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The old zig-zag road before the viaduct, Otira Gorge.
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DescriptionNana Pop Detlaff .."This is a great photo showing the Big Slip! Every time the Slip fell away the road had to go higher up the hill. It got to the stage where it was unsafe and could have collapsed and killed anyone on that bit of road at the time. You can see how the curved road on the left has been extended further up the hill as each big slip occurred."Map[1] ContributorPeter Westwood
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Location (city or town)OtiraLandmark (Place) zig-zag road
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Category TagRoads
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LinkFacebook LinkDate Created19th November 2014Comments
Maye Dunn Hard to believe looking at it now that we all drove that road...incredible.
Unlike · Reply · 4 · March 3 at 11:26am
Doug Sail
Doug Sail It was an exhilarating drive... I miss it..
Cotrina Reynolds Me too. Hated it as a passenger loved it as a driver.
Pam Sosky Traveled that so many times
Arthur Bass Drove that in some dicey conditions. Sorted the men from the boys.
Richard Currie used to cart hay over truck and trailer in the 70s
Donald Mathias An awesome motorbike ride!!!
Glenice Hansen Was scary driving over the old pass
Anita Lorraine Barltrop I drove that road many times, when snowing it wasn't fun/very scary.
Arthur Dehn I remember driving on that part in my Morris Oxford and the wheels dancing up and down , no traction on the gravel road
Carol Weir I remember that road could be tricky at times
Carrol Hunter Was scary when the brakes failed half way down
Deane Goodall Fun bit of road to drive, loved it
Manage
Ruth Naylor Drive that road would give ANYBODY A DRIVERS LICENCE.
Margaret Young I can't believe I drove over that in my trusty triumph herald.These days I leave it to my husband to drive SH73.
Manage
Christine Stewart That's how I remember the pass
Lorraine Greenfield Remember this Jan Cotton Wallace in the black and white holden
Jenny Marshall I loved driving over the pass
Craig Crestani Used to bus over when we played league against Canterbury teams. Our parents must have gone to church and prayed that morning!
Fred Ratahi Drove buses over there in the old Road Services days.
Mel Higson We use to come over that horrible pas when we were kids to come see my grandparents,hated that road.
Use to always scare the shit out of me.
Margaret Grant To think i used to tow the horse float up the with the old holden ute.That was a single horse float with one horse.
Margaret Grant Jennifer Griffin remember going to the Cavacade with the double float you and Cherrie rode the horse up to the top .
Sophie Allan Pleased I rode the pass before the viaduct went in. Traffic was a bit more sane back then I reckon.
Ian Murch Travelled this road many times before the war
Mark Merriman Loved that piece of road, I miss driving it but it can still be followed on foot.
Lorraine O'Donoghue Looks really dangerous from this angle but we took it in our stride in those days.
Peter Gray Used to be a hell of a ride in my old 1948 series e, a bag of cement in the boot to keep weight on the back wheels to try & stop wheel spin on the coronations & a brick for under the back Tyre if you stalled changing down to 1st gear, & that was on a fine day middle of summer ;)
David Briggs You could always tell a newcomer to the zig zag...with the blue smoke coming from the brakes and their eyes getting wider, and their faces paler
Kieran McErlain Always a challenge on the zig zag especially watching some of the tourists
Martin Griffin ‘79 or ‘80 high school ski trip to Temple Basin.
Was snowing and bus started slipping back on the zig zag.
So it was all out and carry your stuff along the road until we got to the goods lift! …See More
Nina Townsend I learnt to drive on that in an old j1 Bedford nz railways truck named sweet nolene after mrs Martin we lived in otira for a cupla years
Catherine Carey Had to back down it in the dark and my future husband hadn't got his licence for long never prayed so much bloody car konked out
John Morgan Used to drive over regularly in 1931 Plymouth Loved it one of the best drives in the world. Now boring no skills required.
Sarah Veller Douglas Smales Unreal eh. You held your breath till you got over. Probably prayers as well. Haha.
Chris Lemon Sarah Veller Douglas Smales especially when a bus was coming around the corner
Sarah Veller Douglas Smales Oh and probably changed the knickers as well.
Cory Tozer Kelly poehls that's where we were parked with the keas Haha before the bit that goes over the slip that's the old road!
June Williams As a child I remember jumping sideways around the corners when we hit the corrugations. We used to travel regularly from Hokitika to Darfield.
Murry Tengu YES I'LL HAVE 2SAY I LOVED THAT GORGE SNOW BLK ICE BOULDERS SLIPS FLOODS CRASHES ETC ETC LIVED IN OTIRA 4A COUPLE YRS WAS THE BEST TYM OF MY YOUTH THINKING BOUT IT NW
Rob Little My first car which was a mk5 Cortina, could handle this section without to many problems.
Steph JF I loved the challenge back then in rain, hail, snow or glorious sunshine. I miss the old road. Drove over today & like oh darn that was way too cruisy
Donna Laugesen Funny Catherine I remember Dad driving and I think the wheel bearings went in the old Vauxhall and he had to back down right on the zig zag bit and Mum took me and her and me walked down lol
Kay Coates My dad was the grader driver for years on the gorge
Niaouli Wolf Kay Coates he did an amazing job on that road. We lived in Otira for 10 years.
Steph JF My dad drove up in the desota on 2 wheels as the cars coming down didnt give way so he had to keep driving or the would have stalled with his 9 kids in it. Good times lol
Judy Garvey I remember the first time I drove it. Julie Hughes was my passenger. She was nervous so sat in the back. Reading. I hadn’t slept much the night before , driving the road. I was driving along when I became aware of Julie whistleing. Whenever I feel afraid I whistle a happy tune. And realised I was into the gorge. Hadn’t noticed. Low gear in the Austin 40. Piece of cake.
Murray Bone I remember the buses had to do a 2 point turn around one of the corners
Marlene Jackson Perry Travelled this dangerous road MANY times as a child.
HATED IT!!
David Honey Fantastic bit of road.Great on the motorbike.
Terry Harding I traveled this road a fair few times. The switchbacks kept you on your toes
Peter Colin Bradley Drove on this road many times in my Fiat Bambina in the 1970's
Debbie Condon I remember the bus trip from Fox to Chch going back to boarding school getting to that part spewing not only from travel sickness terrified to bits what a trip no wonder we tried every trick in the book not to go back to school
Lynn Mckenzie Always remember as a kid when we went to live in Harihari going over a a model A and the brakes failing. A big American car let dad drive into the back of his car and we got down that way
Alan Mayne Drove over there many times to pay the roadmen when I started work at the Ministry of Works in 1959. Even walked over a couple of times with a Bible Class group
Justin Doonerwind I miss it... was fantastic
Chris Howard Yes all the skill of getting to ChCh in the winter went when the viaduct was built.Now day a bit of snow and they close the road.
John Moore Strangely, I miss the excitement of navigating across that area but know it needed to go. Went over there in my Morris 10 in the 60ies
Tania Pennicott I've traveled that Rd since I was knee high to a grasshopper.
Marlene Jackson Perry Tania Pennicott me too.
Bruce Macnab Know the road like the back of my head
then got it off at Arthur’s Pass.That zigzag used too scare me in the winter not so bad in the summer. I know the viaduct is safer but it makes the road seem very bland. Have walked from Arthur’s to Otira ,with bible class group, one winter and travelled back by train. I remember people always asking how ‘Candys Bend’ was when some one came back from the east coast.
Chris Ogunmayin It was a challenge up the zig zag all right.
Mary Ritchie Roy Ritchie you will like this
Les Bryce I drove the last bus down the Zig Zag and the first one up the viaduct behind the PM's car.
Arlene Hutcheon I went over that road with my parents in a Ford prefect, later a Morris Oxford. I was young then, maybe 9 or younger
David Carty Drove that road many times from1956, Evan drove in a triumph may flower , now that was a pilgrimage,lol
Raewyn Stephens oh god that road use to give me nightmares. i hated it soo much
Andy Bone
Always an adventure...pumping the brakes all the way
Tony Price
That's where you found out how to drive a manual . Loved that drive.
Murray Saunders
Drum brakes, oh my they got hot and faded,
Freekin Great on my motorcycle.
This is where we all learnt to give way to uphill traffic
If you know
You know
John Houston
It’s a shame they don’t have something like this at the lookout to the viaduct as this would create much more interest to see where the road once went
Joyce White
Gosh I drove up and over the zig zag hundreds of times. Living in Christchurch and my parents and other relatives living in Greymouth it was a regular road trip. To be honest I used to find some of the high rise car parks in Christchurch more challenging than that road. Maybe I just got used to it.
Richard Cudmore
Remember driving g my Morris 8 series e and stalling up by the new water shed there now
Hand brake on get out big rock under back wheel take brake off and try to take off only in first gear was hard to get started again!!!
Lee Henderson
Smiths Cranes boom went over my car roof as I Was climbing up. They were going down. I have video footage of new viaduct being built. It should have gone past Candys bend shingle slide as per early C19 surveyors reports to WDC.
Jason Boult
Best part of the drive more so in a truck sorted the men out from the boys that's for sure
Cyril Hector
We all have memories of struggles going up and very hot brakes coming down but the photo says it all...the zig zag had to go !
Wayne Cannan
Love going up and down that. Did it while sitting in the back of a bus once,was a good view when the ass of the bus would hang over the edge when going around the bend
Rosealie Robinson
I used to love driving the old zig zag road. I like it better than the viaduct.
Steve Richards
Loved every trip over that road from being a kid in the van with dad and doing it myself years later ?
Brian McIntyre
The shingle slide at Candy's Bend never stopped its downward slide
Vern Pattinson
Remember it well with the v8 Ford mark one Zephyr concal pb Vauxhall and other cars I had in that time not the best brakes either
Badjah Wilson
Drove that piece o road a few times, was a nightmare in winter??
Margaret Nicholas
Remember it well…
Steve Best
Definitely remember that, It was like driving lock to lock lol
Vivien Anna
Radiators boiling over- lots of trips in the 60s over this road.
Nathan Smith
You can still walk most of it, pretty overgrown on the west side though
Kelly Lee
I am so happy I got to do this on the back of my Dads motorbike with him, from the coast and back again. Awesome experience ???
Alan Smith
Love it when I drove busses and trucks over it
Ed Dando
My Suzuki Katana handled it
Margaret Clare Buchanan
I rode over to a 21st birthday on my Suzuki 250 when I was 28. My ears were buzzing when I got there!
Graham Piner
Carted 4tons of coal over to railworkers in a bmc diesel low gear no room for mistakes
Joe Dennehy
My father worked on that Rd in the 40s I believe, miserable place in the winter
Alan Mitchell
there would be a very lot of drivers unable to drive that today in a manual car.
Graham Piner
Did roadwidening bit of snow plowing with a d7dozer when I was a young chap
Joyce White
I reckon you are right.
Terry Harding
Sure was interesting coming down the western side.
Roy Bright
Use to be dirt road as well when I was a kid
Jean Wells
Notorious candys bend.
..
June Wilson
I was always car sick,
Noel Murchie
Had some fun driving back in the day, being a lot younger than I am today ?
Leigh Manson
Great picture
Valerie Bowater
Amazing. Just loved that challenge. Wish they'd put an information board up so people could appreciate what it was really like.
George Colligan
Gotta love that history thanks for sharing
Jakh Heremia
Terrifying when ascending in a truck and trailer full of Ballins soft drink and it starts to snow heavily at Candy's bend.
Kay Bruce
Wow, great photo. I keep forgetting how the road was.
Paul Tacon
Great traveing this in my 1986 Morise 1000 to trade school.Gravel road from Dillmanstown to Springfield
Jennie Scott
Travelled it all my life, great to see it at a distance
Kay Wickes
Loved driving the Zig Zag. Quite the challenge in an HQ Holden.
Dawn Harris
Remember that well
Christine Stewart
Loved going over the zigzag … miss it
Fiona Pollard
Fond memories too, yes fading brakes going down was a thing
Carrol Barnes - Baker
Candys bend corner
Colin Taylor
Loved that road
Kirb Hardy
Car boiling and car sickness
Claire Hester
Jason Jason A Hester
Carl Smith
Heather Newby, So right with the road getting higher.
May be an image of road, mountain and nature
Grant Richardson
Remember it well
Marie Wall
Had to be careful on candy's bend did this Many times @
Cherrie Mcglashan
Looking down into the gorge was scary. Had to do a 3-1 hill start to let the grader get past! I was 17!
Kerry Molloy
yup the zig zag -did a few undie changer trips over that on me motorbkie including one in such thick fog ihad to stand on the footrest and try my hardest to see broken lines 3' in front of me hoping like f.... a bloody car truck or bus didnt loomout of the mist or ididnt wander over the edge!now its like a 2lane highway -more challenges on porters!
John Flattery-donohoe
i remem always looking up that area where stone were always on the cards rolling down.
David Carty
It was a great drive in a car and truck before the viaduct was built ?
Sarah Veller Douglas Smales
This is a road across the South Island to Christchurch where we had to go to a big hospital many big trucks crossed over daily. Scary as it was in a car little own a truck. And big buses. Caravans and such did as well but then the vans were stopped. I use to drive over this I said a prayer at the bottom haha. It now has a viaduct built down the middle. When we drive over now we look at the road above and think how the heck did we do that. Thank goodness no more. Cheers. You better to stay in boat fishing. Haha
Mandy Wallace
I remember it very well.
Rachel Olliver
Then there were the moments when the car ahead of you hadn't driven the road before. They paused for a tad too long, let the revs drop, and you were also coming to a stand-still behind them. Always an interesting moment as you're frantically trying to avoid coming to a complete stop yourself. My mum flat-out refused to drive the zig-zag, always dad's job (or one of us kids later on)
Helen Lineham
I remember driving an ambulance over there in ice and snow when I was stationed at Greymouth as a relieving Station Officer for St John and doing transfers to Christchurch hospital. When the weather was bad aircraft couldn't get in. Depending on the severity of the patient's condition we took turns at driving. The other ambulance officer was a volunteer (which I was in Karamea for many years).
Christina Veale
Driving a loaded van was an experiance! Couldnt see the road around candys bend depended on the side road markers totally and thats had they not fallen off haha not. Whoah what a nasty drop!
William Albert Whitehead
Where is this, looks familiar.
Jean Wilson
Otira?
Jakh Heremia
the zig zag and candys bend - super exciting
James Codyre
was a fair test when still shingle
Graham Ferguson
The Zig Zig Otira Gorge, you have to wonder how the hell did it cling on that slide for so long, a decent shake and it would have just slid into the blue yonder.
Peter Westwood
No buses up there in your day William Albert Whitehead
Barbara Condon
Had many precarious trips through there in my young days!!
Martin Burt
Oh yeah
James Codyre
no buses or towing of trailers or caravans
Peter Westwood
Graham it often didnt cling and the restructure went futher up the hill
Averil Thorpe
OMG I hated it when young. Remember the car rolling backwards and wanted to get out and walk
William Albert Whitehead
is that the Clarence or Otira ?
Peter Westwood
Early Morris Minors often went up backwards because of the gearing.
Peter Westwood
No William Albert Whitehead its the Otira Gorge
Wendy Joy
Always a sigh of relief to get to the bottom
Judy Nicoll
i used to hate that part of the road, yes Peter Westwood I remember my fathers Standard 8 going up backwards, it was still gravel then to
John Graham Hales
Got stuck going to test match in ChCh France V Nz. nearly got through ice and snow, virtually going sideways on the last of the 3 horseshoe bends. Bill Curragh walked back to Otira to get help.Me and grandmother stayed in car until they got a vehicle to rescue us . In the meantime snow got heavier and we were getting packed in. Some fella came over the horizon in front of us with a 303 on his shoulder. Scared the hell out of us.However a vehicle from Otira got up eventually took us to the Pub.few ,whiskies and dry clothes and got put on Railcar toChCh.Bill managed to get up and get car next morning and get to the Test in time..Never again!!!!!
John Robson
Still is !
Sheila Dixon
Its a good road now especially with the viaduct! No gravel except for the odd slip and perhaps resealing :)
Peter Westwood
I think so to John Robson.
Helen Joan Forrest
I do remember doing a heap of praying on that road.
Ross Williams
Thick fog at night was interesting.........
Andy Henry
Adventures indeed!! Kerrie Jenkins-Henry
Tina Seil
Lived in Otira for 4 years and drove this road so many times! ! It was an awesome experience everytime especially coming hone after Happy Hour at the Chalet
Helen Leach-John Morel
a challenge that's for sure
Maye Dunn Hard to believe looking at it now that we all drove that road...incredible.
Unlike · Reply · 4 · March 3 at 11:26am
Doug Sail
Doug Sail It was an exhilarating drive... I miss it..
Cotrina Reynolds Me too. Hated it as a passenger loved it as a driver.
Pam Sosky Traveled that so many times
Arthur Bass Drove that in some dicey conditions. Sorted the men from the boys.
Richard Currie used to cart hay over truck and trailer in the 70s
Donald Mathias An awesome motorbike ride!!!
Glenice Hansen Was scary driving over the old pass
Anita Lorraine Barltrop I drove that road many times, when snowing it wasn't fun/very scary.
Arthur Dehn I remember driving on that part in my Morris Oxford and the wheels dancing up and down , no traction on the gravel road
Carol Weir I remember that road could be tricky at times
Carrol Hunter Was scary when the brakes failed half way down
Deane Goodall Fun bit of road to drive, loved it
Manage
Ruth Naylor Drive that road would give ANYBODY A DRIVERS LICENCE.
Margaret Young I can't believe I drove over that in my trusty triumph herald.These days I leave it to my husband to drive SH73.
Manage
Christine Stewart That's how I remember the pass
Lorraine Greenfield Remember this Jan Cotton Wallace in the black and white holden
Jenny Marshall I loved driving over the pass
Craig Crestani Used to bus over when we played league against Canterbury teams. Our parents must have gone to church and prayed that morning!
Fred Ratahi Drove buses over there in the old Road Services days.
Mel Higson We use to come over that horrible pas when we were kids to come see my grandparents,hated that road.
Use to always scare the shit out of me.
Margaret Grant To think i used to tow the horse float up the with the old holden ute.That was a single horse float with one horse.
Margaret Grant Jennifer Griffin remember going to the Cavacade with the double float you and Cherrie rode the horse up to the top .
Sophie Allan Pleased I rode the pass before the viaduct went in. Traffic was a bit more sane back then I reckon.
Ian Murch Travelled this road many times before the war
Mark Merriman Loved that piece of road, I miss driving it but it can still be followed on foot.
Lorraine O'Donoghue Looks really dangerous from this angle but we took it in our stride in those days.
Peter Gray Used to be a hell of a ride in my old 1948 series e, a bag of cement in the boot to keep weight on the back wheels to try & stop wheel spin on the coronations & a brick for under the back Tyre if you stalled changing down to 1st gear, & that was on a fine day middle of summer ;)
David Briggs You could always tell a newcomer to the zig zag...with the blue smoke coming from the brakes and their eyes getting wider, and their faces paler
Kieran McErlain Always a challenge on the zig zag especially watching some of the tourists
Martin Griffin ‘79 or ‘80 high school ski trip to Temple Basin.
Was snowing and bus started slipping back on the zig zag.
So it was all out and carry your stuff along the road until we got to the goods lift! …See More
Nina Townsend I learnt to drive on that in an old j1 Bedford nz railways truck named sweet nolene after mrs Martin we lived in otira for a cupla years
Catherine Carey Had to back down it in the dark and my future husband hadn't got his licence for long never prayed so much bloody car konked out
John Morgan Used to drive over regularly in 1931 Plymouth Loved it one of the best drives in the world. Now boring no skills required.
Sarah Veller Douglas Smales Unreal eh. You held your breath till you got over. Probably prayers as well. Haha.
Chris Lemon Sarah Veller Douglas Smales especially when a bus was coming around the corner
Sarah Veller Douglas Smales Oh and probably changed the knickers as well.
Cory Tozer Kelly poehls that's where we were parked with the keas Haha before the bit that goes over the slip that's the old road!
June Williams As a child I remember jumping sideways around the corners when we hit the corrugations. We used to travel regularly from Hokitika to Darfield.
Murry Tengu YES I'LL HAVE 2SAY I LOVED THAT GORGE SNOW BLK ICE BOULDERS SLIPS FLOODS CRASHES ETC ETC LIVED IN OTIRA 4A COUPLE YRS WAS THE BEST TYM OF MY YOUTH THINKING BOUT IT NW
Rob Little My first car which was a mk5 Cortina, could handle this section without to many problems.
Steph JF I loved the challenge back then in rain, hail, snow or glorious sunshine. I miss the old road. Drove over today & like oh darn that was way too cruisy
Donna Laugesen Funny Catherine I remember Dad driving and I think the wheel bearings went in the old Vauxhall and he had to back down right on the zig zag bit and Mum took me and her and me walked down lol
Kay Coates My dad was the grader driver for years on the gorge
Niaouli Wolf Kay Coates he did an amazing job on that road. We lived in Otira for 10 years.
Steph JF My dad drove up in the desota on 2 wheels as the cars coming down didnt give way so he had to keep driving or the would have stalled with his 9 kids in it. Good times lol
Judy Garvey I remember the first time I drove it. Julie Hughes was my passenger. She was nervous so sat in the back. Reading. I hadn’t slept much the night before , driving the road. I was driving along when I became aware of Julie whistleing. Whenever I feel afraid I whistle a happy tune. And realised I was into the gorge. Hadn’t noticed. Low gear in the Austin 40. Piece of cake.
Murray Bone I remember the buses had to do a 2 point turn around one of the corners
Marlene Jackson Perry Travelled this dangerous road MANY times as a child.
HATED IT!!
David Honey Fantastic bit of road.Great on the motorbike.
Terry Harding I traveled this road a fair few times. The switchbacks kept you on your toes
Peter Colin Bradley Drove on this road many times in my Fiat Bambina in the 1970's
Debbie Condon I remember the bus trip from Fox to Chch going back to boarding school getting to that part spewing not only from travel sickness terrified to bits what a trip no wonder we tried every trick in the book not to go back to school
Lynn Mckenzie Always remember as a kid when we went to live in Harihari going over a a model A and the brakes failing. A big American car let dad drive into the back of his car and we got down that way
Alan Mayne Drove over there many times to pay the roadmen when I started work at the Ministry of Works in 1959. Even walked over a couple of times with a Bible Class group
Justin Doonerwind I miss it... was fantastic
Chris Howard Yes all the skill of getting to ChCh in the winter went when the viaduct was built.Now day a bit of snow and they close the road.
John Moore Strangely, I miss the excitement of navigating across that area but know it needed to go. Went over there in my Morris 10 in the 60ies
Tania Pennicott I've traveled that Rd since I was knee high to a grasshopper.
Marlene Jackson Perry Tania Pennicott me too.
Bruce Macnab Know the road like the back of my head
then got it off at Arthur’s Pass.That zigzag used too scare me in the winter not so bad in the summer. I know the viaduct is safer but it makes the road seem very bland. Have walked from Arthur’s to Otira ,with bible class group, one winter and travelled back by train. I remember people always asking how ‘Candys Bend’ was when some one came back from the east coast.
Chris Ogunmayin It was a challenge up the zig zag all right.
Mary Ritchie Roy Ritchie you will like this
Les Bryce I drove the last bus down the Zig Zag and the first one up the viaduct behind the PM's car.
Arlene Hutcheon I went over that road with my parents in a Ford prefect, later a Morris Oxford. I was young then, maybe 9 or younger
David Carty Drove that road many times from1956, Evan drove in a triumph may flower , now that was a pilgrimage,lol
Raewyn Stephens oh god that road use to give me nightmares. i hated it soo much
Andy Bone
Always an adventure...pumping the brakes all the way
Tony Price
That's where you found out how to drive a manual . Loved that drive.
Murray Saunders
Drum brakes, oh my they got hot and faded,
Freekin Great on my motorcycle.
This is where we all learnt to give way to uphill traffic
If you know
You know
John Houston
It’s a shame they don’t have something like this at the lookout to the viaduct as this would create much more interest to see where the road once went
Joyce White
Gosh I drove up and over the zig zag hundreds of times. Living in Christchurch and my parents and other relatives living in Greymouth it was a regular road trip. To be honest I used to find some of the high rise car parks in Christchurch more challenging than that road. Maybe I just got used to it.
Richard Cudmore
Remember driving g my Morris 8 series e and stalling up by the new water shed there now
Hand brake on get out big rock under back wheel take brake off and try to take off only in first gear was hard to get started again!!!
Lee Henderson
Smiths Cranes boom went over my car roof as I Was climbing up. They were going down. I have video footage of new viaduct being built. It should have gone past Candys bend shingle slide as per early C19 surveyors reports to WDC.
Jason Boult
Best part of the drive more so in a truck sorted the men out from the boys that's for sure
Cyril Hector
We all have memories of struggles going up and very hot brakes coming down but the photo says it all...the zig zag had to go !
Wayne Cannan
Love going up and down that. Did it while sitting in the back of a bus once,was a good view when the ass of the bus would hang over the edge when going around the bend
Rosealie Robinson
I used to love driving the old zig zag road. I like it better than the viaduct.
Steve Richards
Loved every trip over that road from being a kid in the van with dad and doing it myself years later ?
Brian McIntyre
The shingle slide at Candy's Bend never stopped its downward slide
Vern Pattinson
Remember it well with the v8 Ford mark one Zephyr concal pb Vauxhall and other cars I had in that time not the best brakes either
Badjah Wilson
Drove that piece o road a few times, was a nightmare in winter??
Margaret Nicholas
Remember it well…
Steve Best
Definitely remember that, It was like driving lock to lock lol
Vivien Anna
Radiators boiling over- lots of trips in the 60s over this road.
Nathan Smith
You can still walk most of it, pretty overgrown on the west side though
Kelly Lee
I am so happy I got to do this on the back of my Dads motorbike with him, from the coast and back again. Awesome experience ???
Alan Smith
Love it when I drove busses and trucks over it
Ed Dando
My Suzuki Katana handled it
Margaret Clare Buchanan
I rode over to a 21st birthday on my Suzuki 250 when I was 28. My ears were buzzing when I got there!
Graham Piner
Carted 4tons of coal over to railworkers in a bmc diesel low gear no room for mistakes
Joe Dennehy
My father worked on that Rd in the 40s I believe, miserable place in the winter
Alan Mitchell
there would be a very lot of drivers unable to drive that today in a manual car.
Graham Piner
Did roadwidening bit of snow plowing with a d7dozer when I was a young chap
Joyce White
I reckon you are right.
Terry Harding
Sure was interesting coming down the western side.
Roy Bright
Use to be dirt road as well when I was a kid
Jean Wells
Notorious candys bend.
..
June Wilson
I was always car sick,
Noel Murchie
Had some fun driving back in the day, being a lot younger than I am today ?
Leigh Manson
Great picture
Valerie Bowater
Amazing. Just loved that challenge. Wish they'd put an information board up so people could appreciate what it was really like.
George Colligan
Gotta love that history thanks for sharing
Jakh Heremia
Terrifying when ascending in a truck and trailer full of Ballins soft drink and it starts to snow heavily at Candy's bend.
Kay Bruce
Wow, great photo. I keep forgetting how the road was.
Paul Tacon
Great traveing this in my 1986 Morise 1000 to trade school.Gravel road from Dillmanstown to Springfield
Jennie Scott
Travelled it all my life, great to see it at a distance
Kay Wickes
Loved driving the Zig Zag. Quite the challenge in an HQ Holden.
Dawn Harris
Remember that well
Christine Stewart
Loved going over the zigzag … miss it
Fiona Pollard
Fond memories too, yes fading brakes going down was a thing
Carrol Barnes - Baker
Candys bend corner
Colin Taylor
Loved that road
Kirb Hardy
Car boiling and car sickness
Claire Hester
Jason Jason A Hester
Carl Smith
Heather Newby, So right with the road getting higher.
May be an image of road, mountain and nature
Grant Richardson
Remember it well
Marie Wall
Had to be careful on candy's bend did this Many times @
Cherrie Mcglashan
Looking down into the gorge was scary. Had to do a 3-1 hill start to let the grader get past! I was 17!
Kerry Molloy
yup the zig zag -did a few undie changer trips over that on me motorbkie including one in such thick fog ihad to stand on the footrest and try my hardest to see broken lines 3' in front of me hoping like f.... a bloody car truck or bus didnt loomout of the mist or ididnt wander over the edge!now its like a 2lane highway -more challenges on porters!
John Flattery-donohoe
i remem always looking up that area where stone were always on the cards rolling down.
David Carty
It was a great drive in a car and truck before the viaduct was built ?
Sarah Veller Douglas Smales
This is a road across the South Island to Christchurch where we had to go to a big hospital many big trucks crossed over daily. Scary as it was in a car little own a truck. And big buses. Caravans and such did as well but then the vans were stopped. I use to drive over this I said a prayer at the bottom haha. It now has a viaduct built down the middle. When we drive over now we look at the road above and think how the heck did we do that. Thank goodness no more. Cheers. You better to stay in boat fishing. Haha
Mandy Wallace
I remember it very well.
Rachel Olliver
Then there were the moments when the car ahead of you hadn't driven the road before. They paused for a tad too long, let the revs drop, and you were also coming to a stand-still behind them. Always an interesting moment as you're frantically trying to avoid coming to a complete stop yourself. My mum flat-out refused to drive the zig-zag, always dad's job (or one of us kids later on)
Helen Lineham
I remember driving an ambulance over there in ice and snow when I was stationed at Greymouth as a relieving Station Officer for St John and doing transfers to Christchurch hospital. When the weather was bad aircraft couldn't get in. Depending on the severity of the patient's condition we took turns at driving. The other ambulance officer was a volunteer (which I was in Karamea for many years).
Christina Veale
Driving a loaded van was an experiance! Couldnt see the road around candys bend depended on the side road markers totally and thats had they not fallen off haha not. Whoah what a nasty drop!
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West Coast New Zealand History (22nd Feb 2026). The old zig-zag road before the viaduct, Otira Gorge.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 19th Apr 2026 23:50, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/5695