Tim's advice was to take the fuel filter out. This cured the problem, and away we went, but now we were a bit late.

(Three days later we passed through Auckland and got two replacement filters. On-going fuel problems dogged us for the entire trip. The fuel tank had just been replaced prior to the trip, but I have since had the problems again when using Challenge petrol. I use other brands now.)

The first three days were lots of fun. Poutu sand dunes were a highlight for me - huge soft dunes that required lots of throttle. We had an "off"  - flying over a ridge to wedge in a v-gully. Oops! A Red 110 winched us out (thanks guys!) and we were away again.

Reaching Auckland, Tim had broken the manifolds in the 101 (too much driving through water), and the motor had also developed problems with the vacuum advance, so he left the 101 at home and jumped in the 90 with me for the next portion of the trip.

There were plenty of dusty roads - too many for me. Tim found some dust masks for us to wear. The air-filter needed cleaning every few days. Mental note: fix aircon, fit pre-cleaner on top of snorkel. (done!)

The trip was very enjoyable; a strong sense of friendship developed amongst the participants. There wasn't much "hard yakka" 4WD'ing, but there was enough that wear and tear on the vehicles was a constant issue. There was always someone fixing something! With 48 vehicles, you can't take on the toughest tracks anyway. No-one would reach Wellington!

The Landy didn't suffer too badly. Sometimes after a low range section it would starve of fuel. I thought it might be vapour lock. Letting it rest for a minute fixed it. Still don't know what the problem is. The universal joints started to get rattly - they were replaced straight away. The handbrake linkages got so full of crud that it wouldn't release once - I had to undo it to continue. 4WD'ing with no handbrake is not recommended, but we got all the way up Mt. Tarawera! So much dust got in things that the door locks jammed solid.

Still, a damn fine trip!
 

Current Registration
Warrant of Fitness
CNG/LPG certificate
3rd party insurance
Seat belts for all passengers
Tow hooks front & rear
(bolted to chassis with 2x 12 mm or 4x 10 mm HT bolts)
Recovery Strop
(20 mm min dia, min 7 tonne breaking strain, min 20% stretch)
Wet sack in plastic bag (brake for recovery strop, fire fighting)
Good off-road mud grip tyres
Spare tyre
Spark arrestor
Snorkel
Open top vehicles to have roll cage
Shovel
First Aid Kit
Fire Extinguisher (current certificate)
Tool Kit
Torch

Recommended
-------------------
CB
Winch
Spare fuel
Underbody protection
Chains
Compressor (for tyres)
Radiator cover
Tyre tubes
Recovery gear