Up the wide, braided Macaulay riverbed you'll find a top-notch backcountry hut, beautifully maintained and sleeping 14. The valley runs toward Tekapo with surreal mountain views, and in winter a fresh dump of snow takes the whole trip up another level. The hut is one of the best around, so it's a genuine bucket-list run.

There's no formed road. You pick your own line across multiple braided crossings, and the track log is only a rough guide because the river shifts its course often. With many sets of vehicle tracks to choose from, it pays to follow the ones you can see ahead so you're not constantly backtracking. Expect loose rock and bumpy rock-crawling, with the larger rocks and harder going closer to the hut. Sticking to the left of the valley near the hut tends to be the smoother line, and watch for boggy spots on the true right.

Crossings are usually shallow when the river is low, but can get deep and far more serious after rain or as snowmelt rises through the day. Remote country with no cell service, so go in convoy and take more than one vehicle. Most reckon it's a couple of hours each way when the river is down.