I’LL TAKE THE HIGH ROAD THANKS!

Subaru NZ revisited the Nevis Road in Central Otago for the launch of its latest Outback.

The Nevis Road is not to be taken lightly; think of it as the dirt version of the Crown Range road. You don’t quite run out of mountain, but you get pretty darn close, to a place where the wind chiselled bones of the earth cut into the clean crisp sky.

We made our way into the Remarkables Conservation area and past the Nevis Cemetery – not quite in the dead center of town but… on the left a house has a prosaic hand-painted sign: Welcome to Nevis. We have no pub, no church, no gas and one cemetery… hmm.

After Commissioners Creek, however, the road literally take a nasty turn. Forget the nice smooth metal that any 2WD rental can deal to, now we have sump-destroying sized rocks (no Outbacks were harmed in the making of this launch – drowned and towed out yes, but not harmed and no, it wasn’t me!) blind fords with deep water, big, submerged holes and VERY steep entry points.

Combine this with some seriously boggy mud – we thank you Subaru, for Dual

Mode X-Drive as well as symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive, amen – and deep ruts even the 213mm of ground clearance of the Outback is challenged by – the Nevis well and truly lives up to its fabled reputation.

At about 63kms, you come to the last of 25 fords and crossings then it’s an easy descent into the Kingston/Garston valley and an abrupt farewell to the legendary Nevis Road as you head along Highway

6 to the Devils Staircase and Frankton alongside Lake Wakatipu and eventually Queenstown.

And yes, it’s a trip I’d buy an Outback for, just so I could do it all over again…