Bob's Big Summer NZ Roadtrip

[Bob T]

Well then, it had been a long held ambition to visit this one place down country and what better way to do it in than the Charger, although, admitidly there are far cheaper ways to travel, the little jappa 1.8L wife's car was never going to cut enough mustard.
Distance all up worked out to 1320 miles ( 2138km ) and cost around $900 in gas   but Hell it was definetly a oncer and it was worth it. I do enjoy seeing other peoples roadtrips on here, Steve and Marie did some good ones as well, so I thought I'd put a few , no a lot   of pics up of scenic New Zealand.

First up was doing some r & m and had a good tune, carb sort out and had the dizzy finally sorted too, had been set up incorrectly previously.
Its amazing how much gear you can get into the trunk of a Charger and only have people , guitar and Dog on the seats
It would be fair to say Rosie the mini schnauzer tolerates the BBD and cant wait to leap out of it when we stop and just sulks the whole way there  

[Bob T]

First stop was Whangamata to our family bach about two hours drive away for a week or so of swimming, mooching around at the beach, oh and there was the New Years day ''1st Carshow in the World" , 160 odd cars & bikes put on by the people that run Beach Hop a huge week long car festival.
Hemi-o's 70  and one of the best looking 68's I have ever seen, nice guy too.
There was a tri athalon on as well, but thats not my bag  

Then it was farewell the Family and hit the road solo for the long haul South, this leg is around 420 miles and around 7 hours with stops, last pic is coming up to Lake Taupo in the central North Island with Mt Ruapehu in the background

[Bob T]

These young Ladies were on a Hen party at Turangi when I filled up and needed to get a photo with a cool car, no problem there ladies, you'll be famous on D.C.com I told em  

More mountain shots along the Desert Rd.
Mt Ngauruhoe  2291m active volcano
the last shot of Mt Tongariro 1967m is the one that was used as Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings, also is an active volcano, Ruapehu blew up twice in the last few years and I'm glad I dont live around here  , C500 used to, but he's moved too

[Bob T]

Heading a bit further down off the Kapiti Coast on the main highway to Wellington, a lot of it follows the sea on this section and heaps of little provincial towns, some even have traffic lights   Didnt see any hobbits running around, they're a bit shy apparently and don't come into the towns much

Mount victoria tunnel in Wellington.
A mates 74 XBGT Falcon where I was staying, freshly restored, 4 speed too, very nice.

[Bob T]

Next day was off on the main objective of the trip.
Out of Wellington a 1 1/2 hour drive up through the Rimutaka ranges and though to Carterton.
This road is treacherous in winter, snows frequently and is very twisty though the mountains with 25km corners. The old 11 x 3 drum brakes got a good work out through here, mainly leaving it in 2nd auto and just taking it easy, the old BBD does'nt corner like a sports car, I did all the bushes and tie rods etc in April so everything was ok in a stock wallowing sort of way    

Rimutaka Ranges and WW1 memorial in Featherston, look at the inscription, the provinces paid dearly for the war effort for the Empire in those days

[Bob T]

Onward through Greytown.
Righto, finally I am here. Stonehenge Aotearoa ( New Zealand ) .
This is not an ancient ruin, it is however a recently built ( 2005 ) modern version of the one at Salisbury Plains in England but designed for local particular Southern Hemisphere conditions for use as an practical open air observatory.

[1974dodgecharger]

This is fckin NICE a road trip....no one to hassle ya just you and the car. 

Very few married men get to do this most of their woman would ask 1000 questions as to why do it and then ask to tag along. 

[Bob T]

The basic Henge consists of 24 upright pillars connected by lintels to form a circular structure 30 metres in diameter and about 4m high. Near the centre is a 5m high obelisk, running along the meridian is a 10m tiled area called the analemma . ten metres outside the Henge stand 6 heel stones of varying heights, these mark the Equinox, Summer and Winter Solstice sunrise and sunset positions

Although this 1st picture does'nt show it well, the upward sloping hole in the obelisk points towards the celestial South pole, or the southern upper centre of the sky if you like. If you took a night photo through this hole with a long exposure, the stars would rotate around this hole.

Richard Hall, Astronomer, a very learned man and genuinely nice guy, one of the main instigators of the whole project

[Bob T]

This is fckin NICE a road trip....no one to hassle ya just you and the car. 

Very few married men get to do this most of their woman would ask 1000 questions as to why do it and then ask to tag along. 

I gave Wife and daughter the opportunity, but we decided it was just a bit far for the youngster and we also had the dog with us. No a/c in the BBD either, man it was hot, driving with the windows down and vent open just funnelling warm air in.

[Bob T]

So, the analemma works as a practical calendar- the passage of time and passing of the seasons, also to observe the different constellations rising above the lintels or markers which is also the main purpose of the observatory. In ancient times, if you could'nt mark the seasons then crop planting or harvesting or even following the migratory herds for food would have been impossible and the population would have starved and died out.

The analemma has the signs of the zodiac marked out on it and the Suns shadow cast at 12.17 will project the point on top of the obelisk onto the yellow elliptical track on the mosiac. This gives you the date in this case 06 Jan which is in the constellation of Sagittaruis, although I didnt quite get the photo at the right time.

[STIG]

Wicked! 

[Bob T]

The other observational marker is this cluster which has the constellation Pleiades rising above it in late May or early June, also called the seven sisters or Matariki.

Also, Diana features as well being Goddess of the Hunt, Moon and Birthing and appears in respect to one of the lengends about Orion - too long to go into here, it is a car forum after all  

Moon appears above and to the right of the Tane heel stone in the last picture, neat shot

Another amazing thing about the Henge is the reverbrative acoustics inside the ring. Voices travel and amplify and can be heard easily while standing outside some distance away, quite freaky actually - hearing peoples conversations when they could not be seen behind the pillars. They also have musician's doing drumming and also festivals for Solstice and Equinox etc when they have Druidic chants and the like. Richard let me take my guitar in so I played ''House of the rising Sun '' and Hey Joe , sounded different bouncing off the pillars  . Pretty neat and a one off most definetly.

[Bob T]

So then it was back over the Rimutakas to Wellington, heres a shot from the lookout at the top,  west then east, shows the narrow winding road.
I got to take the XBGT for a spin too, nice!
Then one around Island Bay

[Bob T]

Then it was time to hit the road the next day for the long drive back, had a few breaks but it took 8 1/2 hours, around 400 miles for that stretch and 2 1/4 tanks, but the old car didnt miss a beat and ran like a big tough thirsty black train.
Makohine Viaduct, next pic Mangaweka tearooms inside the DC3, Desert road was cold and wet this time, last pic is forest up through to Taupo, 4 hours after that, tired but back safely in Auckland

That was an awesome trip!!

[XH29N0G]

Excellent! Thanks for posting these.

[Back N Black]

Man! That's a cool road trip, 

[cudacharger]

What an awesome post Bob!  That's what these cars are all about glad the BBD prevailed and performed for the summer adventure.   

The pictures look amazing thanks for sharing.

I like the wall in your garage is timeless...you have great taste.   

[68X426]

Kelvin, great stuff, thanks for sharing. As usual you make me jealous. Dan. 

[tan top]

   looks like it was an awesome adventure , thanks for sharing the pictures BT 

[Bob T]

Cheers Guys, it was a pretty cool trip although quite tiring, real impressed with that old black car, what a reliable rocket  

Thanks cudacharger, the wallpaper has some character thats for sure, my brother in law picked it out when he was 4, thirty eight years ago, would've been groovy then  


I did a clip of the Stonehenge as well if anyone was interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJ6TlW0l3I

[STIG]

Accumulate many stone chips from that endeavour?   

[Bob T]

Accumulate many stone chips from that endeavour?  

Must be a few extra ones, bit I dont remember anything too large hitting it, the bugs though are just about 3 deep layered on the front of the hood, haven't cleaned it yet, its filthy!!! And got a.fine coating of wellington coast sand stuck to it  .  Think there's a new windscreen tiny chip , no prob thought, its been a most excellent trip.                  Had to shoot down to Whanga last night to pick up the family ,could've taken the jappa, but it just didnt have the appeal  

[hemi o]

Great pics Bob ,sorry I missed you at the show,your 68 looks great :coolgleamA:will catch up one day 

[1BAD68]

Very cool 

where did that 3rd brake light come from?

[STIG]

Hey, what's the point if you don't get out and drive it eh! It's all just battle scars anyway  Sounds like it was an awesome trip, nice one.

@1BAD68: It's a high-stop light... you need one when you get the car complied, though it's generally pulled out after that process due to it's ugliness *cough* 

[nh_mopar_fan]

Nice!

Did you get to "Hot water beach"?

That was one of the coolest things we've ever seen.

[Bob T]

Yeah, those high stop lights are ugly, got to get that cheap garbage outa there                                                                                  

Nice!

Did you get to "Hot water beach"?

That was one of the coolest things we've ever seen.

Haha did you take a spade and dig a hot pool on the beach? Neat eh , haven't done that for years. Last time we were in Tairua, my daughter and I climbed Paku hill, the big one that overlooks the harbour, that was fun, a great part of the country to see. You should put up a few pics somewhere of your trip and the hot rod nationals, seen some magazine coverage - looked pretty cool.                                        Hey hemi-o, give us a shout if you're likely to be at Kumeu, will be over at the Villains tent most likely  

[69rtse4spd]

Beautiful Pict's., thanks for posting. Glad all went well. .

[Al]

wonderful trip thx for posting 

[remta1]

...i thought that when you said you were heading south that you were going to cross the cookstraight and really head "south " down to us 

[Bob T]

...i thought that when you said you were heading south that you were going to cross the cookstraight and really head "south " down to us 

If only, starting to run out of holiday time and fun coupons to trade for gas, tobacco and snakes 

How far down are you? Done the full circuit before and a few fly n drive trips, West Coast trip would be a highlight then down through the Gates of Haast and down to Wanaka. 

[remta1]

..good old dunedin , some great mopar machines down hear  ( mowtown mac / Kevin ) is here and a few others too ...welcome down anytime mate

[boss429kiwi]

..good old dunedin , some great mopar machines down hear  ( mowtown mac / Kevin ) is here and a few others too ...welcome down anytime mate

Shame you didn't adventure further down to the "Mainland", as my door is open to everyone traveling this way.
I have had a few USA visitor staying with us on their travels. Mainly BossCobra Mustang guys, but everyone is welcome as its great having likeminded people to entertain. I own a 57 Chevy truck now so even those guys are welcome  

[The70RT]

Nice Bob glad you had a good time, driving on the road on the left side made me cringe around a blind corner  Those Schnauzers are the bomb. I remember taking mine on a 4000 mile trip, they love to ride 

[1970Moparmann]

Bob, that's awesome.   

This is one of the reasons why I LOVE the Hot Rod Power Tour.  Nothing like a vacation driving the car you love and spending time with car people.  First tour was 1,700 miles and the second was 1,300. 

Very cool!

[C500]

Bob, what a cool trip, thanks for sharing. Some great photos in there. A multi-Charger road trip would be very cool 

[Bob T]

..good old dunedin , some great mopar machines down hear  ( mowtown mac / Kevin ) is here and a few others too ...welcome down anytime mate

Shame you didn't adventure further down to the "Mainland", as my door is open to everyone traveling this way.
I have had a few USA visitor staying with us on their travels. Mainly BossCobra Mustang guys, but everyone is welcome as its great having likeminded people to entertain. I own a 57 Chevy truck now so even those guys are welcome  

Ok, boss 429 , you're on, I'll give you a bell if I'm down that way   .

Bob, that's awesome.  

This is one of the reasons why I LOVE the Hot Rod Power Tour.  Nothing like a vacation driving the car you love and spending time with car people.  First tour was 1,700 miles and the second was 1,300.  

Very cool!

Hell yes, what a trip on the Power tour, I read about them in the U.S. mags here. I'd love to do one of those, I've got a few mates that have the the U.S. coast to coast trip, thats definetly a bucket list one for me

Nice Bob glad you had a good time, driving on the road on the left side made me cringe around a blind corner  Those Schnauzers are the bomb. I remember taking mine on a 4000 mile trip, they love to ride 

Corners are fine, just got to watch the overtaking moves  Nah mate, this dog would rather get out and walk some days I think, cant convince her otherwise