The Defender Journey

Pack your bags and fly to Queenstown. On arrival the team takes you to your vehicle. Bagged and tagged, this is the last time you lift your suitcase for the next few days. Head to Ayrburn on the outskirts of Queenstown, a stunning venue dating back to the 1800s. Not for  long, just time for coffee and croissant while you learn what is to come. You’re assigned a dedicated Land Rover Defender 110 which will take you everywhere from now. The team steps you through the destinations, the terrain you’ll encounter, and the low down on the Defender. Not like being in school, this is vehicle enthusiasts who want to stretch their knowledge.

Your vehicle awaits, your luggage too. Numbered vehicles connected by radio from the lead car. Driving out of Queenstown is stunning in itself,  however turn off the main road onto the trail and then through the gate onto private land. That’s when the adventure really begins.

You climb to Carricktown, a former gold town of 2000 people, now just a few stone walls remain. Temperatures drop as you climb, at times over 1700 meters. The track becomes marginal and the radio message asks you to choose a more aggressive off-road mode. Before long you are climbing up incredible inclines, wheels in the air,. Nothing you throw at these vehicles deters them – they seem to love it when the going gets tough.

Gravel becomes boulder, and wet becomes snow. Climb through private land and cross to the Nevis road, the highest public road in the country. Road? Barely a road; it’s wild, it’s a track at best. Follow the road down and then drive the remaining distance to the Lindis Lodge. Located in Ben Avon Station within the Ahuriri Valley, this is one of the most remote places in the country. As you drive up the valley the scenery gets taller and steeper and more majestic. The scale becomes vast as the mountain tops are lost in cloud. Officially a public road, it’s so remote you may not see a single vehicle.

 A low iron sculpture turns out to be a gate. Enter and you arrive at a low-slung curved roofline. Exit the vehicle, leave the bags – the Lindis team line up to greet you. A boutique lodge, the Lindis opens up a vast vista and shows off the incredible scenery like nothing you’ve seen. Greeted with a drink of your choice and a seat by the roaring fire, if it’s cold enough, or with the fire table outside. Solitude like this is rare. The sheer scale of natural beauty is overwhelming. 

An extraordinary building, the Lindis is a truly next-level experience of personal attention and beautiful, integrated design. This lodge caters to a maximum of 16 people. The entire lodge is  booked for The Journey. Everything is at your convenience. Some guests are accommodated in the main building, while others are in glass pods that, with the mirror outside, disappear into the reflected surroundings. Your suitcase is already in your room.

The next day, a relaxed start after a beautiful breakfast, and your exploration continues. This time, all on private roads around the vast Ben Avon station that the Lindis is on. In the high country, the sheep are few and far between, but if you see one, it will be of the hardy Merino variety. Tracks so rarely visited by those that run the station due to the remoteness, and you wind up and around and through increasingly extraordinary rides and ravines. This is not four-wheel driving for dummies – even the more experienced 4×4 adventurers in your party are impressed by now, not just by the extraordinary scenery but the seeming impossibility of the terrain that you can cross.

Much of the day is  spent on the station’s extreme private roads, and you’re back at the Lodge for another gourmet meal. The activities manager always has a choice of entertainment, from clay pigeon shooting to a driving exploration of the station. Take that option and over the next hours you’ll learn more about the history, present, and future. There’s a good break before dinner, time to avail yourself of the outdoor hot tub in complete privacy.  Another breathtaking multi-course awaits, and you are treated to a wine match across the Eurovintage range.

The final day brings another delicious breakfast. You casually discover that your bags have made it into your car for the trip back to the airport. Further stunning scenery awaits as you take fascinating public roads back to Queenstown airport. 

We haven’t told you everything, you’ll love the surprise, but let me give you a little summary. This is an extraordinary multi-day event featuring the best of the best. Showcasing the incredible Land Rover Defender in all its terrain-eating glory, staying in one of New Zealand’s most remote and high-end locations, and eating and drinking their fabulous fare. 

Everything just kept stepping up a notch, from the service through the journey, providing continuity throughout, to the calm comfort of the lodge, to the Land Rover Defender that ties it all together with practical luxury and extraordinary can-do, demolishing seemingly any terrain put in its way. The journey is a stunning example of the capability of these machines. Simply an extraordinary adventure, a true highlight for me. We did the journey in May. 

Queenstown was exquisitely crisp and cool with snow down the mountains but not yet in the town. However, the Defender Journey usually runs through the warmer months. So your photos will look different from mine, your memories will be unique, and they will be lifelong. 

The Defender Journey is a collaboration between Land Rover Defender and the Lindis Lodge. Downforce Auto Events ran the multi-day event.  To learn more visit the website.