Issue 11

Hey Little Truckers, I hope your holidays were awesome. I went on a top-notch trip with Dad for a fairly usual run down to Ashburton, and back north via the East Coast of the South Island.

I woke up for an early 3am start in the April holidays, ready to head away on my next adventure with Dad. Pulling away from Motueka at 4:10am, Dad and I were headed straight down the West Coast to Ashburton. With the music playing and the promise of coffee at Culverden, we set off.

This was the first overnight trip I had gone on with Dad in a very long time, and this journey was extra cool as we were going to be staying overnight in Kaikōura, which is a town I had never visited before. While I fought the fatigue of the early morning (and failed, having a small nap), we made the four and three-quarter hour journey to Culverden. The coffee hit the spot during Dad’s half-hour break, then we continued towards Ashburton, located an hour south of Christchurch. This town is home to Enerpro Feeds, the depot where we were picking up a load of stock feed. Once we arrived and due to the help of a trusty front-end loader, loading took us no time at all and we headed off again.

This load was destined for a dairy farm in Wairau Valley. Our best route to arrive at this farm involved travelling north up SH1, through to the small coastal township of Kaikōura. This made for a beautiful scenic drive, once again reminding me of the amazing views found in the South Island. Travelling through rolling hills and winding valleys, including two road tunnels, the drive soon led us out onto the East Coast, revealing amazing coastal ocean views and a breathtaking sunset.

This truck trip also provided an opportunity for me to see the roading infrastructure that has been placed along the Kaikōura coastline since the events of the devastating 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura earthquake in 2016. The earthquake caused widespread damage across SH1, including landslides. An example of this new preventative infrastructure included sizable metal netting, supported by large steel rods and cables that are engineered to prevent rockfall and landslides (often caused by heavy rainfall) from blocking the road. We then arrived in the township of Kaikōura where we stayed at the Lobster Inn.

It was another early start the next morning where we continued down SH1 towards Wairau Valley. Firstly, we stopped at Riverlands to get fuel. While there I saw some awesome Scanias parked up and captured some pictures. We made great time while watching an amazing sunrise that had begun as we departed. As the sun continued to rise all the way through to Blenheim, it lit remarkable views of the abundant vineyards that are famous in the region. Dad made sure to pull over so I could grab some pictures to commemorate our journey.

The farm is located approximately 30km out of Blenheim and we pulled into the dairy farm right on time for 7am. We unloaded the stock feed, ready for the usual battalion of hungry livestock. I jumped out of the truck to get some pictures of it unloading. We then continued on towards Kawatiri Junction where Dad was dropping me off to get picked up by Mum (about an hour and a half away from home). It was an awesome adventure, staying in a new town, with some amazing scenic views and a great opportunity to spend some time with Dad.