Welcome to another edition of Trail Torque. If you know of other NZFWDA club members who are not getting these emails, please get them to sign up by going to www.nzfwda.org.nz/subscribe/ and registering for newsletters.
The photos below give a strong hint of what Auckland 4WD Club have been up to again at Maratoto... planting more trees! On Sept 19 a crew went into a damp Maratoto with 100 Kauri trees and got them all into the ground in an hour or so.
There is going to be some digger work needed to tidy some wet sections and re-form quite a few drain cut-outs but overall it was not too bad, considering the rainfall over the winter. It might be that the trail will stay closed for a little longer this year, as it is planned to get a digger onto the trail but only after some rock is blasted to ensure that the digger can get through safely.
 A proposal has gone forward to the Tongariro Taupo conservancy to use a mechanical cutter to trim most of the length of the 42nd Traverse. This project has been masterminded by the King Country 4WD Club. It is anticipated that if DOC approve the project, they may also partially fund it, which will reduce the cost to the northern zone. The estimated cost for the project is $4000, with the driver offering his time free on this occasion.
If you are around Auckland, don't forget the Manukau City Full Throttle event on Labour Weeken d. 4WD will have a purpose built track to use on the Saturday and Sunday. Tony Burgess of Manukau 4WD Club is co-ordinating things and those wishing to participate, need to contact Tony.
We do archive all editions of these newsletters and they can be found at http://archive.benchmarkemail.com/nzfwda
Peter Vahry
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Foreshore and Seabed needs your attention!
This
piece of legislation is going to have great ramifications for access
options to the NZ coastline. It is going to be vital that you and
your friends, put forward comments to the Parliamentary Select
Committee before 19 November.
On www.NZFWDA.org.nz there
are two articles to reference, outlining the legislation and its
effects on most New Zealanders.
Dr
Hugh Barr,
hugh@infosmart.co.nz
, Secretary, Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations has laid out
that group's concerns (the NZFWDA is a member of CORANZ) in one of the
articles....
“Do
you know that the National government intends removing Crown
ownership from the foreshore and seabed by the end of summer? This
is effectively taking your property. It is virtually the giving away
of a priceless public asset. The reason is simply politics and power.
To retain its power base the National Government has agreed in return
for Maori Party support in Parliament, to repeal the 2004
Foreshore and Seabed Act. That 2004 Act re-affirmed the Crown
ownership that had been in place since 1840. The foreshore and seabed
has been, and is at present, there for every New Zealander to use,
enjoy and be responsible for. “
You don't have to agree with everything that those commentators suggest, but they do raise some major questions about the outcome, if the Bill is passed as it stands.
This
draft legislation must be corrected to ensure that all people have
access to the foreshore and to avoid the creation of another form of
apartheid. It is up to you to do that by writing to Parliament now!
Submissions
should be sent to: Suze Jones, Secretary, Maori Affairs Select
Committee
Suze.Jones@Parliament.govt.nz
or
posted to; Maori Affairs Select Committee, Parliament, Wellington (No
stamp required).
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Muriwai Beach clean-up 3 OctoberA glorious sunny day and the first vehicle left for the top of the beach at about 10.15am to drop off 5km markers for 25 kilometres. The volunteers were from a mix of 4WD clubs, with the majority from the Land Rover Owners Club (Auck) and the Auckland 4WD Club. Six groups then left at 10.30am to clean their chosen 5km sections of beach.
Overall there was less rubbish than was found in 2009 with a trend now showing an overall drop in the amount each year. While it is less, there was still 9.5 cubic metres of assorted rubbish collected.
One example of stupidly irresponsible beach use was found where a glass bottle had been used as a shooting target!
In this photo, Scott de Silva of the ARC is seen reviewing what was collected over a two km stretch of beach
With the bin steadily filling, another trailer load of rubbish is unloaded. (The posts and netting are parts of the washed out fencing erected to keep people off the fore-dunes, but it becomes a menace when it finishes up on the beach itself.)
The big question now is... who will be managing that beach next year and will it cost money to drive on it?
Peter Vahry
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From the Southern Zone:
I was fortunate enough to attend a 4WD
protest rally on Sunday 26 September. A group of more than 170 4WDs
gathered at Sefton and then travelled in convoy to the Waipara River.
For those of you not aware, the Hurunui District Council has proposed
a management strategy for the Waipara River that cuts out 4WD access
to many areas.
This of course has not gone down well with the local
4WDing community and they got together to make their feelings on the
matter known. The event was organised by Graeme Pullman of a
Christchurch 4WD group and they have been instrumental in addressing
the wider Waipara River issues with the Council, landowners and other
parties.
Refer the ORE threads for links.
Cheers
Ross Macdonald / southern public relations
An article appeared in the North Canterbury News
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Central Zone
The central zone has just had a very good meeting with once again
a good attendance.
We have decided to give $500.00 to the Northern Zone to help with
maintenance in regard to the work in Whirinaki Forest Park. While not
many within the central zone seem to have used it, we all hope to
have a look in the future.
After a lot of discussion in regard to the ZukiCentral Event that
will be held Easter Weekend 2011, central zone have decided to
part-sponsor the event and hope that we may be able to generate more
members, as there is definitely a decline in membership. This event
is based on the successful Zukfest which is held in Reefton
biannually. CCVC have limited this to Suzuki vehicles only, with a
total of 50 vehicles participating.
Also remember that central zone will under-write events only after
much discussion and presentation of all costings and receipts. Our
aim is always for each club to support itself.
I would like to remind members that national remits are coming due
15th next month, and if you don’t like, or want to
change something, this is the time to think about it.
Also don’t forget our web page with the calendar of events, if
you feel like joining in please do.
We have the Whangamomona Independence Day coming early next year,
ring Taranaki Family if you would like to do a camp over and cross
the Whangamomona track.
The Deadwood safari is the 8th January in Whitemans
Valley;
Wellington Jeep are busy with reccy trips for the Jeep Jamboree in
October, I don’t have a date for this but give them a call.
We have a lot of events coming, also members partaking in the
national trials. Needless to say, I feel the zone is in good heart
and that’s as it should be.
I wish you well
Elizabeth Dawson
CZ President
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Spring in Otago!
Report by Noel Harper
The
Land Rover Enthusiasts Club Dunedin finally get out, the weather is
clearing and settling, the tracks are drying and gates unlocking.
This winter we had some heavy rainfalls especially around the
weekends and a couple of heavy snow falls making access to the places
we love to visit very limited and the condition of tracks meant easy
damage, so we have stayed away.
LREC
enjoys a social gathering every Friday night at our local Robbies
Bar, it is open to members and families to turn up at any time just
to catch up socially and talk about lots of different stuff. We have
a membership of around 40 Land Rover enthusiasts and there can be 10
to 15 of us around the table most Friday nights its really great,
social and a good laugh at the end of the week.
It
was at the pub on Friday night that a few of us decided to stay for
tea and the discussion got round to the weekend and a trip out on
Sunday. As the magical date, the 1st
of October was here, the gates to the major DCC and DOC controlled
tracks were to be opened, well normally. We decided that a nice easy
shiny trip for all to Ta Papanui Estate on the Lammerlaw Range about
1 hour south west of Dunedin city. So that was it, lets do it, a
decision was made, at the pub on a Friday night, as you do. Saturday
morning a text was sent to everyone, the response was positive with
seven definite.
Some
of our younger members were out in the area on their way to Central
Otago and I received a text saying the gate to Te Papanui was still
locked, oh no how can that be, a quick call to DOC, but as suspected
it was out of hours. Weather wise the weekend was looking great so it
was plan B and lets hope the DCC has opened the Dunstan Trail 'cos
that’s where we are going.
It
was a sunny morning indicating a great day ahead and at 9am we all
met at Outram 20 min west of Dunedin and we were off to Clarks
Junction, the start of the Dunstan trail as it is now.
Back
in 1862 when the Dunstan Trail was first travelled from Outram to Moa
flat a distance of 175kms took 5 to 7 days by horse and dray, now by
Land Rover takes 2 to 3 hours!!
We
cruised over the Lammerlaw and Rock and Pillar Ranges to the Styx on
the other side to the Maniototo. Back in the earlier days there
was usually an overnight stop at Styx. The “jail” was in fact a
lock-up where the gold bullion was protected. The chains which were
used to padlock the gold chest in safety are still in place. Sadly
the Jail and out buildings are now locked up.
Time
to boil the billy, tea and bickies everyone! We then travelled a
short distance on the tarseal to the turn off to the Serpentine
track which took us up to the Ridge and along the tops to the old
gold mining huts and our lunch stop. This
high altitude settlement at over 1000m on South Rough Ridge was the
site of a small goldrush in the mid 1860s, although some mining did
continue on during the summer months for the next 40 years. The Day
was near perfect apart from the cool wind which in normal up there,
the views from the top were breath taking, there was still a lot of
snow on the OId Man Range to the south, the Dunstan to the west and
the Kakanui to the north, it was just awesome; check out the
photo. The track was solid bit still a bit wet on the tops.
After
lunch we motored over to the old historic Serpentine Church. The
stone Serpentine Union Church, at an altitude of over 1000m, was the
highest church in New Zealand. It opened in mid-winter of 1873, but
there were never many services held in it and it was later used as a
miners cottage. We met up with other 4wders from Dunedin in other
makes of 4x4 with wide tyres and low ground clearance who had had
some trouble getting through, we saw evidence of this on our way up
the hill to the north . This section was well rutted and wet but
there were no traction issues and we proceeded up the hill on our
way back to the road. We struck another wet section through a
swampy area, it was here the Disco took a mouth full of water and
spluttered a bit but with CRC to the rescue it was up and running in
no time.
Once
off the hill and back on the tarseal we head for Patearoa, through
the Hamilton’s Diggings and out at Daisy Bank and the Rail Trail
through to Middlemarch and home. What a great day, marred only by the
amount of rubbish we picked up off the track, could easily have
filled up the Defender flat deck if we had time to get all of it,
frustrating!
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NZFWDA insurances
www.nzfwda.org.nz/membership/insurance/
A great benefit provided by the NZFWDA, is the insurance. It is a benefit that we need to protect too so it is vital that activities are truly those of our clubs. If you've a question, then just email the NZFWDA secretary.
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