Drivers go bush on Day Three of the AA ENERGYWISE Rally

Running from Monday 11 to Thursday 14 October the two-yearly AA ENERGYWISE Rally is organised by the AA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), and Gull Petroleum New Zealand.

After an overnight and refuel in Palmerston North, the 49 drivers and their vehicles hit the road at 7.30am, heading over the Pahiatua track, with a fleeting visit to Pahiatua before going ‘bush’ – but still on tarmac – and passing through Makuri, Pongaroa, Weber, Wimbledon, Porongahau, Wallingford and Wanstead before reaching civilisation again at Waipukurau.

“Then the next section is really for the drivers!” says EECA Chief Executive Mike Underhill. “And, co-drivers should take the necessary precautions to make sure they can retain their breakfast!”

From Waipukurau the rally heads up SH2 through Hastings before breaking for a rolling lunch stop on Napier’s Marine Parade between 11.30am and 12.30pm.

Following lunch it is onward and over the Napier/Taupo Road to Taupo. From here the rally continues on SH5 to Rotorua, arriving from 4.15pm on for an overnight and refuel halt.

The total distance for the day is approximately 500km. It is the third stage in the 1,780km North Island route that tests drivers and vehicles on a combination of motorways, unsealed roads, rural state highways and rush hour traffic.