Stewart Island part 3, Tin Range tramp

In the North Arm there are only few sign left of an old settlement. There was a bit of a tin mining rush around 1890, but it only lasted a few years.  A track follows part of the old tram lines up to an old dam. From there you can go up to the Tin Range ridge (peak at 637 m) and enjoy the view. A sign at the beginning of the track says that DOC (Department of Conversation) hasn’t maintained the track since 2004, but it was surprisingly easy to follow and did seem somewhat maintained. We later learned googled that DOC indeed is just starting to maintain the old track again. Some hunters we spoke with later on also had been there, but went a different way, and didn’t see the dam, but saw evidence of the DOC maintenance, so we’re not sure which part is a proper track and which isn’t. We just followed the Stewart Island Cruising Guide’s suggested track and guidelines and it took us 7.5 hours as indicated as well. It was pretty wet and boggy in many places, which made for lots of cool and very green mosses and muddy boots. Overall a great tramp.