Thanks, Neil, the best video I've seen in the Skippers. Your enthusiasm for the landscape and the sheer joy of 4WDing really comes through. The station you couldn't drive to on the Branches Rd was the Branches Station. I've been up a few big valleys into the Alps but Branches Station must be one of the most remote. Certainly one of the hardest to reach in winter. True isolation. Thanks for the trip and keep it up. You've got some real fans who love the high country tracks.
As a child in the '60's we would travel up to Skippers in my Father's old 1958 International pickup, all the kids would be in the welldeck with a blanket over us enjoying the views. We would stop at the Skippers bridge and find the largest flattest rocks we could and drop them over the side, if they hit the water right we'd get a massive sound like a gunshot going off. I remember the lovely tree lined avenue going up to the remains of the Schoolhouse in the 60's but it was destroyed and all gone by the 1980's, obviously they rebuilt it, but that's definitely not original. The old cemetery at Skippers was very interesting, with a few Chinese graves, which is quite unusual as most Chinese goldminer's bodies were repatriated to their homeland after death. Many goldminers died from getting caught in flash floods down in the gorge. As a school age teenager we all had trail bikes and would spend many weekends in the Branches camping out in the old homestead and hiking up into the hills or sitting in the river letting it carry us downstream. Great memories!
I have been driving for 50 years . I went down in a Mondeo wagon when it was wet. The rear kept trying to come around each time i took my foot off the go pedal. I turned around at the bottom with a 7 point turn. The front wheels spun all the way back up the road to the sign. Never agin
This is such a stunning drive, beautiful scenery and incredible engineering! We've never gone beyond the settlement - was cool to see what the track beyond was like. Very tight & plenty of exposure! 😅
first of all, as always, a great video. i once rode a bus on this road, or at least part of this road. the bus driver had a really sick driving style. it was the first and only time i was scared on a bus ride.
It’s such a great drive. One time I went into the Branches Station to TB test their cattle with my dad. It started raining early afternoon and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. Probably should have stayed there overnight, but my old man being a stubborn old bugger drove us out as the river was just beginning to lap over the road in a few spots. Definitely one of the more frightening journeys I’ve had, but a great memory!
I maybe a bit old school, but it was always the accepted courtesy road rule. Easier for downhill traffic to get going again after stopping. Think of trucks, manual gears etc.
s ogood to see, i came in september and the road was mostly missing. we camped near the old hotel and it snowed overnight, absolutly incredible. prety bummed we didnt make it all the way in, but that just saves more adventure for next time!
@realneilsadventures Haha. My butt would be clinched quite a bit. I would enjoy being the passenger, just not sure about driving the trail. Would definitely enjoy the views and the history of skippers canyon and a lot of other area's of nz.
Fantastic book written sometime in the 60s by the wife of a man who ran a station in the Skippers Road in the early days. It describes in parts the journeys made in their car over this road in all weather's. They were indeed hearty folk.
@johnjamesmoses That's the book. I have a copy which is an amazing read, worth getting if you want to see just what life was like on and Beyond the Skippers road. There is a second book after that too.
Excellent tour, I remember tackling this road in the early 80’s in my folks Starlet, my wife was so terrified we turned around first chance. I think I would be happeir doing it on a quad bike these days 😀
@@realneilsadventures Ive been in there in a lowered celica GT4, and a rental toyota yaris once. Both no torubles but didnt take the celica over the bridge as the lip up onto the bridge was just a bit too high.
Great road, especially in winter. We were told about it by a local on our trip to the south island. Our Outlander hire car did great... My wife, no so much 🤣 She was panicking the whole way. I got some beautiful photos of the gorges.
Stunning country we live in, particularly in that neck of the woods. I’m down there in July and I don’t think my Kia Sportage AWD will cut the mustard for driving Skippers.
the bungy operation now belongs to hackett and is only operated for corporate group bookings... that suspension bridge is the highest in the southern hemisphere... over 100m i think
we drove up there in a mazda 626 rental car fwd once. After the suspension bridge one of us sat on the bonnet and we continued in reverse through the washouts to the settlement. Hiked to dynamo hut etc. Rental company wanted to know why so few kms!!
Benmore dam, Jeepers! And they used to rally it at night. Probably less scary because you can't see the drops when it is dark. Was called the war and peace stage because they reckon you could read the book before you got to the bottom if you fell off the road.
@@realneilsadventures And I agree 100% but it isn't necessarily only the HV's that give me the willies, we have some terrible steerers steering their way up and down the roads in NZ who very obviously should never have qualified for a driving licence in the first place! ... but according to the powers that be breaching posted limits by a couple of Km's per hour is the problem and cables planted in the middle of the road to protect drivers from the steerers is the solution ... go figure!
Parking sensors on the Front? My 2018 ltd doesnt?(hmm maybe I lost them when i go the bull bar.). Have camped down the end of The Branches. I think where you pointed out the long drop
@@realneilsadventures Yeah, there's a second generation coming out this year of the GR Yaris. Some people probably think that car, what's it doing on this road. They dont know it's 4WD Turbo, with plenty of power.
Great video, I cycled into the Skippers Bridge, (from Queenstown) down the Pack Track mtb trail and out on the road, back in Feb 2022, remember every centimetre of it!
@@realneilsadventures There's a new'ish, opened a few months after I rode, official 'Coronet Loop' trail that goes in there and loops back to Arrowtown. On my to-do list for next time!
@realneilsadventures ... TY for the video of your drive Neil, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to do it myself but have vertigo issues and your video was sufficient to give me a bit of anxiety now and then lol, so driving it is most certainly not on the agenda for me! ... They are doing a great job with the Wilding pines, do you know how they are killing them? They most definitely have to be removed from our natural environment otherwise the whole canyon/gorge will wind up looking like it is somewhere in Nth America and every where you go there is nothing to see other than conifers.
I can still remember the first really steep mountain climb I did with a big drop off. I was hanging on to the steering wheel for my life, now I can reverse down it and I have. As the fellows in my way were too scared to reverse just 20 meters.
I don't know the history of this road, but I guess it was made by the early gold miners, it would have been an epic job, carving into those rocky cliffs.
Have you been down the back road from tuataperi into Holly burn the old hunting station it's actually alot worse that the road you are on its basically a dirt track and dangerous if your not skilled
Thanks, Neil, the best video I've seen in the Skippers. Your enthusiasm for the landscape and the sheer joy of 4WDing really comes through. The station you couldn't drive to on the Branches Rd was the Branches Station. I've been up a few big valleys into the Alps but Branches Station must be one of the most remote. Certainly one of the hardest to reach in winter. True isolation. Thanks for the trip and keep it up. You've got some real fans who love the high country tracks.
Thanks for that Ross
As a child in the '60's we would travel up to Skippers in my Father's old 1958 International pickup, all the kids would be in the welldeck with a blanket over us enjoying the views. We would stop at the Skippers bridge and find the largest flattest rocks we could and drop them over the side, if they hit the water right we'd get a massive sound like a gunshot going off. I remember the lovely tree lined avenue going up to the remains of the Schoolhouse in the 60's but it was destroyed and all gone by the 1980's, obviously they rebuilt it, but that's definitely not original. The old cemetery at Skippers was very interesting, with a few Chinese graves, which is quite unusual as most Chinese goldminer's bodies were repatriated to their homeland after death. Many goldminers died from getting caught in flash floods down in the gorge.
As a school age teenager we all had trail bikes and would spend many weekends in the Branches camping out in the old homestead and hiking up into the hills or sitting in the river letting it carry us downstream.
Great memories!
Sounds like you have some great memories from Skippers, and fun times.
Great video and photos Neil. Kind of wish I old have come with you up there. Can’t believe how beautiful the old school looks.
Another time perhaps
I have been driving for 50 years . I went down in a Mondeo wagon when it was wet. The rear kept trying to come around each time i took my foot off the go pedal. I turned around at the bottom with a 7 point turn. The front wheels spun all the way back up the road to the sign. Never agin
I'm just guessing that you would have had road Tyres or ATs, and in wet muddy conditions I would be dropping my air pressures.
😂😂😂
Our gold claim is at the end of this road lol some butt puckering moments
Dont know how i was recommended this but glad it happened great video totally enjoyed it.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This is such a stunning drive, beautiful scenery and incredible engineering! We've never gone beyond the settlement - was cool to see what the track beyond was like. Very tight & plenty of exposure! 😅
Yes, it got a bit tighter after the settlement on both the tracks I took in a couple of spots anyway.
first of all, as always, a great video. i once rode a bus on this road, or at least part of this road. the bus driver had a really sick driving style. it was the first and only time i was scared on a bus ride.
Thats a shame, on that road especially you need to have confidence in you driver.
Great video - thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it.
It’s such a great drive.
One time I went into the Branches Station to TB test their cattle with my dad. It started raining early afternoon and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. Probably should have stayed there overnight, but my old man being a stubborn old bugger drove us out as the river was just beginning to lap over the road in a few spots. Definitely one of the more frightening journeys I’ve had, but a great memory!
A memory like that with your Dad is Gold.
great video - my fear is not he cliff etc but instead dealing with oncoming trafic --I had never heard of the down hill rule
I maybe a bit old school, but it was always the accepted courtesy road rule. Easier for downhill traffic to get going again after stopping. Think of trucks, manual gears etc.
@@realneilsadventures makes sense
s ogood to see, i came in september and the road was mostly missing. we camped near the old hotel and it snowed overnight, absolutly incredible. prety bummed we didnt make it all the way in, but that just saves more adventure for next time!
The weather can catch you out anytime.
Great video. Thanks. Drove in thete on our honeymoon in 1978. Holden torano. Have not been back since. Would love to drive it in my Ford Model A 1930.
Well, the road was completed in1890, so I dare say there have been older vehicles in there. But I would recommend only going in when its dry.
There is a track before the bridge that goes down to the river, the old massive gold dredge is down there on the riverbank
I will check that out when I go in there in winter.
Some of those places my butt was clinging. And i was just watching on my phone. Awesome views
Maybe you wouldn't like to be a passenger then.
@realneilsadventures Haha. My butt would be clinched quite a bit. I would enjoy being the passenger, just not sure about driving the trail. Would definitely enjoy the views and the history of skippers canyon and a lot of other area's of nz.
Fantastic book written sometime in the 60s by the wife of a man who ran a station in the Skippers Road in the early days. It describes in parts the journeys made in their car over this road in all weather's. They were indeed hearty folk.
I would love to have seen the car they used.
Would that have been the book "Beyond the Skipers Road" by Terri Mcnicoll published in 1965? I see a copy of this book for sale on Amazon
@johnjamesmoses That's the book. I have a copy which is an amazing read, worth getting if you want to see just what life was like on and Beyond the Skippers road. There is a second book after that too.
Excellent tour, I remember tackling this road in the early 80’s in my folks Starlet, my wife was so terrified we turned around first chance. I think I would be happeir doing it on a quad bike these days 😀
Most cars would be fine in the dry, but a lot of women don't like being a passenger in a vehicle when there is a long drop off a hill.
@@realneilsadventures Ive been in there in a lowered celica GT4, and a rental toyota yaris once. Both no torubles but didnt take the celica over the bridge as the lip up onto the bridge was just a bit too high.
I am surprised someone has driven a lowered vehicle in there.
@realneilsadventures I've got a few pics of the trip and there is a video somewhere. I remember the only tricky part was the crest at 35:35
Yes I see for a lowered car that would be sketchy.
I've riden my mountain bike along some of it.
Even on a bike, it feels narrow...lol
Yes, I was thinking it would be fun on my E-bike. But hard on the brakes.
Great road, especially in winter.
We were told about it by a local on our trip to the south island.
Our Outlander hire car did great... My wife, no so much 🤣
She was panicking the whole way.
I got some beautiful photos of the gorges.
The wife bit made me laugh.
Stunning country we live in, particularly in that neck of the woods. I’m down there in July and I don’t think my Kia Sportage AWD will cut the mustard for driving Skippers.
Not in winter anyway.
looks like a falcon was taking an interest in your drone
Yes, a Peregrine falcon I am told.
the bungy operation now belongs to hackett and is only operated for corporate group bookings... that suspension bridge is the highest in the southern hemisphere... over 100m i think
Thanks for that.
we drove up there in a mazda 626 rental car fwd once. After the suspension bridge one of us sat on the bonnet and we continued in reverse through the washouts to the settlement. Hiked to dynamo hut etc. Rental company wanted to know why so few kms!!
Sounds Great.
Benmore dam, Jeepers! And they used to rally it at night. Probably less scary because you can't see the drops when it is dark. Was called the war and peace stage because they reckon you could read the book before you got to the bottom if you fell off the road.
War and Peace, I like it.
Spent 2x nights at School Camp ground just before Christmas , Driving on our main roads are more dangerous than the Skippers road
Yes, that's what I believe too.
@@realneilsadventures And I agree 100% but it isn't necessarily only the HV's that give me the willies, we have some terrible steerers steering their way up and down the roads in NZ who very obviously should never have qualified for a driving licence in the first place! ... but according to the powers that be breaching posted limits by a couple of Km's per hour is the problem and cables planted in the middle of the road to protect drivers from the steerers is the solution ... go figure!
It's one reason I like my Fortuner, the safety features. The active cruise control is great, I can sit back and just go with the flow.
Parking sensors on the Front? My 2018 ltd doesnt?(hmm maybe I lost them when i go the bull bar.). Have camped down the end of The Branches. I think where you pointed out the long drop
I stayed around there till possums dropped onto the roof of my car.
@@realneilsadventuresthe NZ drop bears!
I drove through this in GR Yaris. Was quite fun, yes dangerous obviously. I felt safe in Toyota's trusty hands.
Second Yaris in the comments that's been in there.
@@realneilsadventures Yeah, there's a second generation coming out this year of the GR Yaris. Some people probably think that car, what's it doing on this road. They dont know it's 4WD Turbo, with plenty of power.
Great video, I cycled into the Skippers Bridge, (from Queenstown) down the Pack Track mtb trail and out on the road, back in Feb 2022, remember every centimetre of it!
I might have to check that trail out on my E-mtb
@@realneilsadventures There's a new'ish, opened a few months after I rode, official 'Coronet Loop' trail that goes in there and loops back to Arrowtown. On my to-do list for next time!
There are so many mtb tracks I need to do.
Was that a falcon checking out your drone ?.
It might be
Got interesting for us with 3inches of fresh snow.
I bet it did, I don't do well with snow on hills.
@realneilsadventures ... TY for the video of your drive Neil, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to do it myself but have vertigo issues and your video was sufficient to give me a bit of anxiety now and then lol, so driving it is most certainly not on the agenda for me! ... They are doing a great job with the Wilding pines, do you know how they are killing them? They most definitely have to be removed from our natural environment otherwise the whole canyon/gorge will wind up looking like it is somewhere in Nth America and every where you go there is nothing to see other than conifers.
I can still remember the first really steep mountain climb I did with a big drop off. I was hanging on to the steering wheel for my life, now I can reverse down it and I have. As the fellows in my way were too scared to reverse just 20 meters.
I've jumped off that bridge.... Gave me plenty of free fall time to wonder why I was doing it!
I have been told they shut that one down because being a public place they couldn't control it properly
@realneilsadventures Pretty sure you had to drive your own car into it as well, I took my Mazda 323....
mint trip bro i not ben in ther yet
It's worth the trip, you would have enjoyed talking with the gold prospector I met in there.
@realneilsadventures yer wood of bro if you e er up top south hit me up
Cobbvalley road is quite hairy in a few places
I will have to check it out when I am up that way, it looks interesting.
The bird is a, Peregrine Falcon @ 3.35 into the video.
Thank you for that.
awesome video bro, just curious, why are all the big trees dead?, do you know?
Wilding Pines if left would take over the whole area, so they are getting rid of them in many back country areas with spray.
I wonder who Killed the Trees last time I was there thay were all green!! Who killed them ? 😮
The Whakatipu Wilding Control Group.
I don't know the history of this road, but I guess it was made by the early gold miners, it would have been an epic job, carving into those rocky cliffs.
Yes, miners using hand drills and dynamite.
It's kiwi so its also the gayest most dangerous gay rd in gay nz😅😂
Have you been down the back road from tuataperi into Holly burn the old hunting station it's actually alot worse that the road you are on its basically a dirt track and dangerous if your not skilled
No I haven't, is it a public road ?