[vixxann]

How sad am I ? I've just been "reading" my NZ map :o pouring over names, hills, roads etc. Sigh :roll

Anyway...
Have a question. There is a very very small line on my map (which means unsealed road apparently) that goes in a wiggly line from St Arnaud over to Hamner Springs. Can anyone confirm if this is an accessible road and in general what are unsealed roads like in NZ?

Whilst over there earlier this year we kept to "proper" roads but only as we were in hired motorhome. We normally like a bit of off-roading but realise there are extremes!

Just thinking if we lived in Nelson it would be a great trip to make one day :D

[stejude]

Not sure about that route, but we did the trip up to Cape Reinga in December last year on an unsealed road. It was ok. Think loose stones, narrow roads etc you'll be on the right track...sometimes literaly......As a kid in NZ we did some pretty hairy trips on forest roads, great fun as a kid but as an adult I think you are aware of the danger. In any case if its on map its driveable with the right vehicle.

Steve

[Moorf]

I'm pretty sure I know the road you mean. I think we started along it on a recent trip to Hanmer.

Many 4x4 treks go along this route, I would advise that, unless you have a decent 4x4 (not a pretend one!) then avoid it - or at the very least investigate it further. Many of these roads have holes and ridges that require good ground clearance.

Plus, you need to consider the weather - these roads can get very waterlogged/soggy.

Also, remember, the length of a road here means virtually nothing in terms of time. I remember doing an off-road exploration and it said "Lake Sumner 36kms" Nearly 3 hours later we were nearly there and then found we couldn't continue due to a raging ford!!!

But, it's exciting, as long as you're not trying to GET somewhere imho!

I'll have a chat with Woz when he gets home as I'm sure we've done a bit of that road!

Moorf

[colindp]

unsealed roads....what fun! Although I would advise to treat them with respect, we had only been in NZ a few weeks and decided to take a trip down to the Catlins, I took a wrong turn and got onto an unsealed road and was bombing along quite nicely when suddenly my Subaru Forester all wheel drive thingy decided to go sideways, sliding down the road then it thought it would do a 360 eventually coming to a stop when It hit the embankment nose first....fortunately for us no damage to the car or it's contents....It did however teach me to drive these roads with a little more care......:laugh

[Croft]

Just a word of caution to those thinking of driving on unsealed roads while out in NZ on holiday/reccie etc. The insurance on most hire cars will be null and void if you take it off the sealed stuff.

[Nick88]

Make sure you have a full fuel tank,too. It is usually a much longer trip than it looks. I know this one from experience.........

[dragonfly]

unless you have a decent 4x4 (not a pretend one!) Moorf

silly question but what would u call a proper 4x4 for new zealand?? i drive a pretend one (Rav4) which copes with most stuff we meet in UK (towing boats up slips, farmtracks), while OH has Nissan Navarra which is so long it tries to ground on everything:uhoh

Sue

[stejude]

My preference is a Toyota Hilux. Unbeatable.

[dbonnett]

I recalled a story about this route from a few years back and was able to track this down... The moral is "don't think this is a short cut" :exit
(From Gizmodo (http://uk.gizmodo.com/2005/10/28/mr_gps_wild_ride.html), the original stuff.co.nz article is gone)
So these two Australians visit New Zealand, and rent a car from Avis with a free GPS device inside. Throw away those maps, Jane, me Tarzan will rely on satellites to guide us. The couple had used GPS in cars back home, and though it would be the “safest way to travel.” The device led them across streams, along narrow cliffs, and through wilderness preserves to the 869-metre-high Jacks Pass—it then followed the Wairau River into the Rainbow Valley. Some 10 hours later they arrived in pitch black to the end of a “shingle goat track” on New Zealand’s highest public mountain pass.“We knew from the device we were heading north. We just assumed this could be a quicker route to another highway, but then it came up that it was 90km till the next turn.”That’s right, the restaurant in the guidebook is just there past all the 6-foot high and 3-foot wide illuminated signs that say: Road Closed. The funny thing is, that GPS was probably still better than Mapquest.

[Moorf]

silly question but what would u call a proper 4x4 for new zealand?? i drive a pretend one (Rav4) which copes with most stuff we meet in UK (towing boats up slips, farmtracks), while OH has Nissan Navarra which is so long it tries to ground on everything:uhoh

Sue

Funnily enough we had a Rav4 when we first got here after I had one in London as a co. car and quite liked it but it's not for this terrain, more for Tesco's! We now drive a Subaru Legacy Wagon. I wouldn't take it deep into NZ 4x4 territory but it gets us up dust tracks and muddy lanes and across fords. It's quite embarrasing being stuck in mud in a Rav as a team of 4x4's, with wheels taller than, swoosh past giggling! The Subaru wins hands down against the Rav - especially offroad - in our opinion.

Toyota Hilux are indeed the 4x4 of choice in these parts - favoured by farmers and 4x4 enthusiasts alike.

Lots of choice for 4x4's here - many I'd never heard of before in the UK!

[Croft]

I recalled a story about this route from a few years back and was able to track this down... The moral is "don't think this is a short cut" :exit
(From Gizmodo (http://uk.gizmodo.com/2005/10/28/mr_gps_wild_ride.html), the original stuff.co.nz article is gone)

Funny, heard something similar to that story from our relatives in NZ. They were saying that apparently a UK couple had used it to get from Christchurch to Nelson, and it had taken them across mountain passes, unsealed roads etc, and it took them 10 hours. I did explain that you can set it up to take you the 'shortest' route (ie not the quickest) and also to untick the "Do not use unsealed roads" option (on Navman which does NZ GPS), and that's exactly what it would do - take you the most direct route.

The story on you link makes me begin to doubt its authenticity though - smacks of urban legend.

[vixxann]

Well I'm pretty sure Sam will be getting a pretty serious type of 4x4 when we arrive- BUT - I think we'll avoid that route for the time being! We'll probably do a few shorter unsealed route journeys but in general the chunkyness and robustness of 4wds is always appealing to us.

[Croft]

Well I'm pretty sure Sam will be getting a pretty serious type of 4x4 when we arrive- BUT - I think we'll avoid that route for the time being! We'll probably do a few shorter unsealed route journeys but in general the chunkyness and robustness of 4wds is always appealing to us.


The problem is what makes 4x4s so great off-road also makes them more dangerous on road. There's the high centre of gravity and comparatively unsophisticated suspension (in many) which makes them not handle as well, and their 'robust' chassis which means that in the event of a crash all the force of the collision is transmitted to the passengers, rather than to the crush zones like in a 'normal' car, quite apart from higher fuel consumption etc. Some of the 'soft' roaders have attempted to alleviate this, but at the expense of off-road ability.

There's a trade off which you have to decide upon between on-road and off-road capability. Fortunately these days there's a wide range of vehicles to cater for those that do the majority of their driving on-road with the occasional foray onto grass to those that mud-plug but need to get to the shops as well. It's horses for courses, and you have to be honest about how much you really need the 4 wheel drive.