Access is along the Aoraki/Mt Cook highway approximately 5 km from the SH 8 turnoff. This short track is on the Lake Pukaki side of the highway and leads up to the Pukaki boulders. These boulders (called erratics) were deposited by glaciers that dominated the area between 12,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Tibetan prayer flags and a small plaque placed here are a memorial to several guides from the local climbing fraternity. The boulders are popular with rock climbers and mountaineers driven away from Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park by bad weather.

Getting there

The Mackenzie Basin is situated in the centre of New Zealand's South Island. It features mountains, lakes, rivers, beech forest remnants and rolling tussock country.

All of the walking tracks described here are easy to access from main roads and offer fantastic views of the Mackenzie high country, with the exception of Marker Bay which ends in a nestled cove beside Lake Pukaki.

Some of these walks include easements through private farmland. Please respect the landowners’ rights by keeping to the marked easements. These are well-signposted and marked by orange poles. Please ensure all public access gates for walkers are closed behind you.