Tukino Snow Excursion
The weekend of the 7th August saw members of the Military Re-enactment Societies 101st Airborne unit set off in an expedition onto the snow covered hills of Mt Ruapehu. The objective being to reach Tukino ski fields. The convoy consisted of eight men and two jeeps a Willy’s MB & Ford GPW.
The weather was overall fine and stared off pleasant, however as we ascended the mountain a cold wind began to blow, penetrating our warmest layers of clothing. The first jeep ran without issues, scaling the mountain without issue. However, the one at the rear struggled with engine difficulties, requiring impromptu engine maintenance near the top and eventually failing to start.
Approximately halfway up the mountain the convoy halted to conduct a photo shoot on the snow, finding an area to conduct mock combat and throw a few snowballs at one another.
Less than 1km from the objective we left the broken-down jeep with a man to look after it, and carried on, with seven men reaching the end, four of whom walked the final stretch. With the weather packing in and a broken jeep the convoy descended the mountain.
