BA - The Club - Five unlikely epic drives

‘The tail of the stingray’, New Zealand

Maori call the strip of land that forms the far north of New Zealand ‘the tail of the stingray’, and an hour-long drive across it provides breathtaking panoramas and historic landmarks. From the Bay of Islands on the east coast, through bush-laden hills to Rawene (sunset) on the west coast, where Maori arrived a millennium ago, it’s a geography lesson no book can match.

Car of choice: Ford Fiesta EcoBoost 1.0L

Photo: Getty Images

Around the British coast

In 1993 I was part of a team that set a Guinness World Record for circumnavigating Britain’s coastline within a week. Visions of the landscape, from a crofter’s lonely cottage in the Scottish Highlands to the magnificent Gothic outline of a stately manor house on England’s green and pleasant land, were celebrated as much as our eventual success. The record has since been bettered.

Car of choice: Honda Civic Eti V-tech

Photo: Getty Images

Along the American Pacific Coast

Driving south from Sebastopol, California, to Laguna Seca Raceway for an historic racing-car meeting showcases a slice of American life, including Pebble Beach golf course and Hog’s Breath Inn (once owned by Clint Eastwood). Along the way, basking sea lions flap a languid hello, until you come across the raceway’s bridge, shrouded in morning fog from Monterey Bay.

Car of choice: 1990 Mitsubishi Montero

Photo: Alamy

The New Zealand coast

Twenty years ago a team of Kiwi drivers (myself included) set a NZ Motorsport economy record by driving around the country’s coastline. North Island’s eastern beaches are white-gold, while the west side has black iron sand. Following a short ferry-ride across Cook Strait, it’s down the coastline of South Island, inland to the west coast before heading north again and back, finally, to Auckland. Our record still stands.

Car of choice: Peugeot 306 XRD

Photo: Getty Images

From Blue Bush to Bathurst, Australia

On the Great Western Highway and just 50km from Sydney, the aptly named Blue Mountain Range heaves into view. This ancient plateau is home to The Three Sisters rock formation, and is best viewed from the Hydro Majestic Hotel in Katoomba. Thousands do just this every October on their way to Australia’s iconic motorsport event – the Bathurst 1,000. This is held on Mount Panorama, which rises from the plains end of this tremendous tableland.

Car of choice: Holden Commodore SS V-line 6.0 litre

Photo: Getty Images

Sandy Myhre

Five unlikely epic drives

‘The tail of the stingray’, New Zealand

Around the British coast

Along the American Pacific Coast

The New Zealand coast

From Blue Bush to Bathurst, Australia

‘The tail of the stingray’, New Zealand

Around the British coast

Along the American Pacific Coast

The New Zealand coast

From Blue Bush to Bathurst, Australia

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