“A Mish a Day” #225 (Part 1) Waipara River Mouth/Motunau. Hurunui Region. 27.11.2020. Going on adventures with my cousin Adam in his battle-ready Suzuki Jimny has been a recurring event throughout the uncertain times of 2020. Every mission has been different and unique, and every mission has been extremely enjoyable. Also, with the aid of the little truck, I have been able to continue exploring New Zealand’s magnificent wilderness.
Until this point we have focused on the interior of the country, and this has taken us deep into the mountains via rocky braided rivers, and old high country farm tracks. Since our last outing a couple of months had passed and I had been dealing with my ongoing hip issues and a broken wrist, and during that time Adam had acquired some new toys to add to the camping set-up. The stars had aligned, and on a grey and rainy Friday once again we were together in the Jimny, leaving Christchurch in search of adventure. A southerly blast was making its way up the South Island, with heavy rain battering the island’s interior and the West Coast, and with on and off showers on the East Coast. We have never let the weather spoil the good times, so a trip north was the plan. Adam had brought a new inflatable boat, and we had visions of us hauling Crayfish, on a sunny day somewhere near Kaikoura. After getting supplies like bait and condiments to accompany our monstrous meal of fresh fish and crays (which we hoped to catch) we set off. Our first challenge was Friday evening traffic in Christchurch, thankfully once through, the traffic was in our favour. Having everything you need for a comfortable campsite always with you has always meant we can stop anywhere and have food and shelter good to go in a matter of minutes. On some of our missions we have got into some pretty hairy situations, but never been completely stuck (wedged on top of a rock up the Havelock River was the closest we have come so far). We have always prepared for the worst, and Adam has an arrangement of tools to get us out of sticky situations, so we thought…
A far from early-ish start had led to us getting away from the city late in the afternoon, and we decided that setting up camp in the dark and rain at Kaikoura didn’t sound like fun. Plan B was to head to the Waipara River Mouth, and camp in a spot north of the river. The truck and supply trailer bounced its way down to the last reaches of the Waipara River, and we crossed over to the true left. So far so good, and we followed tracks to a point where we could see the beach. Adam had been to the spot we hoped to camp in a few months prior with a team of Suzuki Jimnys, and was confident the place was a perfect place to camp. We followed the track to a grassy area, which quickly turned into a bog. With our eyes focused on the nasty looking ground ahead, we didn’t notice the muddy problem we had just driven into. With a thud the Jimny came to a stop, and neither forward nor backwards was an option. We were very stuck, but still full of confidence as we had many tools in our arsenal for this very situation…
