SKIPPERS CANYON
17/7/20
Queenstown, New Zealand
I had never given Skippers Canyon much thought to be honest. After hearing about it being one of the most dangerous roads in the world, so much so that most insurance companies won’t cover you, I had never thought about it being a destination I was overly interested in. While camping at a spot that we definitely shouldn’t have been, I received a message from Lachie Clarke asking if we were keen to venture down Skippers the following day. After a cold and miserable night in the tent we decided we’d take him up on the offer.
The rigs of choice: 1993 Toyota Hilux, 1987 Toyota LandCruiser
The road has a long story. It was built during the gold rush, when a perilous track was the only access to the town of Skippers and the Upper Shotoverdiggings. Constructed between 1883 and 1890, it was considered to be an engineering miracle as the road is literally carved out of solid schist rock and it doesn’t look much different today than when it was first created. The miners who built the road in the late 1800s didn’t think much about luxury, though — it’s unpaved and very narrow. The road was cut by hand into steep cliffs by early prospectors in their quest for gold. The discovery of gold in the Skippers Canyon in 1862 and in the Arrow river brought a huge influx of miners into the area. The road was built to improve access to the upper Shotover River for miners, particularly for those seeking to install large machinery. - dangerousroads.org
A personal favourite of mine, the 60 series LandCruiser sporting the legendary 12HT, heated seats and Bluetooth speaker sound system. This truck took me from the top to the bottom of New Zealand.
Now Deceased
We packed up the tent and headed down into Queenstown to meet Lachie. After getting a coffee, filling up the trucks & checking the forecast, we headed to the start of the road. We were met with a narrow winding road leading along massive cliffs. Due to the rain the night before, the road was turned into a gravel milkshake which didn’t help calm anyones nerves
It was about here that I started questioning if the truck might be too tall to continue. A couple sketchy angles and a good amount of spotting and we were in the clear.
A quick coffee stop after slinging some mud
Photo: @briwoolnough
The bridge sits 91.4 metres above the river, making it the highest suspension bridge in New Zealand. This single lane traffic bridge is 2.2m-wide and its span is 96.3m. The deck and stiffening truss were constructed in timber. - dangerousroads.org
Located about half way is New Zealand’s highest suspension bridge.The cracked boards, creaking cables and the 100 metre drop had all of us second guessing. The bridge has a weight limit of 2500kg meaning the truck was well over limit. we decided to lighten the load by leaving me alone in the truck, in hindsight I should’ve realised this decision probably had nothing to do with the weight issue. After chugging along as slow as the truck could go we made it to the other side and continued along the road
The rest of the route was made up of a winding muddy track with overhanging cliffs making an especially tricky descent . We popped out of the trees at a wide open field. We reached the end of the track and enjoyed some steaming coffee before packing up and beginning the trek back to Queenstown.
According to Toyota, the HiLux name is a combination of 'high’ and ‘luxury’. The more you know.
Skippers really blew my mind. It’s a part of the country we very rarely see but is by far one of the most impressive spots I’ve visited over the years. Nothing quite comes close to the scale and grandeur of the jagged mountains and winding river. Coupled with a few good sorts and some capable vehicles, Skippers is 100% worth a thought.