Alternative to alternative highway ‘no real alternative’

A dusty, unsealed road winding through the country’s largest farm has become the alternative to the alternative post-quake highway for destination drivers trying to save time.

And while it may not be an option for ‘‘fancy cars’’, more drivers than ever are forging their own detour through Molesworth Station between Marlborough and Canterbury.

But police say the road, which is set to close for winter next month, is not a reliable solution to save time, as motorists with unexpected car trouble could easily find themselves stranded in high country. And farmers who live along the route say they are ‘‘absolutely sick’’ of the spike in traffic and cannot wait for the road to be closed to the public.

Gladstone Station farmer Allan Pitts lives along the Awatere Valley Rd, which provides access to Hanmer Springs through Molesworth Station.

He said this was the first time people had used the unsealed Molesworth route to cut travel times.

Destination drivers cutting corners and speeding along the road had created dangerous conditions, he said.

‘‘You can tell by the way they drive that they’re neither tourist nor local,’’ he said. ‘‘If you live here and drive safely, but still don’t feel safe, it’s not a nice feeling.’’

Molesworth Station is the largest farm in New Zealand, totalling more than 180,000 hectares, with the country’s biggest herd of beef cattle, numbering up to 10,000.

Blenheim to Hanmer Springs was a winding 207 kilometres through the Molesworth with an estimated travel time of four hours.

The same trip using the official alternative route, dubbed the ‘‘white-knuckle highway’’ after a 1306 per cent jump in heavy vehicles, was a 338-kilometre journey totalling an estimated four hours and 30 minutes.

However, this did not factor in roadworks and traffic delays along State Highways 63, 65, 6 and 7, causing some motorists to favour the Molesworth, once used only for its scenery.

But its closure, set for April 18, could not come soon enough for farmers, who were even struggling to move their stock because of traffic, Pitts said.

‘‘We’re praying for Easter because we’re absolutely sick of it,’’ he said.

His daughter-in-law Kelly Pitts lives 5 kilometres down the road at Camden Station.

She heard delays on the alternative highway, an inland diversion around the quake-damaged coastal highway, could be up to 90 minutes long, or even longer when competing with traffic from the ferry.

Five people had died on the alternative highway between Picton and Christchurch, with two young Christchurch men the latest to join the death toll after a crash on Tuesday.

While she understood the Molesworth option, Pitts said drivers should stick to the major routes. ‘‘There have been a fair few accidents and people shouldn’t take it if they are trying to hurry down to Christchurch,’’ she said.

‘‘This is a tourist route. This is not a fast alternative, but it is a quieter alternative.’’