A MIDWINTER MATARIKI DRIVE
As the Matariki star cluster emerges in the crisp mid-winter dawn sky, the time is right to jump into the new Holden Equinox for a trip on some of New Zealand’s oldest roads
For Māori, Matariki (both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and also of the season of its first rising) is a time of renewal; the new-year festival is about good kai and celebrating ancestors and family. It is also a perfect time for a road trip (celestial, of course) in the new Holden Equinox luxury SUV.
The challenge? To chase the sun from coast to coast across the South Island, watching the sunrise in Sumner, Christchurch, and the sunset in Punakaiki on the West Coast. A few days out from the shortest day, there’s little chance to dawdle on the nearly 400 kilometres of Lewis Pass highway (five hours of uninterrupted driving according to Google Maps) if we are to catch that sunset.
Traveling north from Christchurch through the Waipara wine region, we see the vines are still in their spindly midwinter state. The historic Weka Pass railway line runs parallel to State Highway 7, and from the road, the Frog Rock limestone outcrop pops into view. This line was part of the Great Northern Railway completed in 1882, but these days the track is just for tourists who can travel on vintage locomotives on the first and third Sundays of the month.
Further north on State Highway 7 is the Hurunui Hotel, historically a place where drovers guiding sheep from Nelson to Christchurch stopped for a bite to eat and a kip. The hotel, built in 1868, has been the subject of many ghost stories and has recently reopened after being damaged in the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.
The 95-kilometre drive from Culverden to Maruia Springs is known equally for its gorgeous mountain views and its treacherous roads. In winter, drivers need to be on the lookout for black ice, and areas shaded by mountains and beech forest can be slippery, but the Equinox’s Safety Alert Seat provides reassurance. The seat works with the SUV’s existing safety technology, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, to vibrate the driver’s seat cushion if a crash risk is detected.
This amazing technology, combined with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Keep Assist and Lane Departure Warning, makes the drive easy. The heated seats and steering wheel are also put to good use as the temperature plummets below zero.
Thermal air provides a further respite from the cold. The hot springs in the Lewis Pass National Reserve have been a resting spot for centuries; maruia means sheltered in te reo Māori. Ngāi Tahu used the Lewis Pass when bringing pounamu from the West Coast to Canterbury. The springs were also used by Māori to heal battle wounds and, later, where European settlers built rehabilitation bathhouses.
In the 1990s, the site was bought by Japanese developers and transformed into a traditional onsen, but now the property’s new Kiwi/Australian owners are in the process of turning it into a health retreat. It’s quiet, with far fewer visitors than nearby Hanmer Springs, and is an excellent place to rest, watching rising heat turn to whispy plumes in the cold.
A further 43 kilometres on from Springs Junction is Reefton. The former goldmining town, established in 1870 was the first place in the southern hemisphere to have public electricity and was powered up before many suburbs in London and New York.
These days, the town is more famous for its excellent tea shops, but there’s no time for tea as the setting sun in Punakaiki awaits. And as it dips behind the west coast, the day ends with dinner at
the Punakaiki Resort, overlooking the magnificent Pancake Rocks.
Before hitting the road in our spectacular SUV the next day, it’s appropriate to have pancakes with fruit, cream and maple syrup for breakfast from the Pancake Rock Café. The drive south to Greymouth and then to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass, through Springfield and Darfield, offers jawdropping vistas. It’s a long drive to Christchurch, but nature has put on a show and in the spirit of Matariki, both the past and the journey ahead, are in focus.