my two off-side wheels in, which resulted in being winched backwards from Steve’s Safari.  The day was filled with axle twisting, steep rutted hills, and even a little bit of mud.  We all returned to the campsite exhausted, and spent the evening re-telling the tales of the day around the bonfire.  Many thanks to Dennis from the Off-road Express for organising the trip, and to Tony for his expert advice and coaching.  No matter how much we think we know about four-wheel driving, there is always more to learn.*