CLIVE LIND/Stuff
Start here: The Mandamus River is part of a magnificent backdrop at the beginning (from left, Perminder Kaur, of Wellington, the writer, Roz Clayton and Clelia Lind, Hanmer Springs.
Covid-19 has had one positive effect in this remote part of New Zealand. The pandemic has led to the reopening of a 29.5km walking track on the 7100ha Island Hills Station, owned by the Shand family for four generations. In recent years, many trampers have known this place after Dan and Mandy Shand opened the Hurunui High Country Track in 2004. An expanding mānuka honey business and other commitments, however, led to its closure in 2013.