Aprivate island walk in the hills? This island concept messes with my mental map; how could a high-country station on the foothills of inland Canterbury’s Southern Alps ever be reached by sail? Either those early European pioneers who coined names such as ‘Island Hills’ had big imaginations or a great sense of humour. I am intrigued and compelled to visit. Looking at the track map before arriving I see the track passes under Spider Web Peak which hangs on the Organ Range which leads to Mt Skedaddle. Yes, those early explorers loved quirky names all right. Yet as I arrive at Island Hills Station I see there are some similarities here to an offshore island. It’s remote, ruggedly wild and the walking track extends out into a sea of green beech forest. I start to get it.
I am the first of a group of booked-in walkers to arrive at the ‘Cook House’, the Island Hills’ base. I am
