Viv Haldane takes a four-wheel drive tour through remote areas of Southern Hawke's Bay, including Castlepoint and stations like Akitio, Owahanga, and Mataikona. The tour kicks off at Pipibank Station, where the group beds down for two nights before exploring the rugged coastline and scenic beaches. Along the way, they learn about the rich history of early settlers and farmers in the region from their tour guides Sharon and Kevin. Despite some challenging terrain, the whole group enjoys the beauty and adventures of the remote coastal locations accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles.

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Wcards and images by Viv hfaldafie
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2. Lighthouse, lagoon, sand dunes, village
-Castlepoint is a holidayer's paradise
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Viv Haldane takes the
overland route to Castlepoint.
'm off on a four-wheel drive trip to
Castlepoint this weekend," I say
breezily to the iady in the supermarket
as she oacks ny groceries.
"Oh, really? That's a horrible pJace. There is
nothing there," she responds, without taking her
eye off the bag. For a second, my spirits deflate,
But it's now Monday and I am pleased to say, she
was wrong. I must tell her next time I see her.
The frozen roar of the stag mounted on the wall
at the Duke of Edinburgh Pub in Porangahau,
captures my eye as I wait for a meal tak ng forever
to arrive, Meanwhile. the other 1B travellers, from
afar afreld as Taranaki and Auckland, are tucking in
to massive poftions of fish and chips and getting
to know each other.
We are here to kick off a weekend of four-wheel
driving with Back Country Tag Along Tours.
This is a reguiar scenario for Kevin and Sharon
Smith, the owners of this business. Their trips are
particularly popular wlth ex- farmers: "Probably
because it is a bit nostalgic for them, They tell me,
"You have opened up iots of gates for us again,""
says Kevin.
At twilight we head towards the tiny coastal
settlement of Herberlville in Southern Hawke's
Bay. We'll bed down at Pipibank Statlon for two
nights, travelling to Castlepoint and back, via
sheep and b,eef statlons lncluding Akitio,
Owahanga, and Mataikona,
Not far up the road our convoy pulls to a halt, ln
the dim light we can just make out the long, skinny
sign b,earing the world's longest place name. lt
translates to 'The hilltop where Tamatea with big
knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, Fp
Our 4WD vehicles, undaunted by
the rough terrain ahead
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traveller over Iand and sea, played his
koauau to his beloved.'
At Pipibank, half our group have
lodgings in the farmhouse while, alas, we
others have drawn the shotl straw: the
shearer's quarlers, "l say, this is very
communal..." says one of our lot as she
eyes up the ratlo of five rough and ready
bedrooms to one bathroom with two
showers and a toilet,
It is a night interrupted by a chorus of
snonng, "At least they were n harmony,"
says sorne joker. The dogs bark at four in
the morning and to cap it off, an alarm
ciock shrills, still set to town schedule.
However. Lhe .k'ades upon opel''rg
the door to see the woolshed, b,athed in
sunlight and beyond the farm gate, a
sparkling sea.
Our 4WD vehlcles are neither the
'shinies' cru slng the city streets, free of
dit1 , nor the 'tough trucks' throwrng
themselves at every lump and bump on
the landscape, You could say we are the
'soft roaders', although we will still have
our share of challenges.
Janice, a sprightly 7O-something, is
still chirpy after two days of riding over
rough tracks in her RAV4, the smallest n
the fleet, At one stage we watched as
she drove full speed towards a steep
bank. Mud flew off the wheels as she
tipped perilously sideways but recovered
to reach the top. "That was the most fun I
have ever had on four wheels," she says,
Akitio Beach is littered with driftwood
and at the school, pet day is in full swing.
Heads turn as we drlve past. We park
beside the beach for a cuppa and a bite
to eat. Kerry, an intensive care nurse from
Mangawhai, races off to investigate the
pets. She returns lubilant at having
scored a pony ride,
Farms along this coast are masstve
and have a rich pastoral h story, Some,
such as Aklt o, have been in one family
for generations. While others, such as
Mataikona Station, were bought by a
Swiss real estate magnate in 201 l.
At 7300ha, Owahanga is the largest
Maori-owned station in the Nodh lsland.
Everywhere, plump, soon-to-be-
weaned lambs run to and fro with their
mothers, They seemed to enjoy playing
'chicken' as we drve past.
A we l-kept graveyard at Akitio Station
tells the fate of some of the early settler
families. ln 1896 Archibald Armstrong
drowned while trying to save his uncle.
"That was the way you died in those
days," says Lyndon a retired farmer's wife
from Taupo.
tr*h
Kerry Shanta, from
Mangawhai, had a
,i!ts- grtsir. umts
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.: ,; , 0n the rocks at Owahanga

4. Herbertville charm 'We all do fade as a leaf,' reads
another inscription.
"There is hrstory everywhere," says
Sharon, who feeds us snippets over the
two-way radio as we go. For instance, a
pioneer farming couple from Pipibank
Station eagerly awaited the arrrval of their
double bed which went sailing by several
times on the ship before it could land.
"Castlepoint ls at its best in bad
weather," the petrol pump attendant tells
us, as he flils our jeep. "The reef real y
pedorms for you then. There's a cave out
there and the sea gets worked up when
it goes through,"
Today we are happy it is calm as it
makes the walk up the steps towards
and past the lighthouse, a pleasant one,
Surly grey clouds from the south hint lt
won't last. A contraption with gigant c
wheels hitched to a fishing boat
impresses the blokes and a local hoon
chews up the sand wllh his trail bike. I
cou d dawdle hours away here and
earmark it for a future holiday,
For now, it is time to high-tail it back
to Herbertville, Late afternoon. it seems a
daunting task. Our petrol pump man,
when we toid him where we were
heading said, "l am glad you're the one
doing lt - t's a rough piece of road and
there are some rocks the size of houses."
We make it before sundown and our
breakfast hosts, Tina and John Emmet,
have made us a meal that appeases our
hunger and weariness. Out comes Tlna's
cornet (she used to be in the New
Zeaand Aldorce Band) as she bugles,
'Come to the cookhouse door, boys.'
How did they end up n Herbedville?
"We came for a v s t 15 years ago,
saw the house for sale and bought 11,"
says Tina.
On Sunday we drop down from
the h s of Tautane Station, into
Porangahau and on to visit the beaches
popular with the folk of Hawke's Bay:
Aramoana, Blackhead and Pourerere. lt
s here we make our final wheel marks in
the sand before saying our goocibyes
and heading home.
i You won't get losi in
Herbertsville..'
Goffee break on the beach
near Tautane Station, Southern
Hawke's Bay. Take that, city!
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