Wranglers rock Raspberry Flat
OK, it wasn’t quite the famed Rubicon Trail. But a short, steep gully north-west of Wanaka tested Wrangler and driver alike at a recent media/dealer day.
It was a simple enough invite – to join a small group of journos and Jeep dealers on a day- long Wrangler trip through Central Otago – but often the simple ones are best. With a new and ( by all accounts) much improved model in the wings but at the time yet to be officially released, the timing of the event ( in early November) did seem a lit tle odd. Once in the 03 calling area, however, things slowly started to fall into place. Check out any launch story on the new 2018 Wrangler line in a US, Euro or even Aussie 4x4 mag and the scenery should me familiar. It should because the ‘ long lead-time world press launch’ was held just a week or so before we arrived. In fact, the very 2018 model year Wranglers the long leadtime launch guests drove were parked ( behind the closed doors) of the workshop of the local dealer when we turned up to pick up the 2017 models we were to use. It ’s not every day, of course, that the company you represent holds i ts world media launch in your back yard. Nor is it every day ( or even year for that matter) that the company which organises Jeep Jamboree events in the US has i t staff ready and waiting to help the world’s specialist 4WD media get the most out of the new Wrangler – literally – just down the road from one of your tourist hotspots. So, calls were made, plans hatched, and just as the ‘ world’ media were flying out of nearby Queenstown, a group of local dealers and journos were flying in. To do what, exactly, was never really explained; all I knew, beforehand, was that we were going to be driving Wranglers. Initially it was from Queenstown to Wanaka via the Crown Range, then on past Glendhu Bay ( reviving childhood memories of long, scorching hot summer days) to... well that’s where it all started to get interesting. It must have made an imposing sight as our convoy of seven 2017 model Jeep Wranglers hustled along the dry, dusty Wanaka- Mt Aspiring Rd, barely slowing for the occasional ford until we reached the Raspberry Flat car park on Mt Aspiring Station where a catering crew ( yep, all the home comforts) was waiting with morning tea. On a gorgeous spring day this was about as far away from my usual Auckland office-commute routine as you could get, and it was only going to get better. Back on the road ( private now that we were officially on Mt Aspiring Station) and several km further up we stopped and were introduced by chief guide Shawn to what he called simply a ‘ boulder field’ but which I prefer to think of as ‘ Gulling's Gulch.’ It was here that everything fell into place. Shawn Gulling, you see, is Vice President, Operations/ Events for Georgetown, California-based Jeep Jamboree USA, a company which has been organising events for Jeep owners since 1954. Originally set up and run by US off-road icon and Off-Road Hall of Famer Mark A Smith ( wo died in 2014) it now employs more than 700 staffers who run over 50 events ( in the US and around the world) each year. The company – and with its close working relationship with Jeep – is synonymous, with the Rubicon Trail, a torturous, rock-strewn 35km part- road/ part-trail ( as Wikipedia describes it) west of Lake Tahoe in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It is on the Rubicon where all offroad capable Jeep models are tested, and only when they pass muster ( i.e. make it through) that they get their ‘ Trail- Rated’ tag. After a brief welcome, introduction and the all- important safety briefing, Shawn explained that we had four LWB/ fourdoor trail- rated Rubicon model Wranglers at our disposal. Two were tricked up with Warn winches, lif t kits, long travel Bilstein struts and shocks and aired- down BF Goodrich M/ T t yre, and t wo were stock standard showroom floor examples with BF Goodrich A/ T t yres running road pressures. The rest was up to us… and our t wo Trail Guides. Which was where off-roading US-style obviously differs from the local version. Here, for instance, mud is usually both the biggest challenge, and greatest source of fun. And while the driver might get out and scope out a particularly gnarly bog, or river crossing he or she will usually only seek help AFTER coming to a grinding halt. The ‘ Rubicon way’ is the opposite and once we had selected 4WD Lo Range and locked ( via Jeep’s handy dashmounted rocker switches) both diffs our assigned guide started walking/ climbing backwards up ‘ Gulling's Gulch, pointing this way and that as we crawled up, over and yes sometimes into, the various rocks, steps, shelfs and drop- offs that constituted the climb.
With the hand signals came the occasional voice command, usually an exhortation to either go into or out of the throttle. Often there were only millimetres in it, and to get around a rock or bluff you had to take a couple of bites at it. It was at these times that I remember offering up a quick ‘ Cheers, bro’ to the God of automatic transmissions – which our four Wranglers were equipped with. With driving experience ranging from ‘some’ to ‘ bugger-all’ it could have been a recipe for disaster. Instead it was an object lesson in planning, trust and the ability of Shawn and his guides to encourage, cajole and occasionally prod us ( way) out of our comfort zones yet still well within those of the Wranglers we were driving. None, to be fair, came away completely unscathed. But while the climb was definitely easier in the lif ted pair, I actually enjoyed the challenge presented by the lower slung, less wieldy showroom stock pair more. After an al fresco BBQ lunch anyone who wanted to could keep going but all too soon it was time to head back to Queenstown. Not, as it turned out, without, some more off-roading, this time across some virgin river flat and some long runs across and downstream the upper reaches of the mighty Matukituki River. Once back on the road and out of lo- range, the rest of the trip passed quickly and – bar the usual slow camper van trailing a line of frustrated other road users on as we climbed the Crown Range from the east side this time – uneventfully and we were back at our lodgings well before the sun dipped behind Ben Lomond. Speaking over dinner, Ateco Group NZ Boss David Smitherman made no secret of his desire to get more Jeep owners out and about here, and if there is the interest, to experience the Rubicon Trail for themselves. To which, if Shawn Gulling and his team from Jeep Jamboree USA are involved, and it is anything like the day at ‘ Gulling's Gulch,’ all I can say is, the line starts behind me!