The start of a series of farm tracks and access routes link State Highway 8 to the Manuherikia Basin near St Bathans.

Sitting high up at the northern end of the Dunstan Mountains, the landscape up here is something special — a mix of rugged outcrops, winding gorges, wide open tussock country, alpine cushionfields, and rocky tor-covered tops. It’s a proper slice of backcountry New Zealand, and well worth the effort to explore.