Welcome to the Blog4NZ series!
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It wasn’t long ago that we packed our bags and took off to Methven to enjoy some of its famous white powder. (Snow! What did you think I was talking about?) But things didn’t turn out quite how we expected.
If you plan to come to New Zealand for winter’s adventures, you might not be able to get to the slopes due to weather conditions. Mt Hutt, our preferred ski field, is known to have some extreme weather occasionally, so we should always have a back-up plan. Not that we do.
In this case, we were stumped but luckily we know some people, and that is how we found out about Adventure Argos out at Staveley, Ashburton. Our experience followed this pattern:
Before you go out, call Errol & Jocelyn Syme who operate Adventure Argos and ask them to meet you. Take the Rakaia Gorge road towards Staveley.
When arriving: stand puzzled. Where is it? We were looking for a building with a sign or something. Nope. We found ourselves in the wilds of Staveley, surrounded by the foothills of Mt Somers.
We had managed to find Boyds Road and that was all we knew, so decided to wait as the Symes knew we were coming. Then from one of the houses came Errol & Jocelyn with a truck and the Argos on it.
People have many reasons to operate a tourism business. After spending the morning with Errol I think the main reason for him is he was looking for a reason to do what he loves most – riding the Argos and splash in the mud!
The ride begins near the well known Sharplin Falls and Mt Somers track. As the area where the adventure is taking place belongs to the family, we got to hear stories about the native bush, the beech forest, the streams and swamps, from a man who spent all his life amongst them. it was like hearing a proud father talking about his child.
Canterbury has been home to several local ice skating secrets for decades and Adventure Argos will take you to the one of the last remaining natural outdoor ice skating rinks.
During a good winter (obviously, we came on not such a good one…) the water will freeze and the unique tradition of ice skating and curling is given new life. The rink is bordered by beech forest, and a swing bridge over a small river has to be crossed to reach it. If you are travelling with kids (young or adult…) this is an amazing experience for them!
The Argos vehicles have the ability to drive through water, snow and mud, to travel up and down hilly terrain and give you an exhilarating ride you will not forget.
Have you taken a ride in an Argos vehicle? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
About the author:
Merav Benaia or professionally known as AllWaysNZ is the owner of AllWays NZ Car Rental (www.allwaysrental.co.nz) and the writer of its blog, mum of two, and an amateur backpacker sharing her love for traveling New Zealand.
8 wheels and it can move in water as well, that is something
Thanks for publishing my post, guys, and thanks for supporting New Zealand!
@Zablon: They are super cool!
@Merav: THANK YOU! Thank you so much for writing that piece for us. We want to help so badly and thanks for the opportunity to do so. 😀
never have but looks super fun!