Thread: Hopkins Valley Condition

Stir crazy and ready to get out of the house for a walk, can anyone give an idea of what the Hopkins river access is like at the moment?

Last time i was up there the track had been ripped to shreds and rutted out everywhere which my brand new truck did not appreciate

PM if preferred.

Cheers

lol I could write a book on the many truck deaths up the Hopkins,Dobson.
Common sense really,advice before hand can help but not all the time. The old story, if yi cant walk your crossing with a support then don't take yi truck through.
Nice ti have a back up vehicle.
Plan B...
Good luck,,,nice area.

I haven't been up there since about this time last year when it was badly rutted about halfway to Monument but the week before lock down I was about 1000m up above it looking down and watched a 4wd easily pass through the really rutted patch. From what I could tell a gravel track had been laid through the really bad spot. The river above Monument had certainly changed a bit since I last drove up there around 18 months ago but I could see a vehicle parked just below Huxley and fresh tracks heading to Red hut.

Its the west coast rain you gota watch for a few days befor hand.As said above, if you cant walk it don't drive it.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

What colour vehicle did you watch?
I was up there then in a silver double cab. Parked a couple of kms up past the Red hut on the opposite side. Being a north islander and having never driven up a river before I was quite relieved when we got back out without incident. It was pretty straight forward though and someone had been up before us so we did have wheel marks to follow.

It was a green 4wd with a old couple in there 70's (ran into them on the way out). They were being very cautious, stopping anf looking at every slightly rough bit. If fact they were so cautious they were a lot slower making progress up the valley to Monument than the two on foot. The vehicle I could see just below looked silver through the binos but it was a fairly long way away and would have been almost opposite on the other side of the valley to Red hut.
Good advise from others, I have a photo of some people getting rescued from their 4wd on its side in the middle of the Hopkins from April May last year. Will post if I can find it

http://https://www.odt.co.nz/news/na...ng-floodwaters
Link to ODT with a couple of pictures instead