“On a Mish” #352 Grandeur on Steroids (Part One). Mid Rakaia River. Canterbury. Aotearoa. 7.10.2022. Nature offers the brain a reassuring calm like no other. While medication is appropriate at times, nothing sooths the soul like being amongst the mountains and out in the wilderness. I used to spend most of my time either working or exploring the backcountry of Aotearoa until I had an accident and walking became very tough. I thought that my days marvelling at the beauty that can be found once you leave civilisation were done until my cousin picked me up in his like truck and asked if I’d like to go on a mish…
Hindsight is 2020. After over a year off work I returned to and found out the hard way that I wasn’t ready to get back into it. Having to leaving my job in Fiordland and go back to hospital visits and rehab was about as crushing as when I first injured myself. I was broken in more ways than just a back hip and back, and my brain needed an escape from a world that was closing in around me. Thankfully I have a cousin (Adam) who along with providing parts for fellow Suzuki Jimny lovers, he also loves a good mish into the back-blocks of this great land.
It is safe to say that Adam has modified his little Suzuki truck since our first trip up the Havelock River. On that mish the Jimny only have bigger tyres than the normal roller-skate wheels they come out on. Now he had not only lifted the vehicle and fitted much bigger wheels, but he had also fitted a snorkel and slapped a turbo on the engine. The snorkel would come in handy when we had to enter the water of the river itself. A big valley like the Rakaia needs a truck that is up for some action, and Adam’s Jimny is now ready for anything!
A few ideas were tossed around until we settled on a mish up the mighty Rakaia River. Our families had grown up around the river, but we had never ventured to the top. So, with a plan in hand, and a real adventure in front of mind we prepared our gear for battle. I just hoped my hip & back would be able to handle the many humps and bumps that would be coming our way.
Darkness still hung in the air when Adam picked me up. Together we crossed the Canterbury Plains as the sun rose and revealed the snowy peaks, we would be playing in. Before we even got to the river, we contacted Manuka Point Station to give them a heads up that we would be floating around the area. The station manager told us that a big flood had altered the area and there might be some places we would run into difficulties. We took this as a challenge and pressed on until we got to the edge of the river.
After a long drive it was time to unload the Jimny off the trailer and say goodbye to the comforts of formed roads. The weather was perfect for an adventure with nothing but blue sky above us. We packed the last of our gear and then took our positions in the truck. We were surrounded by the grandeur of a mountainous scene, but it was more than just our average grandeur, it was more like grandeur on steroids! It was going to be an epic mish, but at this stage we had no idea how epic it was really going to be…
