We werent going to hang around too long before getting on the road as we had read conflicting reports of the time it would likely take to get to the Molesworth Cob Hut and back to Hanmer Springs, a distance of about 170km for the round trip.
The road out through the Awatere River Valley to SH1 is still closed from the Cob Hut due to very heavy rainfall events last year that washed out the original rain and then the one the council prepared along the riverbank. So our drive will be in and out on the same road.
Before we left home I had read on the DOC website all about the road and things to see and do on the way and also printed off their extensive brochure.
However I left it at home and so we headed off this forgetting what the brochure had said about the two access roads you can take to enter the area from Hanmer.
and soon had us wondering how we were ever going to see Molesworth without a four wheel drive vehicle.
After leaving the tar seal, which we had expected on the outskirts of Hanmer village, the gravel road wasnt too rough as long as we didnt exceed 50kph for the first kilometre of so. There were signs where the tar seal ended which advised that the road was not maintained but nothing about 4 wheel drives only.
We drove carefully up the hill with the road ‘hanging onto to the hillside and just wide enough for one vehicle in most places. What we would have done had we met a downhill vehicle we never found out, thank goodness!
As we progressed up to the summit the state of the gravel road got worse and we slowed often to dodge deep ruts. We were fortunate we didnt have much weight in the rear of the Corolla as we might have done some damage to the underside of the car.
As we neared the top a large buggy vehicle with sizeable roll bars and a driver wearing a hard hat, goggles and raring to get in front of us.
Then as we got onto a slightly straighter piece of road more of these buggies appeared in the rear vision mirror, all looking eager to get past our slow moving vehicle.
Thankfully the summit arrived quickly and there was space to pull over and all 8 buggies revved by us while we sat, doubting whether we should be on this road at all.
That doubt was confirmed a short distance on when in front of us was a sizable ford to cross and we decided to turn around and head back to Hanmer and check out if there was a 4 wheel drive trip offered by a local adventure business.
After a 10 point turn and bouncing back down the hill we went into the Information Centre and told the young woman of our experience and asked whether there was a tour we could purchase to spend the day sightseeing through Molesworth.
It was clear when the young woman laughingly told us that Jollies Pass Road was only for 4 wheel drive vehicles and that the sign we had seen about the road
She did give us a couple of brochures on trips offered by local businesses into Molesworth but also explained that had we taken the other road, Jacks Pass Rd and onto the Clarence Valley Rd we would have been OK in our Corolla although there were still some parts of thro ad where we would encounter ruts especially on corners as logging trucks used the early part of the road down to Hanmer.
So with renewed confidence we would get to do what we wanted we set off and up a hill again on a road that was almost twice the width of Jollies Pass and an easier gradient. We even passed two cyclists on ordinary push bikes as we progressed to the summit.
Down the other side and we passed a Molesworth Station sign that signified that we were about to start the drive that would enable us to tick off another adventure that had been on our bucket list for many years.
would have bought us into Molesworth had we continued and the road straightened and headed in a general northerly course.
Initially the road followed the Clarence River through a valley with steep hillsides that changed around almost every corner.
