North? South? Moodie reckons the Mainland has the best of everything for 4WDers. Here he explains:
1: Overlanding through the magnificence of the Ahuriri Valley.
2: Even the bad days are good: Merv’s mate Pete keeping dry on a trip into the Harper-Avoca River area.
3: Crossing the Hopkins River in the McKenzie Country.
4: Rakaia Valley views.
5: In Godley Valley, heading up toward the Maud glacier.
When it comes to the North vs South debate on tracks and trails, I’m firmly in Camp South.
I live in Christchurch but consider the whole of the South Island to be my backyard and have taken the opportunity to explore all it offers in my Land Rover Defender.
For starters, take the Oteake Conservation Park, halfway down the South Island. Its 80,000 or so hectares include the St Bathans, Ewe, Hawkdun, Ida and St Marys mountain ranges.
It is an outstanding area of mountainous high county tussock, scree, wetlands and indigenous shrubland. The park offers spectacular 4WD opportunities and is cared for by the Department of Conservation, who have done a fantastic job.
People keen to explore the park can easily do so: it’s open to vehicles from Labour weekend until 30 April each year.
I have done several trips into this area, both as a private trip or on a 4WD club trip and even in the rain, mist and snow, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
A highlight is the recently restored Ida Railway hut, sitting many kilometres away from the nearest railway line.
Originally a railway station in the Ida Valley, it also served as a mustering hut to local farmers – it only took two large bulldozers and several days to relocate it to where it stands now.
Driving over many kilometres of rolling tussocks, staying in one of the several huts and exploring the old gold mining sites makes for a thoroughly enjoyable trip, in my opinion.
The closest stop in my South Island backyard is one of my favorites. The Canterbury high country and its rivers, including the Rakaia, Rangitata, Havelock, Clyde and Lawrence offer superb driving experiences all year round.
Canterbury’s braided rivers can range from incredibly challenging to no challenge at all, which is part of the fun.
Public access to these areas is often on DoC land and some areas have clear tracks to follow.
In winter, there’s nothing quite like heading up a river valley blanketed by several millimetres of fresh snow, spending the night in below-zero temperatures, and making the return trip the next day as fresh snow falls. It is quite magical.
If you don’t sleep on a cozy mattress in your truck like me, then there are plenty of DoC huts you can stay in there, a fantastic opportunity.
Driving further south, you hit the Mackenzie Country, where glacier-formed river valleys unfold in front of you.
The Godley, the Macaulay, Hopkins and Ahuriri: all valleys offer stunning scenery of the South Island “main-divide”, the backbone of the south. On a good day, you can spot Aoraki Mount Cook above the glacier-fed rivers that supply the many lakes in the area.
At the very end of the South Island, Southland offers iconic historical 4WD tracks.
The Arrowtown to Macetown track is very popular in summer, with several river crossings, historical gold-mining equipment and restored homes along the way.
Skippers Road out of Queenstown is doable even in a car, and offers spectacular scenery of Shotover River and the jetboating, kayaking and rafting people enjoy there.
Drive over (if you dare) the Skippers suspension bridge – stretching 91m above the river and 96m long – held up by 14 wire cables, first opened in 1901.
You’ll find a former gold mining settlement on the other side, with old sluicing equipment, water pipes and a well-preserved stone schoolhouse.
The Nevis Road that runs along the back of the Remarkables range from Garston to Cromwell is another highlight, only accessible during the summer months.
Another early gold mining settlement, its open plains of rolling tussock also served as the backdrop to the recent Oscar-winning film, The Power of the Dog.
We’re spoilt for choice down here – and I haven’t even mentioned driving on the remote beaches along the West Coast, or the hard-core bush tracks you can find in the rugged Reefton area.
I challenge the North Island to offer a 4WDer as much variety, spectacular scenery and history as they can find in just a few of the South Island’s spots.
Editor’s note: so there you have it, North Island off-road fanatics. The challenge is issued. Who will defend our honour? Are our beaches and forests able to compete, can we push back on the Mainlanders? (Disclosure: born in Pahiatua, raised in the Bay of Plenty, I’m firmly convinced the north can also entertain, bewitch and captivate).
