The main safety briefing was given by the Wairarapa 4WD Club, who were providing the 4WD support for the day, and this was followed by acknowledgements from Masterton South Rotary Fundraising. The main points to note were that the Wairarapa 4WD Club were responsible for sorting out any problems, and that as there were 90 vehicles in the convoy we needed to keep moving.
We headed off more or less on time with a run from Martinborough out to the south-east towards Hinakura and Bush Gully. After about 30km of scenic back roads we finally hit gravel and dust as the road became narrower, winding and more interesting, with a number of colourful clumps of beehives and some nice views through the dust.
Although it finally turned into a private road at the boundary of a few stations we had been given access to Glendhu Station and were able to carry on following the Pahaoa River towards the coast.
Lunch at Glendhu was very pleasant and the use of the various facilities was much appreciated. After lunch we all funnelled out onto the road for the next part of the trip.
This started with a very steady climb up to nearly 600m, the first 300m being especially steep with fantastic views for those with the chance to watch the view instead of the road.
After alternating between seal and gravel a few times we had a reasonably long section of seal before we turned off onto Rocky Hill Rd – which started off as a well maintained track with steep hills on the left and an equally steep drop-off into the valley on the right.
The track deteriorated rapidly after the sign with some steep clay sections that would have been very challenging in the wet, and some washouts and steep unfenced drop-offs as we worked our way down into a damp, cool valley surrounded by native bush on all sides – one of the most attractive sections of the trip.
Eventually we climbed back onto farmland with a couple of very steep descents into, and climbs out of, small stream crossings. As we dropped down into the next valley, the sky cleared to a perfect day.
Overall this had been another well organised and highly successful tagalong trip and with about 70 paying attendees, must have raised some good money for the cause.
To read the full story in the March 2015 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (on sale March 23) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
