HOW LEXUS EMPOWERED THIS NON-ADVENTURER

Queenstown, New Zealand—As my column title implies, I'm not really an adventurer. I'm a car guy who'd be happy lapping a racetrack over and over in a fast car. Roughing it out in the great outdoors? Hmm, maybe I'll drive there but I'll stay inside my air-conditioned leather-lined cocoon, thank you very much.

-  MANNY N. DE LOS REYES

Which made Lexus' Empowered Adventurer Program exactly my cup of tea. It afforded a brace of media representatives from the Philippines, Japan, Kazakhstan (only the three Asian countries on this trip), Hungary, Poland, Portugal, France, and Belgium to experience the natural beauty of Queenstown, New Zealand from the vantage point from inside the luxurious cabin of a dozen Lexus GX, LBX, and LM models made available to us throughout our weeklong stay.

And what beauty! Nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is a small, bustling lakefront community offering a bountiful array of the colorful Maori culture, as well as numerous historical and natural sites. It's a hotspot for eco-tourists and adrenaline junkies with numerous locations and facilities catering to activities like bungee jumping, parasailing, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and trail running amidst some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the world.

Needless to say, setting one's sights on New Zealand's spectacular vistas on board a diverse range of Lexus vehicles made the experience all the more amazing.

Day 1 began with the all-new mid-size Lexus GX seven-seater SUV. The GX (and the full-size LX) are two of Lexus' most capable off-road vehicles. They're true four-wheel drive off-roaders, not the more common crossovers that are geared more for urban landscapes than the great outdoors.