The latest Hereworth 4WD Trek was based on Poukawa Station in rural Hawke’s Bay. Ashley Lucas has the story.

Whenever there is mud, there will also be someone who has to give it a go, and in this case it was Matt Holden who attempted the swamp in his Hilux. 

Needless to say he was in deep and attempts to snatch him out were unsuccessful. It didn’t help that the strap had a knot in it causing it to break. We were tempted to leave him there but as bar manager for the “Stagger Inn” back at camp we needed him, so he was winched out. But not before young Sam Rasmussen had to dig through the black mud to hook the winch cable on.

This was the first day of the 2.5 days of the biennial Hereworth 4WD Trek, Horonui, based on Poukawa Station in rural Hawke’s Bay. The event starts Friday with scrutineering and final registration on site before the usual welcome and safety briefing before heading out for the first of several clover leaf trips from the camp base.  

Having the one base for three days is popular and allows those with campers, caravans, etc, to have home comforts away from home, while others had tents or to really rough it several had horse trucks, cleaned out and camp beds instead of horses.

School fund-raiser

The Hereworth 4WD Trek is run by the Hereworth Old Boys Association to raise funds for the Havelock North-based school and the event is in different locations in the region and thus very special as all meals are included and provided on site. They have a chef who oversees the preparation and cooking and local produce is usually on the menu.

Hugh Ritchie has been a stalwart of previous Hereworth events and this time was show casing Poukawa Station, originally part of the Campbell family property. Hugh’s Great Grandfather held the 1400ha Poukawa Station back as his own. It is now a finishing unit for bull beef and winter lamb finishing. 

This season the station had experienced an abnormal (wet) summer and pasture growth and cover was unusual for the region. So much so that instead of experiencing dust and dry conditions we were forewarned about ‘hidden’ water troughs due to the long grass and vegetation. 

Vroom with a view

The Friday afternoon trip would be solely on Poukawa Station and had us traversing up steep hills for views around the countryside. One vehicle suffered problems early on after a steep climb and it wouldn’t ‘drive’ afterwards. Initial thoughts were gearbox or driveline problems and the vehicle left to be recovered later. On returning the vehicle started and ran normally so fault was put down to a faulty heat sensor.

As the event was a week after the Christchurch Mosque shooting everyone stopped where they were on the track for the two-minute silence in respect of those who lost their lives.

Friday afternoon was also when Matt and a few others couldn’t resist the temptation of an area of swampy ground. Bayswater European is the major sponsor of the trek and had several of their demonstration models on hand. Clint Hogan was not shy of the swamp and attempted to get the new Discovery through. However it was the new Suzuki Jimny that was the only successful vehicle to get through albeit after multiple attempts, but it was still the only one to get through. 

Matt made it back to camp in time to open the licensed bar, Stagger Inn, under cover of woolshed and yards where dinner was also being prepared. On the menu was roasted lamb shoulder provided by local producer Atkins Ranch.

ARB prize

Tim Crawley and Autokraft ARB are a major sponsor of these events and while there would be an auction and prizes on Saturday evening Autokraft put up another portable fridge freezer for auction on the Friday with all proceeds (over $2,000) going to the victims of the Christchurch attacks.

Saturday morning the campers were woken at 6.00am by a lone piper, Bruce Worsnop, playing the bagpipes from the top of one of the horse trucks. After a full cooked ‘trekker breaky’ of eggs, hash browns, tomatoes and bacon from Progressive Meats it was a trek through the Poukawa district over the hills and into Patangata. 

We were warned that we would eventually be crossing the Tukituki River several times and that it could be tricky in places. Hugh Ritchie had arranged for a large tractor to be there for any recoveries required and that his son David would hook up any ropes, but at a cost of a $10.00 donation.

We reached the river around 10.45am and there would be three crossings all close and in sight of each other. The first wasn’t really a problem unless you had dodgy HT leads and coil which turned off several of your eight cylinders. The second was wider and shallower but as you reached the other side you could feel how soft it was and start to sink but everyone made it through.

It was the third crossing that was even wider and had some big rocks underwater that had to be avoided. Several vehicles that weren’t expected to be able to negotiate the river like Bruce Worsnop’s BMW but did so with no problems, yet vehicles such as Ivan Hyslop’s fully prepared Discovery on 33-inch tyres got caught on the rocks. Unfortunately for Ivan he also fell over in the river while getting the rope ready for the tractor recovery.

River Rovers

It was a slow process getting everyone through and some of the better equipped vehicles took the much deeper crossing. A couple of the best river crossings were from the two old 1952 Land Rovers of Nick Stewart and Craig Hickson although the manifold on Nick’s Series One happened to break as he exited the river.  Options re trackside repairs were limited until two hose clamps were produced and used to clamp the exhaust back into position.

Water crossings have a tendency to remove number plates from vehicles, especially on the newer vehicles that are only screwed into the plastic bumpers. Phil Jeune was one such unfortunate soul when the number plate on his Discovery 5 came off in the river. As the water cleared, the plate could be seen on the bottom and Phil waded in to retrieve it.

From the river we wound our way up through farmland to a high spot to take in the views over the Tukituki River and valley for lunch. Later on we regrouped again on the hills above the river where locals gave a talk on the history of the area and a few stories of happenings in days gone by.

We did yet another crossing of the Tukituki River to exit out beside an old church and the former Christian Camp David Adventure Centre which was an outdoor education centre. From there it was over another range to get back to camp and dinner. 

Dinner was local Wagyu beef from First Light Foods. Following dinner was the auction of various trips, hospitality and flights kindly donated to help raise funds for the school. Items for auction included a flight in an ex fighter jet along the Tauranga coast, ARB fridge/freezer, fishing trips, a super king bed and even application of fertiliser which appealed to the farmers amongst the participants. The auction raised over $26,000 in total.

Further funds were later raised through Bruce Worsnop shaving off Tony Mossman’s beard with hand sheep shears. Bruce even gave tony a bit of a haircut at the same time.

Bruce’s bagpipes

Early Sunday morning camp was again woken by Bruce’s bagpipes at 6.30am. After breakfast the trek ventured in the other direction from camp over the hills this time into the Ruakawa Valley, with brief stops to point out features in the area. There was then another regroup and more history information from the property owner before we were winding our way back down and down the road slight before climbing a steep track with switchback turns to the top and heading out the other side. Some stopped for lunch to take in the views while others continued on and crossed the road to climb the hills on the other side where we could look back and see where we had come from and those that had stopped for lunch earlier.

We started to move along the ridge tops and around the bend the sound of bagpipes were heard once again. A look around and there was Bruce standing on a hill above the convoy playing as they drove passed. In the valley behind Bruce as he played, an audience of sheep had also gathered around at this special and unique performance.

Once again the Hereworth 4WD Trek was certainly a special event on the 4WD calendar for 2019 fitting a lot into 2.5 days; good four-wheeling, mud bogs, rivers, hills and valleys, spectacular views, history, bagpipes, restaurant-quality catering, the ‘Stagger Inn’, fantastic people and good company, the Horonui will be remembered for a long time and we look forward to 2021 wherever it will be held.