Welcome to the
1999 North Island Four Wheel Drive Challenge Web site.

This web site records the progress of the first North Island end to end four wheel drive trip ever. The trip started from Kaitaia on Monday the 15th of February 1999 and finished in Wellington on Friday the 26th - 12 days in all.

A similar trip - the South Island 4WD Experience – was held in February 1998 and everyone who participated had such a great time that we thought someone had to do a North Island one.

This is not a commercial venture - we don’t want to make anything out of it, just cover the costs. The only beneficiaries of the trip are the sponsors and the participants.

With access to the "back blocks" of New Zealand becoming more and more restricted, we are keen to take what opportunities currently exist to enjoy the uniqueness that makes New Zealand special, and, as the Tread Lightly program promotes, we can demonstrate that our recreational trips are compatible with caring for the environment and preserving it for future generations.

It is planned that this will become a bi-annual event, alternating with the South Island trip which is also in the planning stages for the year 2000.

The trip was organised by six members of the Cross Country Vehicle Club (Wellington) Inc., but not as an official "club" event.

Participants were invited from all 4WD clubs and the general public throughout New Zealand. Entrants were limited to 48 4WD vehicles with passengers.

Navigating this site

Each day of the trip is described by a page covering the events of the day and showing a map of the route taken. You can use the page selection control at the top right corner of each page to go to any desired page or move forward or back a day at a time.

In addition to the daily pages, you can read about the origins of the trip on the Background page and find out a bit more about the participants on the trip on the Fragments page.

Click here to start at Day 1.

Enjoy!

Trip Summary

Day	Start	Finish
1	Kaitaia	Whatoro
2	Whatoro	Red Hills
3	Red Hills	Parakai
4	Parakai	Plummers Point
5	Plummers Point	Awakeri Hot Springs
6	Awakeri Hot Springs	Taupo
7	Taupo	Ohakune
8	Ohakune	Flock House
9	Flock House	Foxton
10	Foxton	Upper Hutt
11	Upper Hutt	Lake Ferry
12	Lake Ferry	Wellington

Other 4WD web sites

Interested in seeing more on the web on 4WD'ing? Here are some local and international sites you might like to visit.

 

4x4.net.nz Wellington Cross Country Vehicle Club

Off-road.com 4wd Internet Magazine

 
Hutt Valley Nissan - Williams and Adams - Pudney and Lee Wormalds
Johnson, Lawrence & Elder

The North Island Four Wheel Drive Challenge has been put together by a small dedicated group of 4WD enthusiasts (all experienced club members) on a non-profit cost-recovery basis.

Your comments are welcome - click here to send mail

Web site hosted by - 4x4.net.nz