In 1965, David Lane, of Mt Eden, Auckland, drove over the Haast Pass.
On Tuesday he will do it again.
There will be some obvious differences, of course.
Instead of being 24, Mr Lane is 74.
Instead of driving on gravel, he will be on sealed road.
And in the passenger seat will be his wife Sally, who he had not yet met back in 1965.
The one thing unchanged will be his car - a 1930 Studebaker President 8 Roadster he bought in 1962 for 100.
Three years later, Mr Lane and his Studebaker joined the original 2000km international rally for veteran and vintage cars, hosted by the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand.
''I learnt to drive in this car. I got my driver's licence in this car. This was the first car in my life I had ever driven,'' Mr Lane told the Otago Daily Times from Christchurch as he prepared to take part in a ''tribute'' to the Haast rally.
The original rally through the southern part of the South Island attracted about 225 pre-1932 vehicles from New Zealand and overseas.
It began and ended in Christchurch but included a return trip over the Haast Pass, which was not at that time linked to the West Coast further north.
The 80 cars in the tribute also leave Christchurch tomorrow and will take in Lake Tekapo, Twizel, Mt Cook and Wanaka - with an optional trip to Haast - and Queenstown, before finishing in Invercargill.
The cars, ranging from 1910 to 1980 models, will arrive at the Wanaka Warbirds and Wheels Museum on Monday afternoon.
There to greet them will be George Wallis, of Wanaka, who provided assistance with repairs 50 years ago from his business at Snapshot Creek, on the Haast side of the pass.
Mr Lane believes he is likely to be one of only two who will have driven the same car in both the original rally and the tribute.
The Studebaker was quite comfortable travelling at the legal speed limit, and with the largest straight-eight engine made by Studebaker barely slowed down for the hills, he said.
''I can pass everything on the motorway except gas stations.''
He has travelled 500,000km in it.
Mr Lane sometimes poses the question to friends - what have you owned for more than 50 years?
Mostly, they scratch their heads, he says, and mutter something about ''pocket watches''.
''And then I quickly say to them: 'Does it still go?'''
Mr Lane does not regard himself as the owner of the Studebaker.
The man who sold it to him, Aucklander Jim Foley, reminded him he was merely the ''caretaker'' and it was his responsibility to keep it in good condition for the next caretaker.
''A lot of people have described it as a sculpture on wheels because of its lines.''
Asked why he wanted to repeat the rally, Mr Lane said: ''I've made it this far. I'm still alive. Why not?''
