Variety of track options taking between 5-8 hours to complete.
Pisa Conservation Area tramping is made up of two trails; Roaring Meg Pack Track and Cardrona-Cromwell Pack Track.
Roaring Meg Pack Trail
2 hr (6.5km) Tuohys Gully Car park - Meg hut
5 - 6 hr (19km) Tuohys Gully Car park - Roaring Meg car Park
A steady climb from Tuohys Gully car park up the gully to the 1140m Tuohys Saddle. The track then forks, the left descends to Meg Hut, the right is the Roaring Meg Pack Track which descends to the Miners Hut (privately owned musterers hut). Once past the hut the farm track from the conservation boundary to above the Meg Dam is not well marked. Follow the road to Roaring Meg Recreation Reserve, opposite the power station on SH6 in the Kawarau Gorge.
No mountain biking, firearms and dogs.
Cardrona-Cromwell Pack Track
3 - 4 hr (8km) Meg Hut - Deep Creek Hut
6.5 - 8.5 hr (17.5km) Meg Hut - Lowburn
From Meg Hut, the track goes through Pisa Conservation Area following ridge lines before descending onto a 4WD road to Deep Creek Hut. From Deep Creek Hut, the track goes through a private working farm so please respect the land and follow the signs. The route is poled and follows the farm road before dropping steeply down a fence line and onto an old cattle track. This cattle track links to a farm road, here you'll cross the Low Burn for one last uphill before linking to the stile on Swann Road.
Access to both tracks is from Tuohys Gully car park off the lower section of the Waiorau Snow Farm Road, 22km from Wanaka.
Please note:
- using the Snow Farm access road incurs a fee, $30 during winter and $20 during summer.
- in summer, very hot and dry conditions are common. Carry adequate supplies for food, water, and sun protection.
- in winter, mountaineering experience is required along with avalanche knowledge.
- check weather before going as conditions change rapidly.
