Maintaining 4x4 trails to a practical environmental standard is probably the only way in the future that our recreation will be permitted to use public lands. We already face that with the 42nd Traverse, the Maratoto and Stadia trails. That maintenance costs money for machinery and materials and at present the only sources of funds are donations from users and grants from the NZFWDA. Just as an indication, the total donations from Maratoto for this summer are $614, but the estimated remedial maintenance cost is at least $1800.
Don't forget that the NZFWDA conference and AGM is on the 22/23 May and it would be great if all affiliated clubs were represented by at least one delegate this year in Palmerston North. The paperwork listing remits, voting etc can be found to download at www.nzfwda.org.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7
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Thames National Trial Final 4th
April
A beautiful day with a little high cloud cover meant
that the day was starting off great for 75 competitors and their
supporters and also gave the chance of a great day for the public.
The course was tightly compacted in an easy walking area, and you had
plenty of options to watch a number of hazards from good advantage
points.
The first roll of the day was taken out by the
first competitor on the speed section, Shanan and Debbie Wellman....
a bit an eye opener for those following. Don’t take it for granted,
it was tight. This was a great hazard to watch as it was run in the
morning and afternoon, but by the end of the day became a dust haze
and thanks really must go to the marshall who stuck it out all day.
 A number of hazards had that look of easy, but as
many discovered they shouldn’t be taken for granted. Clarrie Vazey
had a good whoopsie on a sidling, or at least coming off the hill
into the sidling. There were many 'sheep' following in the
tracks of the others, but some took different lines and proved a
point or came unstuck – or was that stuck. It was a little
disheartening to see some competitors give it full noise between
obstacles in the mud and cover members of the public – would have
been polite to turn and check who was behind first – a great way to
encourage spectators- NOT.
A sidling which was not graded caught some out and
a few rolls happened before decisions were made to take pegs out and
get points. Dave Hintz did a daring run through this, mostly in the
air – damn I didn’t even get a picture. The next obstacle
along, comprised of a bog with a hard turn to the left and up the
hill, the 'sheep' finally decided to take different lines and it was
awesome to see some roar through the blue and some almost, but not
quite make the final climb. Mike Dodunski and Reuben Mason both found
that clinging to the sidling on the high side was not as easy as some
made it  look, with a number of rolls into the mud. The next obstacle
was through the drain, a slight sidling round a peg, then a short
burst up the hill and then a small sidling to the finish. The first
few found the last sidling a mission and some interesting tacks were
taken, with a good roll by Steve Morley and Phil Conwell and a good
save by John Cochrane. As the morning progressed it wasn’t the end
sidling that was the stumbling block, but the little red peg at the
bottom sidling, as the mud from the bog was dragged across and
round the peg, making getting out of the bog difficult for some and
that damn peg just wouldn’t line up – some interesting lines
taken.
Chris Tomalin and JJ were unable to finish the
morning round, while Mitch Seymour was struggling with heating/water
problems and had a pit crew following, shame he didn’t have his
bonnet on, as this was to cause controversy later, when he was still
running without it. A quick break for lunch and then the dust
was whipped up into a frenzy again, a few drops of rain from the heat
cloud was only a teaser, Dave Touhey struck out early and took a DNF.
A long mud hole with a sharp turn to the left and
into a hill climb proved a struggle for some. Jarred and Scott Biggs
slammed into the bushes only to find that a branch had ripped a hole
in the side panel and just deflected off a bar – wow that was
close. Phil Collins gave Glen a thrill as they attacked with such
force that they somersaulted off. Pierre had some good air time and a
number of vehicles were just determined, no matter where the steering
was taking them.... he marshall was positioning himself with room to
run. It was great to see the support the public were giving those
that managed to score a zero, with loud claps and yahoos. Well done
to you all, and thank you for the photo opportunities. The day was
won by Rueben Mason, who at times looked like he was having a bad
day, with Mark Thorburn 2nd
and Dan Cowper third.
Gail Osman
National Series Winners
Central Zone
B Class - John Jenkins
C Class - Phil Conwell
D Class – Daniel Cowper
E Class – Julian Rivers
F Class – Bruce Gilmore
1st overall
– Daniel Cowper
2nd Overall
– Mike Gee-Taylor
3rd Overall
– Brent Ward
Northern Zone
A Class – Rex Mealing
C Class – Brendan James
D Class – Ray Morriss
E Class – Pierre Le Lievre
F Class – Paul Taylor
1st Overall
– Philip Walton
2nd Overall
– Ray Morriss
3rd Overall
– Neville Dunton
National Class
A Class – Rex Mealing
B Class – John Jenkins
C Class – Hamish Auret
D Class – Derek Smyth
E Class – Pierre Le Lievre
F Class – Paul Taylor
1st Overall
– Derek Smyth
2nd Overall
– Dan Cowper
3rd Overall
– Brent Ward
www.justphotos.co.nz/4wd/2009/Thames/index.html
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Norwest Club
Class Winch Challenge 2010
This year’s
competition started on Good Friday afternoon with 2 warm-up stages to be followed by
2 night stages, 8 Saturday stages and on
Sunday 4 stages. 
15 trucks
started, including Aaron Smythe in his challenge class Nissan. He had come up
to give his support crew a ride in the co-drivers seat and a taste of what Doug
goes through every competition. The only casualty on the Friday after noon
stages was the new team of Alan and Jimmy in the Jeep Wrangler, when it decided
to destroy the rear drive, but a quick trip back to town for parts saw them
back for the night stages.
 These were pretty uneventful apart from another team
with roles reversed with Sam Mc Kenzie driving his Cherokee Jeep and his father
Wayne in the co-pilot’s seat. They took the wrong line in the trees, resulting
in a bit of panel damage and a winch to get them back on track, so Sam took off
up the hill, leaving Wayne to run after him with all the gear (pay back I reckon). Another was
Scott and Craig in the Toyota also taking the wrong line and standing their truck on its tail
although they managed to re-gather and drive the stage.
Saturday’s
stages were proving to be too easy due to the unusually dry weather, that was
until they met the mud. These stages stopped all the competitors and they were
re-introduced to their winches. Saturday’s casualty list was growing with 2
broken Jeeps (drive problems), a Suzuki with a broken diff, as was Glenn’s Land
Rover.The new father and son team of Kevin and Thor were suffering from winch
problems which was soon put right with the help of other teams.
 Sunday (and
still no rain); 15 trucks started and were introduced to more of the Extreme Park
mud and one stage proved too much for several teams, with dnfs galore. The
teams that thought about it got through without too many problems and this included
Dave Coss in a standard hi-roof Safari (apart from roll cage and tyres) along
with borrowed marshals as co-drivers
Sunday also saw the
demise of 2 teams, Anthony in a Jeep Cherokee with terminal diff problems and
Dave Obery in the Safari Ute with a broken CV and steering arms that resembled
a boomerang, The final stage of the day was cancelled as it was feared it was
going to be a winch killer and time was racing on, although Dan Weaver in his
Suzuki and Aaron in a open diffed Safari both blasted through the stage in
under 10 mins
Will it happen
next year? Time will tell .A big thanks to the Marshals and the many sponsors
who make this event possible, especially Jack, Warren, Fritz, and Tracy and
Justin
Photos courtesy of Nathan Walker nathan@ishotimages.co.nz
Placings
1st
- Scott/Craig
2nd
- Dan /Graeme
3rd
- Bernie / Andrew
4th
- Mike M / John
5th
- Mike G
6th
- Peter / Sarah
7th
- Glen / Kurtis
8th
- Sam / Wayne
9th
– Dave.O. / Barley
10th
- Dave C / Various
11th - Anthony / Dave
12th -
Alan / Jimmy
13th –
Kevon / Thor
14th - John
Sponsors
AC
Diggers
http://hampidjan.co.nz
www.waeco.co.nz
Andrew
Simms Mitsubishi www.andrewsimms.co.nz
www.arb4x4.co.nz
Sampson
Ropes www.ultraropes.co.nz
www.winch.co.nz
www.4wdBits.co.nz
www.wurth.co.nz
Cam Co
offroad www.camcoltd.co.nz
Motor
Tec 4x4
Hirepool www.generalhire.co.nz
www.4x4action.co.nz
Petrol Head www.petrolhead.co.nz
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“Tech Group” National 4WD Trial Round 5 – Hawkes Bay
A chilly start to the morning as 81 competitors rolled into the
event held at Tongioi where Trials have been held for the last few years, but
this time we were on the hillside, more toward the entrance. As the sun started
to burn through, the Central Zone boys (oops and girls) were vying for top
placings for the Zone, so the aim of the game was to try exceedingly hard for
the best points, without compromising the vehicle and having it put on the
trailer.
At first glance, some hazards were looking pretty dicey but that was
because the grass was relatively green and damp, so later in the day these gave
more grip and the possibilities of zeros came close, but on the other hand; some
of the bogs became more challenging. Could be today would be about the luck of
the draw after all? The morning round saw many in the pits doing urgent
repairs and some on the trailers calling it quits. As we near the end of the
season you start to wonder if there are going to be enough parts to do changes
and keep up.
One particular hazard in the afternoon, was where you entered a
creek and squeezed yourself up the narrow channel and then attempted (yes that
was the word for most) to climb the slippery angled knob to clamber out, rather
than slip off the edge of the precipice, only to get wedged into the creek.
Some listened to my advice about taking it real slow to get the angle before
flooring it, while others took to it like a bull at a gate and ended up in
a tight spot. Great hill climbs where a lot of air time was had, and some of
the sidlings proved challenging, but great to see John and Nonnie pull one off,
like the pros they are. It was about thinking, slowness and angle.
A number of
our Club members had a roll or two during the day – there were approx 19 rolls;
some of them were just not once either, but many times with some good thumps at
the end. Lucky for the public, there were some choice places to watch the
action and some great trees for cover from the afternoon sun. 
Dave Hintz found his morning didn’t get off to too good a start when
he became wedged in a gut up the hill and the extraction crew took a while to
work out how best to retrieve – a good lot of patience Dave. Shayne Holloway
had a disastrous day with his vehicle first losing its drive shaft, then the
front end. A spectacular and time consuming recovery.
It was great to watch
John & Nonnie Cowper use the slow cautious approach on a sidling and
receive a simple zero, just for getting the angles right, not like so many who
found the ground hard to read and even harder to tip off. Sandra Jackson gave
Barry Larsen a bit of excitement with a good toss off a sandy hill face, the
same face that proved trouble for Steve Lacey, Grant Harrison, and Chris
Tomalin, who was giving his navi a chance of practice but it turned into a
mission, as not only did they roll well but many of us spent some time looking
for the key (actually wasn’t a key as such) and gave up. However on a second
look, it had become stuck in the chassis rail.
Gail Osman
With the season ending at Easter, the Wanganui 4WD
Club is hosting a ‘Post Season Fun Trial’ on the 24th
April 2010 at Rangiwahia, entry and maps available on the website under events/
special.
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The National 4x4 Expo
30 April - 2 May
As part of the 2010 Waikato Winter Show, April 30th to May 2nd
waikatowintershow.co.nz/index.php/4x4-expo
25,000 Crowd Expected over 3 days
*Limited Indoor and Outdoor Exhibitor Sites becoming available for 4x4 clubs.
reagles@orcon.net.nz
Winch Challenge competitors who would like to 'perform' with their 4x4 for a couple of hours a day on the purpose built tracks should contact access@nzfwda.org.nz
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M4WDC 1st Annual Navigation Event
Sunday the 14th March dawned a clear warm day,
after a couple of days of crap weather.
Luckily I had been somewhat organised and packed most of
what I needed on Saturday, because at 9.05 am
the phone rang and Brendan was asking me where I was. Oops, I guess that is the
problem with telling people the meeting place and time; I had told some 9 and
some 10 !!!!
Things worked out OK as we were using a staggered start,
letting competitors go at 5 minute intervals, this and every competitor having
a different route book ensured that there was nothing to be gained following
anyone, even if it looked like they knew where they where going.
So by 9.40, two of the Wellington
team had turned up and were soon on their way. By 10.15 the last of the 9
competitors were on their way, the briefing had suffered a little but by the
end of the day, it seems it didn’t matter.
There were 6 tracks complied into each route book, each book
had a different start track and was arranged in a different order to ensure
that competitors were spread out across the course.
Because of the low number of entrants and the huge amount of
time that went into organizing the event, there was a lack of tough 4wd and the
tracks comprised of back-country gravel, a little bit of river work ( well of
course there was river work !!! ) and a small amount on sealed roads. Route
books were organized so that the beginning of one track was close to the end of
another.
Points were scored based on total time, kms covered and questions
answered. On one track, competitors were faced with the choice of finishing a
shorter track quicker with less questions, or longer with more.
Some competitors showed some clever thinking by doing tracks
backwards.
The day finished at Café Domain with coffees, beers and
chips and lots of talk. One competitor had left early after multiple issues,
another had spent 2 hours waiting in the river for help that never came, and
yet one more completed everything, but did take longer.
So did maps and dead reckoning beat GPS and PCs, well sort
of, the highest score was to a competitor using maps alone, but some questions
required positional accuracy of better than 10 metres and that is hard enough
with GPS and all but impossible with maps.
Will we do it again next year? I think so, and a bit more
support would allow some better tracks, access to some gentle farm land and a
400 acre paddock . If we have enough competitors to send them out in teams of 2
or 3 vehicles, it gives us far greater scope over the sort of tracks we can
set.
Now I was going to give you the answers to all of the
questions, but I think everyone got them right. Must make them harder next year
!!!
So here are the results from the lowest to highest, nowhere as near clear-cut as I
wanted,. The distances and times were pretty much on the nail every time.
Tony Hefford
DNF
Ian Duncan
Did
Not Score
Stuart & Graeme
135
Henry
210
Mark
310
Peter
315
Brendan
330
So start boning up on those maps for next year.
Max Wheatley
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Third Party Insurance... can you afford not to?
There is a unique 'Third Party' insurance policy set up by the Auckland 4WD Club and available for
club related 4x4 activities that will cover registered and unregistered vehicles...
as long as they are 'safe'.
At an annual cost of only $50 for cover from December to December (there’s no pro-rata) it is a practical way of protecting yourself
against the possibly horrendous cost of a claim for damage you might cause. Check the details...
www.auckland4wd.org.nz/visitors/article.asp?article=-1987192883&catpage=1&pagename=/visitors/latestnews.aspAuckland
4WD Club are willing to expand this cover to other clubs of
the NZFWDA. All that is needed is the payment, a name and address and
you are entered onto the policy.
pr@auckland4wd.org.nz
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Northern News
Kaitaia 4WD drivers may face $500 fines
Last updated 05:00 17/03/2010
Four-wheel-drive vehicle owners who pumped water from the Awanui River in Kaitaia last month to make a mud course and to wash vehicles could face a $500 fine. The Northland Regional Council plans to investigate allegations that the Kaitaia Four-Wheel Drive Club illegally took water from the river during the Kaitaia A and P Show on February 27. Monitoring manager Riaan Elliot says the council would need to consider whether the club took more than 10 cubic metres of water – the most allowed for a single activity in one day without obtaining a resource consent. "If we got sufficient evidence, we would look at issuing an infringement notice," says Mr Elliot. The council will also consider whether it is appropriate to take action against the Kaitaia A and P Association which organised the show, he says.
Kaitaia A and P Association chairman Robin Shepherd says the association accepts no responsibility for the club's actions because its off-road course was on Northland Regional Council land next to the showgrounds. "We don't have an agreement with the club, because it's not on our land." The club's demonstration of offroad driving skills was an adjunct to the show, not part of it, says Mr Shepherd."It was something that was happening next door to the show."We weren't charging admission to get in there," he says.
Kaitaia 4WD Club spokesman Dave Currie would not comment on the allegations when we contacted him last week. |
Wellington
Jeep Club are hosting the Oct 20 –
23 Wellington Jeep
Jamboree.
A long weekend of Jeep’n in the best 4 wheel
driving areas Wellington has to offer, ranging from bush creeks to big mountain
streams through to muddy bush-lined historic logging tracks.
Costs:
Jeep + Driver: $295.00
Each additional Adult: $80.00
Each additional Child: $50.00
Includes Jeeping trips, packed lunches and dinner for Saturday and Sunday and
camping all weekend at the "Wellington Jeep Jamboree"
For Jeep
4WDs only.
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New Executive for 2010 Competition Committee
NCO – Neville Dunton
Secretary – Louise Piper
Treasurer – Julian Rivers
National Scorer – Lynn White
Scrutineers
Northern
Zone – Shanan Wellman Central Zone – Phil Conwell
Southern Zone – Mathew Jordan
Stewards
Northern
Zone – Norm Hudson
Central Zone – Wayne Osman
Southern Zone (to be
filled)
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Access Matters
The latest issue of the New Zealand
Walking Access Commission’s newsletter has been published. Please
go to: http://www.walkingaccess.org.nz/page/7/Latestnews.html
to read it.
“Guidelines
for local authorities which administer the unformed legal roads, will
be produced well before the mapping system goes live. A law change to
give local authorities greater powers to control use of unformed
legal roads may be in place by the end of this year.”
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Auckland Regional Council tree planting at regional park
Sunday 18 April.... A day assisting with tree planting at a new regional park on
Kaipara South Head called Te Rau Puriri ... shearing shed just pass farm
house, 2911 South Head road, 9.00am. A drive around the park after the
planting.
If you are planning on helping then please email pr@auckland4wd.org.nz so that we can get an idea of numbers of people and 4x4's.
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