Hogsback Road Track

The Hogsback Road cuts through the heart of Canterbury’s back country, where woolsheds and musterers’ quarters dot the landscape between golden tussock and mountain beech stands. Starting from State Highway 77 near Windwhistle, this gravel track winds through Mesopotamia Station — the same high country that inspired Samuel Butler’s ‘Erewhon’ — before climbing toward the Main Divide through Double Hill Pass. You’ll cross the Rangitata River system multiple times, with the notorious Clyde River ford being the crux that stops most drivers after heavy rain.

This is a moderate high-clearance route that demands respect for weather and river conditions. Stock SUV with good ground clearance handles it fine in summer, but you’ll want recovery gear and the ability to read water levels. Best tackled October through April when snow’s cleared but rivers aren’t raging. No permits needed on this network of paper roads and formed tracks. The payoff is classic South Island high country — braided rivers, snow-capped peaks, and that sense of being properly remote in New Zealand’s back blocks.