Four-Wheel-Driving: Tramping for Lazy People

Recently I took it upon myself to carry a load for the rest of the party. It was a ‘small’ trip to the Omarama area (O-ma-rama or O-mara-ma?), destination — Hidden Lake and Top Hut. Now I must specify that the term small is relative, we were a crowd of 13, ready to descend on the high country.

I was a tad late to the rendezvous but this was my party so I could do what I wanted (to the annoyance of everyone else, sorry xo will set my alarm earlier next time). We cruised to Omarama via a quick pitstop in Oamaru, no major hiccups. After an obligatory sheep saddling we hit Broken Hut Rd, skirting down its dusty length before unloading at the carpark. It was here that the temptation seeded itself that I could maybe, just maybe, drive up to the saddle. After consulting Owen (I don’t know why I trusted him to know what he’s doing, his advice is normally just to send it), we decided to send it, what could go wrong. With that decided, we loaded Suzi the Suzuki with 13 packs and set off down the 4WD track. Owen accompanied me in the front, being that he was severely incapacitated, something to do with a late night vacuum cleaner attack? The purple marks of his trauma were still present on his neck.

As you might imagine, driving is a heck of a lot faster than walking. There were a few big dips, but nothing the Suzi couldn’t handle. At the start of the…