15/07/2025
In rural New Zealand, a woman’s ute is more than just a vehicle - it’s a steel-clad sidekick.
A mud-splattered multitasker.
Where city women sling on a handbag, rural girls chuck it all in the tray and hit the road.
The ute is where practicality meets power, where grit meets gumboots.
It’s the rolling embodiment of the Kiwi “get stuck in” attitude - the same energy that built sheds, wrangled stock, raised kids, and still made it to the rugby club fundraiser with a pav in the backseat.
It's no wonder we love them.
Need to tow a float, a trailer, or a boat at the weekend? The ute’s got it.
Need to collect the kids, the dogs, a hay bale or two - plus swing by the vet and the bottle store? No worries.
We grew up on tales of Barry Crump bouncing through the bush in a battered Toyota, and we still say “Bugger” when things go sideways.
But the modern ute isn’t just a boy’s toy anymore. Women are behind the wheel - and behind the wheel of the sector, too.
You’ll find more girls in gumboots than ever these days, backing trailers like pros and keeping the country fed.
So here’s to the girls in utes.
The ones shifting stock, shifting expectations, and making shifting gears look easy.
The ones who laugh at potholes, ignore the mud on the floor mats, and wouldn’t be caught dead without a tow rope, a coffee, or a tube of lip balm in the console.
For rural women, the ute isn’t just a vehicle - it’s a lifestyle.
