Look at a map and this point sits in the middle of nowhere: high above the head waters of the Dart and Rees valleys, in the wild mountain country between Lake Wakatipu and Mount Aspiring. There is no road here, not even a good track for a bike, only ice, rock and bush on the slopes of peaks like Earnslaw, whose snow-capped summit dominates the horizon from Glenorchy. The label calls it a return to Queenstown, which tells you what the route does: it brings you home, and the actual road runs far to the east.
What exists here is landscape on a vast scale. The Southern Alps forced upward by the grinding of the Pacific and Australian plates, and the glaciers that carved the lakes are still cutting valleys in the high basins. Beech forest covers the lower slopes, and keas, the alpine parrots with a taste for rubber and a character to match, patrol the ridges. Tramping tracks like the Rees-Dart loop pass nearby on foot, taking several days, and a hiker who left the roadhead at Glenorchy sees none of what the motorcyclist sees from the road.
The riding that does lead you toward this region is the run around Lake Wakatipu, one of the best short rides in the country. Between Queenstown and Glenorchy the road is narrow, curving, and full of lake views, and the mountains close in with every kilometre. From Glenorchy it carries on to the gravel, so unless you are riding something built for dirt, the tarmac ends and the turn-around begins. Rental riders in particular should check the conditions of their contract before heading up any unsealed road.
For fuel and food you will want Queenstown, a lively resort town with plenty of everything and a petrol station on most main roads. Glenorchy has a small store and a cafe or two but is not the place to assume anything about fuel, so fill the tank before leaving town. Evenings in the high country cool off quickly, even in mid-summer, and rain can arrive from the west with hardly any notice.
If you end up at this spot in the sense of looking at it from the road, you are most likely seeing it as a distant white wall. Treat it that way: a backdrop, and a very good one.