Such an amazing place. It was such a treat to see it with all the snow. This was in late May. Cheers for the comment, I've been watching some of your vids lately too. Keep it up!

Only just saw your comment, so you probably have figured it out. I'm not sure what they refer to as the staircase. I've only done the track up from Fruitlands, which was really easy. And the one over from the top of the Nevis road, which is a bit trickier but still good.

Hi there. Thanks for the kind words. I use a Garmin inReach device. There are a few different options out there, but mine is a 66i. I've had a history of using Garmin devices with geocaching and mapping so had everything set up that way already. The addition of the satellite messenger has made it fantastic for safety. I usually let someone(Dad) know where I'm heading and when I expect to check in next just for added safety. Been thinking about doing a short video on this topic.

Haha good point! I think if any one makes the effort to go all the way out there it will be fine.

main track is about 16km I think

@phillip.d.1324 is spot on, the main track is 16km

Wow! that would have been an adventure. Those old Falcons went plenty of places

Cheers, I agree, sometimes the best discoveries are off the beaten track.

Why would that be? @maitrikashin3907

Yeah, that's a fair call. You've got to be pretty self-sufficient over there. Would be keen to go explore one day though

Nah, sold it a little while back now

Oh definitely, it takes so much time. It sounds like you're keeping busy!

I spend far too much driving back and forth. I have thought about storing a vehicle down there somewhere, but haven't worked anything out yet.

@@SwampChook Is there any specific ferry, travel time, day of week, ports, months you recommend... for getting across the straight. I remember the Wahini from when I was a kid in Wellington. Wouldn't want to be in that.

Hey, thanks!

Access is prohibited past Boundary Hut. That is as far as I when, and where I stayed the night. You do still need to get a permit from DOC and the gate code.

It's a Garmin 66i, I've got it running topo maps, but it also has a built in satellite messenger which I like for safety reasons.

Oh wow that's a shame, I'm still amazed at the extent of the damage down there.

I bet! It's on my bucket list. Unfortunatley I didn't have the time that day.

Thanks! I've gone with Hankook Dynapro MT2 this time, so far I'm pretty happy with them.

Thanks for your kind words. I still have the Subaru, but it is living a slighly easier life at the moment. The Suzuki is still a work in progress, but am really enjoying it. I'm based up north, but try to get to the South Island when ever I can.

That's from water splashing up when doing the crossing. The Suzuki does seem to steam more than most, maybe the shape of the v6.

Thanks, for your comments. I'm just catching up on replys now. It's such a stunning place ther on the range. Can't wait to get back there. The Subi is good fun, the bash guard and snorkel are my own work. Fortunatley lift springs are avaliable for these, and I'm running King springs, which give about a 30mm lift. The tyre's are Bridgestone Dueller AT's, not overly agressive, but I have always got great mileage out of them. And don't get all the stone punctures like highway tyres. I usually run them around 20PSI on these kind of tracks. The Subi is pretty light still, and they are a light truck contruction tyre.

It's a 2006

You're definitely on to something. Keep it smooth, and the old philosophy, as little power as possible, but as much as nessecary.

I can't really say. It always takes me much longer as I am always stopping to mess with cameras, or to find geocaches. The road up to Walter Peak is more scenic than difficult, and well worth the journey. The side trip along the lakes is a bit more extreme, but you can see plenty without doing this bit.