Up onto the country's highest public road and over the tops, with big panoramic views of the surrounding mountains before you drop into the wide, remote Nevis Valley. It links the Bannockburn/Cromwell end with Garston and Kingston to the south, running through proper high country with hardly anyone around.

Gold mining history is everywhere you look. Old settlements, diggings, a small museum at the old township, and a cemetery sitting in open grassland a few hundred metres off the road. The info boards along the way are worth a read, and folk often stop and yarn with locals at Lower Nevis.

The track is mostly unsealed, a mix of gravel, rocky bits, farm track and several river crossings. Crossings are usually shallow, around 400 to 500mm with hard bottoms and B-line bypasses, though they come up after rain or snowmelt. A high-clearance 4WD is the go. The Queenstown/Garston end is the harder, bumpier half with some tight hilly sections, while the northern end up to the old township is more forgiving.

Duffey's Saddle is a quick detour worth doing for the views, and there's camping and cabins at Kingston. A second person helps with the gates. Closes to vehicles 1 June to 30 September.