Old Dunstan Road: Ultimate 4wd destination in NZ
Old Dunstan Road, situated in the Otago Region of New Zealand's South Island, is a rugged 4x4 track renowned for its challenging terrain and historical significance.
When was the Old Dunstan Road built?
The road was part of the original route called the Mountain Road taken by hardy people seeking their gold rush fortunes in the early 1860s, to travel from Dunedin to the goldfields in Central Otago.
Is the Old Dunstan Road paved?
The road, also known as The Dunstan Trail, ranges from a sealed road to a gravelled track. In wet conditions, parts of the trail are unrideable because of sticky mud. Much of the route is only suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles. The road is sealed at the start and turns to gravel after 9.2 km (5.71 miles). It then varies between gravel, clay, and bare rock. It is rutted in places, slippery when wet, dusty when dry, and can be closed in winter by snow and ice. Because of the fragile environment, vehicles and mountain bikes must keep to the track.
How long is Old Dunstan Road?
It’s 46.1 km (28.64 miles) long, running south-north from New Zealand's 87 State Highway, at Clarks Junction to Upper Taieri-Paerau Road.
Is the Old Dunstan Road open?
The drive has steep parts and tops out by Rough Ridge, at 1,040 m (3,412 ft) above sea level. It’s closed for about four months each winter (usually from the first Tuesday in June to the 30th of September). There is no shelter from the weather, which can change quickly, and it is bitterly cold in a southerly.
How challenging is the Old Dunstan Road?
The Old Dunstan Road is best traversed with a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. It can be done on a rainy day too, but the road will change into a single mud track. The difficulty in wet conditions is that the rain fills up the road, and it is possible that the water level is front-wheel depth. Underneath the water is the original track which is heavily used by 4x4 cars, and the cars left big drive lines behind which are not visible from the bike so the risk is very high to slope and slide to the side in the middle of one of the mud pools and drown the bike. It is a great fun drive in dry weather conditions but can get a bit hairy during rain. There are a few fords to cross, thus better use a 4WD. But by dry condition the track is fine to ride; there are few passages that need extra care since flat gravel is very loose on the driveway the bike could slip on those medium-sized flat rocks, especially if you travel downhill.