Although there were freshwater springs on the Kiwi Ranch, Rotorua property, the camp often ran out of water. There was a water tank on the ridge, but it never held enough. Ces Hilton found two second-hand concrete tanks, the only problem was they were north of Auckland.
With a truck and trailer and a spare vehicle, Ces with sons and friend Wally Falconer went to retrieve the tanks. The boys drove the pilot vehicle and soon discovered they weren’t allowed on the Auckland motorway so had to navigate Auckland’s Great North Road.
They got to the narrow industrial area of Otahuhu at a time when there was a fair bit of traffic coming down the main street. No problem, Ces walked in front waving his shirt telling cars to get off the road, while Wally came behind him with the truck and trailer and two oversized concrete tanks overhanging the decks. The traffic was coming right at them and Ces was yelling at the drivers, ‘Get out of the way! What are you doing, you idiot? Move over.’
Suddenly, Wally beeps the horn and yells out the window, ‘We’re on the one-way street and we’re going the wrong way.’ They had no choice but to press on until they met the Great South Road. Today, those tanks continue to sit on the hill at the back of the camp and are still going strong.
