Kopuwai’s 16.790 hectares came from both tenure review and land purchase. The area starts at 800 m elevation, and rises to 1696 m at the Obelisk/Kopuwai/Old Man Rock.
The great snow of 1863 claimed about 13 lives of miners in the vicinity of the range, and this prompted the erection of 2 snow shelter huts that were part of James Sandison’s elaborate safety system. There was also a line of cairns supporting snow poles, numbered and connected by 5 miles of guide wire.
However, in June 1864, shortly after completion, an even bigger snowstorm ruined the route markers, and miners were forced to maintain the shelters themselves for the next few years, and eventually they fell into complete disrepair.
Today, all that remains of the top shelter hut are the greatly diminished side and front walls and the tumbled-down chimney, all made of stacked stones, and a tangled heap of wires at the remains of the back wall.
Access from Symes Road by 4WD vehicle South along the crestas far as Hyde Rock, and then on foot or MTB for the final 3km to the cache site. From Waikaia Bush Road, 4WD to the junction at the top of the range, and then on foot or MTB for about the same distance, this time travelling North.
On a good day, you will be rewarded with aq panorama of mountainous country, from the Fraser Basin to the snow-capped Garvies beyond.
In winter the range is blanketed in snow. In summer warm, pleasant conditions can reverse within minutes, with freezing temperatures, high winds and severe disorientating white-outs. Be properly prepared and equipped to handle any change in the weather.
The terrain rating reflects the elevation at which the cache is placed, and the weather conditions which may be encountered. Further information may be found in the DOC brochure Rambling Around Kopuwai which is available on line at DOC Brochure
Further reading is available in a research paper "Deaths on the Old Man Range 1862 -1900" by E.J. Dwyer.
