Like so many great weekends away 4x4Explorer.co.nz’ main man Richard Soult’s latest one – to Reefton on the West Coast – started with a casual comment and turned into an Epic!

I bought some rock sliders from Corey Parker, with whom I’d been in touch via Facebook. 

When I picked the ‘sliders up, we talked about doing a trip together and he said that he had been planning to do Napoleon Hill for a while. It’s a fantastic track and we loosely agreed to get something sorted. Shortly after, I headed down South and the trip went onto the back burner for a while.

Once back in Christchurch, I spoke to Corey, fixed a weekend and we were on!

The previous weekend, down in the Oteake, I had shredded one of my ATs beyond repair and had bitten the bullet and invested in a set of Maxxis RAZR MT772 mud tyres. The truck, as one of my friends said, now looked like a real 4WD and I was keen to give them a good run.

Corey and his partner, Andrea, had to be back in Christchurch Saturday night due to pet and child commitments, so I shouted out to my partner in crime Scott Gray to see if he was up for some West Coast action. Scott, who lives in Timaru is always keen and doesn’t mind putting in the kilometres if there’s the prospect of some good tracks. He also doesn’t work Mondays, so an awesome trip was taking shape.

An excellent base

Corey, Andrea and I met up in Reefton on Friday night and stayed at the Reefton Motor Camp. This is an excellent base for exploring the area and the choice of sleeping in the truck for $15 or having my own large cabin for $30, was a no brainer!

The next morning, we set off to meet Robyn and Malcolm Smith, whose farm you cross to get into the track. These two are absolutely fantastic and run an Eco lodge, which is completely off grid; they use a waterwheel and solar to generate all their electricity. 

Robyn’s local knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious! She explained the rich history of the area, told us where to find the cemetery and site of the old township and walked us through her glowworm cave. They charge a small fee for access, but maintain the track for us all to enjoy. Well worth every cent!

An absolute gem

The track itself is an absolute gem! Starting through farmland, it then follows streambeds for most of the way. Most people will have seen photos of the tunnels, but the whole route is stunning. Similar to the Macetown track with multiple stream crossings, ferns, waterfalls and cliffs. By the time that I had said goodbye to Corey and Andrea and returned to Reefton to meet Scott, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat. 

Scott and I are pretty casual and hadn’t made any specific plans. I’d downloaded all the GPX route files for the area from 4x4Explorer, with a wide range of terrain and grades. 

The weather forecast was looking like deteriorating and Scott suggested that we head back and do Napoleon Hill. I’d had so much fun in the morning that I agreed without hesitation. I think that Robyn and Malcolm were surprised to see me heading up their driveway for the second time in one day, but the reception was just as welcoming and in fact they asked if I was going to be around on Tuesday to tag along with them and a few friends and do it again. At that stage, I wasn’t sure but said that I’d let them know.

We drove the track, finishing with spot lights, light bars etc and I enjoyed it just as much as I had in the morning. 

Now, I know that Scott likes tracks a little bit more challenging and there is no shortage of challenging tracks in the Reefton area.

Big River

The next day we headed up to Big River. This is an awesome track with heaps of history. At the end of the track, there is the old mine engine house, cyanide tanks and a fantastic DOC hut with 360° views. On the way up, be sure to stop and walk into some of the disused mineshafts. How those people managed to tunnel into the rock with picks and shovels is hard to imagine in this day and age!

Heading back out, we decided to try something a ‘little’ harder and turned off onto Sawpit Road. 

Road is a bit of a misnomer! This is a solid Grade 5 and definitely not for the faint hearted! Within 50 metres of starting, we knew that we were committed. The descents are steep and the track is heavily rutted. The vegetation is so enclosing that my wing mirrors were permanently folded back and there was definitely nowhere to turn around. Even if we could have done a U-turn, the thought of having to climb what we had descended was daunting.

Collateral damage

Somewhere on the track I lost my camping LED light strip, smashed the passenger side monsoon covers and damaged the roof rack by driving into an overhanging branch. Not a place to take your shiny!

My new Maxxis RAZR MT772s, on the other hand, performed superbly! With the side lugs, I was amazed at how I could drive out of deep ruts and mud wasn’t really an issue. Probably due to driver error, and lack of a diff locker, the Ironman4x4 winch also got its first real test. Impressive piece of kit and fantastic insurance!

As is so often the way with Scott and I, we finished the day in the dark and returned to Reefton shattered but content with what we had achieved.

But wait, there’s more!

Having driven from Timaru, Scott was keen to cram as much in as we could, so the next day we headed off up to Montgomerie Hut via the Waitahu River Road. It had been a while since I had driven this track and like so many tracks on the West Coast, its condition changes due to recent rainfall and maintenance. This time, there was only a short section that posed any real difficulty and the two river crossings were full of boulders but straightforward.

Top tip

A ‘top tip’ if you’re heading to the West Coast is to carry a chainsaw or a decent handsaw. The amount of timber that falls onto the tracks is huge and on some of the tracks, turning around just isn’t an option.

Heading back into Reefton, which was only a few kilometres from the end of the track, the Prado decided that it had had enough and started making the most horrendous noise. I told Scott on the radio and checked underneath for a branch stuck somewhere. I couldn’t see anything and started to limp back to town with the noise getting increasingly worse.

I pulled into Reefton Motors, behind the Mobil petrol station, and found ‘Tash’ who runs the workshop. She was awesome! She threw the truck on a hoist straight away and announced that the lower ball joint had broken and was being held on by two of the four bolts.

I’m ashamed at how little I know about things mechanical, but it seems that this was quite serious and could easily have left me stranded somewhere far from anywhere. I asked her what would have happened if the remaining bolts had broken and was shocked to hear that the wheel would have fallen off! Within about 10 minutes, she’d sorted it out and I was on my way. Epic service!

Third time lucky

The following day, I accepted the invitation to drive ‘The Hill’ for a third time. A great afternoon with a great bunch of people, such is hospitality on the West Coast.

All in all, a fantastic trip, met fantastic people who already feel like friends. In the four days that I was there, I only scratched the surface. The Reefton area has so much to offer, with tracks of all difficulties to suit everyone. I’d truly forgotten how good it was!

And remember, all of these routes and many more in the area are available on (https://www.4x4explorer.co.nz/?aff=2818 ).