After our seven vehicles met in Bulls at 1:00pm, the trip started with a quick run up to Hunterville where we turned off onto a link road than followed the valleys across to the Turakina Valley, one of the north-south routes running west of SH1. 

Afternoon tea was a bit further up Turakina Valley at a very impressive, but un-signposted waterfall on the Turakina River we had been following.  We then left the valley and headed up Pohonui Rd, gaining height and more scenic views as we climbed towards Koeke Junction on unsealed roads that felt progressively more isolated. 

Sunday was an early start on a calm, cold and misty morning that rapidly turned into a perfect, calm and sunny day.  Our route took us from Taihape through some sealed back roads across to join the Taihape-Napier road for a short while before heading south down the largely unsealed Moawhango Valley Rd. 

After lunch the route continued to be almost fully sealed, making for smoother and easier driving but losing some of the wilderness feeling.  We bypassed Mangaweka and continued across toward Apiti and then further across toward Ashhurst and our final off-road excursion – a trip up Takapari Rd to the A-Frame hut, high up on the ridgeline of the southern Ruahine Ranges.

With evening fast approaching we made a quick run back down to the road then back to Wellington, ending a fantastic weekend of country and mountain scenery and a great break from the city.

To read the full story in the November 2016 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (October 24) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.