Wellington was the place to be over Waitangi Weekend (5-8 Feb) as the Cross-Country Vehicle Club (CCVC) hosted the Central Zone (CZ) Jamboree for the NZ Four Wheel Drive Association (NZFWDA) as part of the club’s 50th Anniversary year of celebration. Andrew Gee has the story.
Jamboree, Corroboree, Hunga call it what you want, it’s all just using your four-wheel drive for what it is made for.
In saying that, the CCVC’s 50th anniversary proved to be a most successful events of its type run here in recent years with people attending from all three of the Association zones covering the whole country.
They were offered three different trips every day, all over the Wellington area and Allah willed that there was minimal mechanical carnage. All except for senior organiser John Vruink who waited to the last hour of the last day for his old Tojo to cry enough; still we couldn’t leave him behind, because had arranged the dinner which we still had to go to!
Each day began at base at Harcourts Holiday Park motor camp in Upper Hutt. You did not have to stay there to attend the jamboree, however most people did. Each morning the drivers were briefed and then, with a shower of spray, we were away.
Each day the organisers provided a Shiny grade trip and two Club grade trips, with the CCVC easily having enough trip leaders to put on the many trips, and thanks goes out to all of them.
Shiny vehicles needed mud tyres, while Club trucks had to carry additional recovery gear, and all vehicles needed 4WD with low ratio, mud tyres, recovery hooks, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, spade and a recovery strop.
Amongst the happy participants was Neville Dunton, the national president of the NZFWDA in another immaculate Nissan GQ resplendent in fresh paint. CCVC’s Dave was overjoyed to meet Neville as Dave owns one of Neville’s old trucks... sorry Dave but there are a lot of Neville’s old trucks out there.
Red Rocks
The first Shiny tour was over the Te Kopahou Reserve and Red Rocks on the South Coast. The coast has received a bit of press lately as soft sand conditions have caught a lot of people out. On this day, the convoy recovered two members of the public and two new club members, so maybe driving on the beach is not so straightforward?
Access to Te Kopahou Reserve is not available to the general public but came courtesy of CCVC’s community work and its good relationship with the Wellington City Council. The convoy snaked over the sea cliffs and had some good views out over the Cook Strait.
Akatarawas
The Akatarawa Forest in Upper Hutt was the venue for a Shiny tour and two Club truck runs. After recent forestry work (aka harvesting of trees) parts of the forest were unrecognisable even to regular forest users and completely different to previous runs.
The Shiny trip visited an old boiler in a sawmill site a short walk from the Pram Track, which was a treat for even local club members who didn’t know of its existence. The Sunday run was in very dusty conditions but easy going.
The forest is a maze of trails and the Club trucks were able to find some harder stuff including the Devil’s Staircase and Rock Garden.
On Sunday evening the Jamboree was wound up with a sit-down diner at Wildfire distillery in Brewtown Upper Hutt. Very nice it was too, thanks to CCVC for putting on a brilliant event.
