stevehnz Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Those who have looked at my build threads in the Made in Ukraine GB will know what I mean by The Wop-wops, it's Kiwi slang for the Back of Beyond, the Boonies, the Cuds & any other off the beaten track places. In our case, it is about 30 kms from the nearest small town, about 20 km up a river valley with about 5 crossings, depending on the moods of the last floods. Normally, these are of little issue this time of year, much of the flow is beneath the gravels of the braided river bed, however, a wetter than usual summer has seen higher than normal flows though getting in was no problem to the wee 'Zuki. This was Monday 29 Dec. It rained steadily for the next day & a bit so my anticipated hunting opportunities were severely curtailed but I did get a lot of my Barbarossa book read. A trip down to the first crossing on the Thursday didn't look good & another guest with a large 80 series Land Cruiser had a struggle picking someone up from the end of the normal road. There were compensations, a couple of walks between showers & a glorious night sky one night without any light pollution was pretty awesome & this guy/girl (?) paid us a visit looking for a feed of the resident sparrows on New Years day. This one is for you @Karearea A New Zealand Falcon, looking very regal here, not so much with it's head upside down under the roof edge. I never saw it with more than feathers in it's beak though. Resigning ourselves to stay an extra day was rewarded with a feed of slow cooked beef cheeks that night & then on Friday, it was a bit do or die, with more rain forecaste for that night. The wee 'Zuki performed in fine style, much to the amazement of the others in the convoy who did have their doubts. The Land Cruiser driver looking on anxiously. He did get his own back on the last crossing when the current took the tail sideways as we climbed out onto a mid stream gravel bar which was about 30 % water & I lost cross axle traction. A pre rigged strop around his rear recovery hook & we were through & free. Happy New Year to all I haven't wished thus yet. Steve. 20 1
Stef N. Posted January 7 Posted January 7 A beautiful bird that Steve and what looks like a fun little adventure. All the best.👍👍 1
Karearea Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Beautiful, thanks Steve! The Suzuki looks right in its element. As a teenager I remember getting up to similar hijinks in a mates Feroza. We spent Christmas more or less East of you in Wellington. The most interesting bird I saw was an albatross on the tail of the new P-8s as we drove past Ohakea. Happy New Year to you and yours. Nick 1
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 7 Posted January 7 (edited) Great looking bird and love the outdoors must be great to be there. Oh yeah done my fair share of off roading, rock climbing, and mudding in my younger days. Had a 1979 Jeep CJ5 with a 304 Ci V8 and 3 speed. Lifted by 6”s and running 36” tires. My jeep had tilted axels so that it could run the bigger tires. Edited January 7 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1
flyboy2610 Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Sounds like you all made the best of it and had a great time! If I may offer a word of advice: do not attach a strap to a bolt on trailer hitch ball and attempt to pull some one free. Those balls were not made for that kind of stress/angles and have been known to snap off. They'll go flying and don't care what/who they hit! If you wish to use a trailer hitch and a strap to pull someone free get a tri-ball mount: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/brok-tri-ball-mount These have 3 balls welded to the receiver and are much stronger than a regular bolt on hitch ball. Feed the strap up from the bottom and loop it around all 3 balls. I'd hate to see someone get hurt by a ball-missile! 🚀 1 1
stevehnz Posted January 8 Author Posted January 8 1 hour ago, flyboy2610 said: Sounds like you all made the best of it and had a great time! If I may offer a word of advice: do not attach a strap to a bolt on trailer hitch ball and attempt to pull some one free. Those balls were not made for that kind of stress/angles and have been known to snap off. They'll go flying and don't care what/who they hit! If you wish to use a trailer hitch and a strap to pull someone free get a tri-ball mount: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/brok-tri-ball-mount These have 3 balls welded to the receiver and are much stronger than a regular bolt on hitch ball. Feed the strap up from the bottom and loop it around all 3 balls. I'd hate to see someone get hurt by a ball-missile! 🚀 Thanks for the advice, even though it was a tow rather than a recovery, we still used the dedicated recovery hook rather than the tow ball, for the reasons you have explained & off which I'm very much aware. 👍 Steve.
Bandsaw Steve Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Happy New Year mate. There could well be a Bandsaw family trip to Marlborough this year so be warned - you might get shouted for a beer or two sometime . 🍺 1
stevehnz Posted January 8 Author Posted January 8 4 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said: Happy New Year mate. There could well be a Bandsaw family trip to Marlborough this year so be warned - you might get shouted for a beer or two sometime . 🍺 Oooh, yes please, something to look forward to. Some warning would help. Steve. 1
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