IN ASSOCIATION WITH DEFENDER
I’m on State Highway 6, having departed Queenstown’s Ayrburn restaurant in perfect driving conditions: slightly overcast but no rain threatening. As we head towards Bannockburn, we pass through locations familiar to those who love a good Central Otago Pinot Noir — our route running adjacent to the Kawarau River flanked by mountain ranges on either side. Right now I’m the passenger and quite enjoying taking in the scenery of the snow-capped mountains, juxtaposed with fields of tussock grasses still looking dry from the past summer. When the ‘Welcome to Bannockburn’ sign appears, we take a left turn and begin to head into the hills, eventually arriving at the Young Australian Historic Reserve, home to a number of tracks that can be traversed on foot, by bike, or off-road vehicle.
As if on cue, we switch to the Defender’s off-road modes, Grass/Gravel/Snow, which means we can navigate the loose tracks. We stay in this mode, until we move to Rock Crawl mode when the road gets a little more concerning. It’s clear this car was built for outdoor adventures with its six-cylinder twin-turbo charged engine and air suspension. But the heated leather seats and leather-wrapped steering wheel is all luxury.
By this point, we’ve done a driver swap and now my focus is firmly on aligning the car’s wheels in the tracks of the one in front, avoiding the bounty of sharp rocks and keeping the car moving. I’ve put most of my faith in the car itself and the instruction of the official Defender professional drive team, Downforce. I feel supported throughout the entire journey.
Once our convoy reaches the top, we hop out to take in the scenery, and despite being overcast and grey, being surrounded by this much snow and rocky mountains is a fairytale for this true winter-deprived Aucklander. Returning to our car we’re put through our paces, with even the more experienced drivers among us succumbing to sweaty palms and heart palpitations as we slide through ice and snow on high country land, around 500-600 metres above sea level.
With an overnight dumping of snow on the mountain tracks, shin deep in some places, as we ascend to a point 1700 metres above sea level on infrequently used paths with frequent sheer drops, the most confident drivers in each vehicle are tasked with the majority of the driving, while the passengers keep an eye out for hazards and hold on tight. As someone who has really only ever driven on Auckland roads, this is absolutely out of my comfort zone, but I tell you what, there isn’t a single moment I feel unsafe, in fact, it’s a complete adrenaline rush. Driving centimeters from the edge of a 1000-metre cliff face will do that to you though — sorry, mum!
