Driving, Chatham Island style

Sunday, 12 May 2019

Watch: the day we drove an Acadia on the Chatham Islands.

There is really only one iron-clad rule for driving on the Chatham Islands.

It isn't the open-road maximum limit of 80kmh - there are only a few places you can go that fast anyway - and it isn't having a registration, warrant of fitness, or even a number plate for that matter - they are all legally required, but largely ignored.

Nope, the single biggest must when driving the largely gravel roads of the Chathams is that you simply have to wave to other cars. This is not optional.

Hotel Chatham is a great place to stay. It is also the local pub, TAB and ATM.

Of course the reason this is compulsory is partly due to fact that the low population (just over 600) of the Island means that everyone knows pretty much everyone else anyway, but mainly to the overwhelmingly friendly and welcoming nature of the islanders.

**READ MORE:

You share the roads on the Chatham Islands. More with these guys than other cars though.

* Holden seeks fair suck of the SUV sav

* From Central Otago to central Auckland in our new ZB Commodore

If it hasn't rained, then it will be dusty. There are relatively few sealed roads here.

* SUVs are the key to saving Holden brand**

This means that penalty for not waving is generally little more than a disappointed shake of the head, which is punishment enough, although a repeat offender may find themselves sitting alone at the pub in the evening. Although not for long, because they really are that friendly.

It gets proper dark at night in the Chathams - there are about as many street lights as there are sealed roads.

I learned all this recently thanks to the fact that Holden New Zealand recently decided to celebrate its 65th birthday in New Zealand on the remotest part of New Zealand - it's a two and a bit hour flight from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch in a creaky old Convair that dates from 1952.

This saw Holden ship a representative from the Trax, Equinox, Acadia and Trailblazer SUV ranges, as well as the slightly raised SUV-ish Commodore Tourer, across to the island at great expense.

The Commodore Tourer may not have had the biggest ground clearance, but it was the best on the gravel roads of the Chatham Islands.

The result was some amazing photographic opportunities and a chance to drive Holden's SUV range in a manner that almost doesn't exist on the mainland (as the Chatham Island locals refer to it) anymore.

The whole waving thing used to be second nature for me, having grown up in a rural King Country town where a friendly wave on a gravel road was almost equally compulsory, but has been ruthlessly beaten out of me after more than a decade in Auckland traffic, where the act is almost treated with suspicion.

There is no shortage of stunning scenery here. Which helps keep the speeds down.

The gravel roads that make up the majority of the roading on the Chathams, however, were far superior to a King Country gravel road in the 1990s, with the 'main' roads being generously wide, nicely firm and packed down, with minimal loose stuff on the surface.

Getting off the beaten track (so to speak), more minor roads were narrower (a lot narrower in some cases), but still generally in the same excellent condition, with the main exception being the much-used road from the airport to the CBD (a small collection of buildings including a mechanic, general store and the pub) which was looser and slightly rutted.

While the speed limit is 80kmh, a general recommendation of 60kmh is advised by locals, which seems sensible once you get out on the roads.

While the excellent quality of the gravel roads may inspire the red mist to come down as visions of magnificent Loeb-style drifts dance through your mind, the sheer sparseness of the traffic is actually the limiting factor here.

That's because while other cars are few and far between, they are also regular and spread all over the island, usually popping up when you have been lulled into a false sense of isolation, trundling around a corner with a friendly wave.

While everyone generally keeps to their side of the road, keeping your speed sensible and staying very aware is as essential as that wave. The locals know this, and the occasional moment where everyone is taken by surprise pretty much always takes place at a low enough speed to easily avoid and is resolved with a laugh and, of course, that friendly wave.

Visibility is another factor that helps keep speeds sensible, with dust during the day and the added wrinkle of proper darkness at night - what few street lights there are there are limited to the few stretches of sealed road in the more populated areas.

Night time also means that the abundant animal population is more active as well, with possums being the most common nocturnal road wanderers. The advice here is to just hit them - swerving to miss something that small (and a pest) simply isn't worth the risk. Sorry possum lovers.

There is bigger stuff, however, with fencing being about as compulsory as WoFs on the island, meaning that stock is constantly on the road side during the day, and the sheep are particularly keen to leap out at the last minute. And you can never rule out a cow that has decided to go for a night time wander along the middle of the road either.

Then there is the Chatham Island Moa (otherwise known as the extensive Emu population that is a result of a failed farming venture). While more predictably sensible than the sheep, their sheer speed always makes them something to watch out for.

But the biggest factor that keeps speeds down (for tourists at least) is the absolutely stunning scenery, with a landscape that changes drastically as you wind up, down and around the island. There's everything from towering, craggy cliffs to sweeping plains with volcanic protrusions to picturesque lakes and, of course, stunning coastlines. Lots of them.

So what was the best Holden on the Chatham Island roads? Well, while the Trailblazer made the most sense, could tackle the harder stuff with ease and was the cheapest to refuel (petrol was around $3 a litre, while diesel is $1.80) and the Trax was the easiest size to live with on the narrower parts of the island's roading system, it was arguably the most inappropriate car that was the highlight - the Commodore Tourer.

The raised ride height, supple ride and perfectly tuned AWD and stability control systems made its delightfully comfortable and agile on the gravel roads, while the V6 provided plenty of power that you didn't really need, but it is still nice to have - just ask the owner of the sole V8 on the island, a tatty but awesome EB Falcon with a GT body kit, a manual transmission and, apparently, a $200 per week fuel bill…