Travelling Roma: 4WD trips

When our friends Juliana and Warwick (from Ashburton) offered us to join them on a couple of 4WD trips over Labour Weekend we decided it was an opportunity not to turn down.
Saturday was to be into Macetown and Sunday the Nevis Valley.

The Macetown trip was off before we even got started as heavy rain in the days before had the river in flood, and since there are numerous river crossings it was a no go. Macetown is an old gold mining town and the only access these days is either by 4WD, bike or shanks pony!! Stephen and I have both done this trip before so we weren't upset.

So instead we did a trip into Skippers. It would have to be over 30 years since we have been in here and the road is just as narrow as ever. The road is listed as one of the most dangerous in the world and it is easy to see why. It starts off the Coronet Peak road and winds 22km above the Shotover River into what was the settlement of Skippers, yet another gold mining town. It is hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to have lived in such a remote place over a hundred years ago. The old school has been restored since I last visited and there are lots of photos and information about the history of the area. The day was rather damp but that added to the atmosphere and also meant that the Bridal Veil waterfall was at its very best.

Link to Dangerous Roads
Information about the Skippers history

Bridal Veil waterfall.

The old Skippers bridge.

The restored school where we sheltered for lunch.

Across the valley from the road. We watched a spectacular rockfall
which shows just how unstable the area can be.

Link to further information: Nevis Valley 4WD Trip

Sunday was a much bigger day as we had to drive to Garston to get on to the Nevis Road. The day was surprisingly sunny, considering how much rain there had been over night. Once on the Nevis Road the climb is quite steep and it wasn't long till we were nearly on top. Here we found an historic ski hut and this made the perfect spot for morning tea. The views from up on here were fantastic.

The next stage was what the 4WD enthusiasts were waiting for. There were numerous river crossings and the road hadn't fared very well over the winter. It was very rough in places to say the least. We were travelling in three vehicles: a well equipped Landrover, a Nissan Safari and our wee Daihatsu Terrios. I was somewhat anxious to say the least as we made the first of at least 30 crossings!!! But the Daihatsu took it all in its stride, much to Warwick and Frank's dismay. They would have loved to get out their winches, ropes and shovels to dig or tow us out.

We followed the road through the valley and into the Nevis Gorge, before travelling out to Nevis and back down to Bannockburn. We had hoped to take the Carricktown road down to Bannockburn but by this stage it was snowing so hard it was making navigation difficult. We finished off the day with a late lunch at the Kitchen Cafe in Bannockburn.