Three days in 3000 acres of gorgeous King Country native bush. Two nights camping at two different sites. Local venison provided by Danny the owner for Saturday night cooked on a big saw blade on a woodfire... Older members will remember, this is how we used to do Go-Bush a decade ago. We have at last got permission to return to the huts at the back of the property.

Friday 30 January

Travel down from Auckland to Go-Bush a few minutes south east of Taumaranui. Arrive in the afternoon at the front hut and set up camp. Possible wheeling in the northern block where Megan's trip went last November. Tents required but there is a communal hut with some cooking gear, plus toilets and a hot shower. Bring own food.

Saturday 31 January

Own breakfast, before heading into the punga block once our host Danny arrives. This is where selective punga logging takes place, so a rabbit warren of bulldozer tracks in steep clay. Morning tea stop. More tracks, then back to front hut for lunch. Pack your camping gear back into your Land Rover and we start the 90+ minute drive to the back huts on the headwaters of the Wanganui River. Steep, clay, pumice, ridiculously tight bends with huge drops... Brilliant off road driving country. We will take a walk through a giant tomo in pumice deposited by the Taupo eruption that formed the lake. Our campsite has a fabulous cooking and dining space. Danny will have shot a bambi on-site earlier and throw steaks on the sawblade over a fire. You will need to provide salads, potatoes or whatever you wish to accompany it with. There are a couple of small 2 bunk cabins available for those whose partners refuse to sleep under canvas and slept in Taumaranui on Friday night. 2 other sleeping spaces are already booked sorry! So it's tents for everyone else. Trout fishing from the flying fox chair is available...

Sunday 1 February

Late 11am start from the campsite to allow bush walks, fishing, generally hanging out in one of the nicest places you will be in 2026. Then it's off on more tracks to wend our way a lunch spot then back to the front hut for a late afternoon tea. Leaving for Auckland around 4pm should see you home before dark.

Vehicles and drivers

Go-Bush is a spectacular but unforgiving property. It is not suitable for novice drivers. You will need a minimum of Grade 2 truck with full tread ATs but MTs will be better. If it rains, it gets ugly fast. Surprisingly, 20 minutes dry, will return traction in most places as pumice is a wonderful thing. We need 10 trucks to make it viable, 15 is comfortable, 20 is too large a group. So book with me, Brett, as soon as you can please. Although $200 includes truck, passengers and Bambi slices, I will need to know passenger numbers. Once I have an email group, we can discuss convoying down, payments etc. If your family will only do one trip a year - make sure this is it.