To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Whangarei 4WD Club, members invited fellow four-Wheelers from far and wide to join them for an extended Waitangi weekend of 4x4 fun on a property at Waiotekumurau in the mid-north.
As if we needed reminding after a long, dusty drive along a winding metal road drive to the point you wondered where you were, we arrived at the campsite to a sign at the gate welcoming us to paradise and stating there was no cellphone coverage, no traffic lights and certainly no cafés, just friendly critters and ‘grumpy dinosaurs’ as John Sturmfels, who met everyone as they arrived, referred to himself.
The Whangarei 4WD Club uses the 1600 hectare (4000 acre) property the anniversary event was run at regularly and normally camps beside the Mangakahia River. This year though the site was being used by the annual Dimension electronic music and arts festival, so our camp was further up the road beside the Waiokumurau Stream. It still had a couple of good swimming spots and the camp also had hot showers on site... which proved rather popular at the end of each day.
The fun begins
The ‘Anniversary Weekend’ actually started at midday on the Thursday (Waitangi Day) with a welcome briefing then gymkhana event before attendees were split into groups for a ‘tiki tour’ of the property.
For the next two days the start each day was 10.00am to ensure any overnight dew and moisture had dried as the grass tracks and hills were fairly steep in places. While waiting there was an ‘RTI’ (Ramp Travel Index) ramp on hand for those who felt the need to see how much (or how little!) suspension flex they had.
After a quick briefing on the Friday morning all the vehicles lined up in groups, with one group especially for the ‘tough’ vehicles. Each group, under the leadership of Whangarei club members, then headed in different directions for the day. So large, in fact, was the property, that the groups would not cross each other’s paths until they returned to camp at the end of the day.
Wyvern Baker was the leader of our group in his little black Suzuki Jimny and after a short drive back up the metal road we were climbing the hills on the property.
Challenging bits ‘n bypasses
There were a few challenging bits but all had a bypass if you considered the going too hard. Due to the drought, conditions were extremely dry and the ground baked hard giving more traction. On we trekked, passing the carpark for the Dimension Festival goers then crossing a small creek. Given the recent NZFWDA court case the Whangarei Club had contacted their local Council and had a letter confirming these water crossings were OK provided basic conditions were met.
Lunch stop for my group on this hot, dry but relaxed first day was under the trees by the Mangakahia River with several taking to the refreshing waters to cool off. The next section had a swamp in it so the lesser vehicles were shown another route while we headed to the small crossing area. Graeme Graham went first in the big Nissan making short work of it followed by Wyvern in the Jimny picking another spot.
Back at camp there was time to shower, swim or just relax before dinner or in case of some of the tough guys, do vehicle repairs. Aaron Kennedy had broken a diff in his Hilux while Daniel Smith had broken a CV in what was left of the 70 Series Toyota buggy.
Joined by an OG
Next day Colin Jaggard in his Jeep Wrangler took over as our group leader while joining us for the day was Irving Stevens, one of the original members who formed the club 50 years earlier. This time we headed off onto the other side of the farm, climbing steeply up some narrow tracks to the ‘bluff,’ a high point where we could look around and down on the surrounding countryside. It was also the only spot where you could possibly get phone coverage and the phones went berserk.
Lunch was in a very nice clearing in the middle of a block of native bush which provided ample shade to get out of the sun.
For a bit of fun there was a section that had some bumps and hollows and the challenge was to back up this short section only using mirrors to see where you were going. Further on we crossed a rocky stream and into a large area with large rocks, referred to as the ‘rock garden’, a couple which could be driven up.
The light fantastic!
The trip back involved several small rock creek crossings, one with a rutted difficult exit. Later that evening there was the option of heading down to the laser light show at the Dimensions Festival, if you wanted to stay up until midnight; its projected ‘start’ time!
Sunday was mostly packing up and heading home early to beat the holiday traffic although there was a quick trip out for those who didn’t want to rush away, which also gave the tents a chance to dry before packing them away.
A very nice weekend away for wheeling and celebrating a special milestone with the members of the Whangarei 4WD Club. Although I don’t want to wait 50th years for the next one.
