Ice Buster is an annual winter 4WD event on the NZ Defence Force’s Military Training Grounds at Waiouru. And this year a cold snap meant it definitely lived up to its name.

Organised by Offlimits, a charitable trust, that raises funds for New Zealand soldiers and/or their families, Ice Buster is one of two events for adventurous Kiwi offroaders, the other being Winter Buster for the side by side and quad bike fraternity.

Obviosuly, everyone who enters either hopes for real alpine winter conditions such as snow and ice on the ground for the event, but that is dependent on Mother Nature and what she delivers on the day. 

As part of the complete experience participants can choose the ‘live in’ option which means staying in the army barracks and having hot meals provided in the main mess as well as a packed lunch each morning. 

This year there were over 85 4WDs and 80 side by sides and something like 358 people to get organised on the parade ground each day for briefing; at which trust chairman David Greenslade reminds us that this is a very special event. And a privilege, not a right, to have access to this land, so please treat it with respect.  

Abide with me

Also the Army has rules and those who sign on for either event need to abide by these if they don’t want to be escorted out the gate never to return. 

Before you head out, participating vehicles are put into groups; ‘Dull Shiny’ for those who don’t mind slight scratching but don’t want to go through deep waterholes, ‘Club’ for serious vehicles and ‘Adventure’ for those who don’t fit ‘Club’ but are more adventurous than ‘Dull Shiny.’ There would be a minimum of four groups for the 4WDs (there were two Adventure groups) and another four for the side by sides and quad bikes so a certain amount of de-confliction is required to ensure there are no hold-ups. 

Low pressure zone

It was a damp morning as we moved off the parade ground and out into the 63,000 hectares and the many tracks. Because of the rain which continued most of Saturday the tracks were very slippery and low tyre pressures were a must. I opted for 16psi and at times thought of going lower as I have tubes inside the tyres. Those who didn’t air down to 20psi or lower struggled with the conditions and those without tubes were at risk of popping beads.

Out of base we headed south and along a few tracks to the Urban Container Village (UCV) a ‘village’ built out of containers to help train troops for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The ‘village’ consists for containers set up as houses and also has a warlord’s fort and a church. Driving through the ‘village’ we stopped at the fort and had a look around. Normally we would get a view of Mt Ruapehu but not today.

Moving on, the tracks got more interesting due to the conditions. Most tracks had deep water tables off to one side which you ideally stayed away from. First recovery was Mike Price in the Land Cruiser which dropped the rear into a bank and had to be recovered. The remaining vehicles took to the tussock to avoid similar situation. 

Only 400 metres further on, however, on a rather flat section we had two vehicles stuck as they had slid into the water table. Dan Hardy in another Land Cruiser went to winch himself out only to find once the rope was out his winch wouldn’t work. Winding the rope onto his bumper, tail end Charlie, Hedley Berge tried to tow him out but also slid into the side. I positioned the Discovery and used the Warn 8274 winch to get Hedley back on track. Once again the tussock was our friend for the rest to bypass the area, but we had to look out for big holes and ruts from the LAV’s and Pinzgauers. 

Slippery slopes

The tracks were so slippery in places with off camber washouts that even the downhills were getting tricky and again we took to the tussock to avoid the worst of them. The problem with going off the tracks is that the tussock hides a multitude of hazards from deep “bomb” holes, to shrapnel and other bits of steel and timber waiting to spike your tyres. Sure enough we were soon waiting while one of the group changed a punctured tyre.

With the rain there were no views and scenery to take in, just slippery tracks and holes and some steep climbs that sometimes took several attempts to conquer. There was one long hill that no one was likely to actually make it up so a divert around the other side was found, although a few did try and failed. However it made good spectator viewing as the rain had eased momentarily. 

In the evening we had the privilege of being able to have a few drinks and the handing out of a few sponsors’ prizes in the Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Mess. The bar is fully stocked and drinks are cheap and it is certainly a privilege to have access to the bar as it takes most soldiers 15-20 years to earn the right to drink here. 

Sunday was certainly a better day with cooler temperatures but clearer skies and good views of Mt Ruapehu with a lovely white coat shimmering in the sunlight. Driving through the deep valleys first thing in the morning, the sun was only peaking over the tops of the ranges, but on top there were fabulous views of the mountain.

Taking a few ‘smaller’ tracks up around the back of historic Westlawn Hut had the group moving nicely until a 70 series Land Cruiser failed to make it up the small hill and corner, rolling back into the washout, supposedly having lost all drive. Ivan Hyslop’s well equipped Land Rover Discovery was positioned to winch him up and just as the rope was getting attached the question was asked “It hasn’t jumped out of low range?” The driver quickly jumped in to check and sheepishly confirmed that it had! At least the recovery was much easier with a going vehicle.

After a morning tea break at Westlawn to allow a group of side by sides to get ahead and to pump up a tyre with a slow leak, it was onto tracks that would take us through to Lake Moawhango and the dam. While the track conditions were good and improving in the breezy and sunny conditions but progress was slowed as tyres started to become an issue with yet another vehicle also needing to pump up a tyre. 

A short distance on and the tyre was down again so it had to be changed and the spare fitted only to find that the spare was just as bad or worse. Pumping that up didn’t help either and that was when Luke White volunteered to lend his spare wheel to get the vehicle moving again.

Mirror, mirror on the floor?

Parts of the tracks had taken a hammering and there were occasions that the safest option was to drive downhill in the water table rubbing the bank. Too fast, too hard and the chances were you said goodbye to the door mirrors and unfortunately for Cheyne Gillooly he lost both sides on his Discovery but he was smiling and enjoying the adventure.

Unfortunately due to delays with tyres earlier in the day our group didn’t get to the western side and the lower slopes of Mt Ruapehu and any real chance of snow on the ground, although I understand some of the Club Trucks found some snow as they made their way to Red Hut on Saturday. 

As Mother Nature didn’t play her part we were not actually busting ice, but it was a good weekend on some very slippery and tough tracks with the vehicles throwing up mud and for some it was a bit like being the pinball in a pinball machine and bouncing off the banks. 

But wait, there’s more!

The next 4WD event is the summer event; Operation Stirling. If you want to be part of it make sure you register your interest through the Offlimits website so that you get notification once entries open. Entries are limited and Ice Buster 2019 proved so popular that it was fully subscribed within 24 hours.