Get your trek on: 2017 Trillian Trek, day three

21 March, 2017

Words: Liane Clarke Photos: Liane Clarke, Jacqui Madelin, Black Magic

There’s no doubt that raising money for needy Kiwi kids is what drives the Trillian Trek – but it’s also about some tough old vehicles, great mates and just good driving.

Day three of the 27 yr-old event (formerly Variety Bash) offered up some welcome open road and a nice bit of gravel as the mobile fundraising convoy headed out to Kai Iwi Lakes after a sports morning at Dargaville Primary.

The Lakes stop was a good chance to get up close and personal with perhaps the most important vehicle in the fleet, a purpose-built ‘craft service’ trailer with two state-of- the-art BBQs, a prep bar and the all-important cold storage. The trailer is the baby of long-time ‘Trekker’ Mark Prujean who designed it a couple of years ago to cater perfectly to the needs of the event. A very generous donation from Fisher & Paykel and some good old kiwi ingenuity (beg, borrow and steal!) — repeat Trekkers wonder how they ever managed without it.

The trip out to the lakes had the Trek film crew, Black Magic, breaking out the drone for some beautiful panoramic shots celebrating both the driving and the Kiwi countryside.

As with similar events based around a shared passion, the ‘Trekkers’ really are a family. Some have been doing the annual run for 15 years or more and even when circumstances mean some of the old hands can’t make the whole week. If the route takes the group anywhere near someone’s home or bach, calling in is almost mandatory.

This time there was a chance to catch up with 15 year veteran Stu Chapman who has lived in the area for the past several years and had a little something in his garage that was well worth the detour.

Stu has recently bought a 1950 Ford F100 Bonus. In Poison Ivy green the restomod now sports a Boss 290 5.4-litre V8. Everything about the vehicle has been modified, although it still sports the original chassis. It’s Stu’s pride and joy, and he says the original owner, and his mate who did all the work on the car, cried when it was sold!

For those that don’t know Stu or the new car well, the plate does cause some confusion — it’s actually off his previous Ford Bonus which was a ’49. That had a 351 Windsor in it but Stu says this one is tidier and the modern Falcon GT running gear mean it is a bit of a force to be reckoned with.

It is definitely built for speed, with Stu telling us he gets it off the clock no sweat (on closed private roads of course!) and it stops on a sixpence — which is old fella talk for ‘the car reacts very quickly to the brakes and comes to a stop pretty damn quick’.

Would he take it on a Trek? Absolutely not — although, if there was a tar seal-only route …

Official route of the 2017 Trillian Trek:
19th March Day 1 — Matamata to Orewa
20th March Day 2 — Orewa to Dargaville
21st March Day 3 — Dargaville to Omapere
22nd March Day 4 — Omapere to Taipa/Coopers Beach
23rd March Day 5 — Taipa to Taipa
24th March Day 6 — Taipa to Russell
25th March Day 7 — Russell to Whangarei

For more information about this event, or how you can support Kiwi kids by donating, head to trekevents.co.nz or visit the Trillian Trek Facebook page

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

Get your trek on: 2017 Trillian Trek, day three

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