Iconic Icebuster
Waiouru is no place to be in winter… unless you are on the Icebuster, a guided off-road event organised by the Offlimits Charitable Trust.
The New Zealand Army must be one of the largest users of 4WDs and offroad vehicles and therefore has one of the biggest offroad playgrounds in New Zealand in the form of the 63,000 hectares Army Training Grounds at Waiouru. Being a military training ground, access is of course rather restricted but several times a year the Offlimits Charitable Trust holds outdoor action events for various activity groups such as horse riding, motorbikes, side by sides and four wheel drives. Ice Buster is just one of two events specifically for 4WDs and is held during winter, hence the name, while the other one is Operation Stirling held in December each year. The events are run in conjunction with similar events for side by side (UTVs) which are held on the same weekend. Warrick Funnell is the current chairman of the organisation and main organiser of the events supported with the outdoor activities by a team of volunteers, many with current or past military backgrounds.
Real winter conditions
Ice Buster, limited to just 50 4WD vehicles, is deliberately placed in midwinter to give you a chance to drive in real winter conditions and as such very much dependent on Mother Nature as to the actual conditions on the day. The vehicles are put into groups; Club for the serious vehicles, Adventure for those who don’t fit club but are more adventurous than dull shiny, and Dull Shiny who don’t mind slight scratching but don’t want to go through deep water holes. Winter Buster is for the side-by-sides and like the 4WDs is in guided groups although they had a marked 25km circuit on Sunday where you set your own pace and drove till you have had enough.
Protocols and standards
The cost of the weekend includes accommodation in the army barracks, with linen provided, which were very comfortable and centrally heated. All meals from Friday night are included with dining in the army mess although there are dress protocols and standards to follow. For this event I was teamed up with Chas Charlton to help guide the Adventure 4WDs which turned out to be the largest group at 24 vehicles each day. Leaving the camp the group headed to the western side of the Desert Road following some severely rutted tracks that took some negotiating. A couple of times vehicles got stuck but with a simple tow were on their way again. Even our leader managed to find it tiring and ‘ laid over’ for a rest when he found a large rock in the tussock tipping him into the ruts, but fortunately not completely over. A rope and man power pulled the vehicle back to point where it was able to be driven out. Morning tea was at the base of some large hill climbs on the escarpment before heading into the ‘ desert’ and driving the western boundary in a clockwise direction. The weather closed in as we got higher and the chill factor out of the vehicle reminded you that this was an alpine region that needed to be treated with utmost of respect.
The bluffs of Mordor
A couple of vehicles were having mechanical issues so after lunch they were escorted out to the highway for repairs, while the group climbed up to the highest point of the training grounds on the side of Mt Ruapehu. From there in low cloud and generally miserable conditions of rain and at times sleet and hail it was up to the bluffs often now referred to as Mordor after the location was used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We were to make our way through the “rock garden” but in the adverse conditions we missed the turnoff and ended up in soft muddy tussock country and giving way to the club vehicles as they came through from the other direction. After crossing the Whangaehu River there was a couple of muddy hills to climb which the club vehicles had come down and rutted them up for us. Several vehicles had difficulty on this, especially those towards the back as the tracks got cut up further with each passing vehicle. Heading back to the base we were able to give the vehicles a quick hose down at the wash bay before heading to the warm barracks for a hot shower and dinner. After dinner it was to the officers’ bar for social time and catch up on how the others got on during the day.
Sun day!
Sunday was a better day as we got into our groups on the parade ground yet again. The bad news was some of the tracks intended for our group were deemed too tough and wet, so some changes were going to have to be made as the day progressed. One of the vehicles that had issues yesterday was fixed and back and the group gained t wo extra vehicles from the club group making a larger group. First off we travelled out from base to the Moawhango Dam which has the aqueduct pipe that takes water to the Tongariro power station. The snow-covered Mt Ruapehu was glistening in the morning sun and the trip to the dam was interrupted with photo opportunities along the way and it was the same again once at the dam. Eventually we found ourselves in real tussock country surrounded by wet swampy ground negotiating our way trying to avoid the really wet and vehicle swallowing areas. A couple of challenging tracks were irresistible to a few who liked a challenge. Even one downhill track had a result of five- nil to the terrain! As we made our way out, the deep (over bonnet) water hole that everyone had previously been avoiding proved too tempting for many. Even the little Jimny had the rear floating momentarily as it went through the deepest section and there were no drowned causalities this time.
Play time
There was a good breeze and with the sunny conditions some of the tracks were drying out and after a couple of attempts vehicles managed to get up around the north end of Moawhango Lake and down to the Moawhango River. With each passing vehicle the track seemed to get drier and everyone made i t through. Some even took to playing on the hills on the far side of the river before we had to return the way we came in. Again we had a vehicle with issues in the form of a non- charging alternator and the batteries had gone flat. Being 24 volt the batteries were changed with another vehicle to allow them to drive out. As we regrouped at the northern end of the lake, yet another vehicle had engine problems but he too was able to slowly make his way out albeit with a smoke screen, every bit as effective if not more so than James Bond and MI5 could ever achieve. While the weekend didn’t really involve any ‘ ice busting’ due to the rain leading up to the weekend and on Saturday, it was a brilliant weekend in chilly and blustery conditions, especially Saturday. The next event is Operation Stirling in December ( see Coming Events) so make sure you get registered early as these trips are limited in numbers and will fill up quickly.