Lake Fraser

The second option might be easier if longer and you get to visit a hut. Good luck and take 100% DEET!

There is probably a reason for the name The Stopper - and the nearby Mt Inaccessible 🤔 A couple of weeks tramp (one way) ?

I wouldn't assume you can get through the gorge... I wouldnt go into any gorge that I wasnt aware of other people having made it through. and preferably having a reasonable understanding of the difficulty of the gorge.

It would be easy enough to get a lift to cascade cove. Its right next to Astronomer point (1.5km away as the crow flies). Then head up to the hut near Mt Bradshaw (Though I cant find any info about it). Down the river to Lake Fraser and maybe have a look at the gorge and if its passable head back through it and if not return via the same route which does look relativly straight forward apart from the initial descent from the hut to the valley flats below Mt Bradshaw.

how much experience do you have in gorges? fiordland is the wettest place in the world at sea level and one of the wettest in the world where you can get tens of mm of rain in an hour for hours or days on end. if you go into a gorge, you must know what the weather is going to do and even then forecasts can be inaccurate especially in remote places Gorges are often very slow going and you often cant get out of them quickly, if it rains, it will flash flood and you stand a good chance of being killed.

From Cascade Cove up to that lake at 141m looks OK, but like Wayno, I don't like the look of the gorge from there down to Lake Frazer. From Cascade Cove up to the hut below Mt Bradshaw looks OK, from there you could head south over Mt Bradshaw and follow the ridge south of there to end up at Lake Frazer. Could be slow going with lots of Leatherwood bashing, but would have some good views as well on a nice day. If you did head down the river south of the lake at 141m, it might be better to exit on the western side of the river and traverse through that country south of pt 365 then down to the flat that leads you down to Lake Frazer. http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-45.852285,166.51316&z=15&pin=1 I recall a story from a group that went from the Lower Seaforth all the way to West Cape on foot. They made it there, they'd arranged a helicopter to come in with enough food for the journey back, but they'd had enough by the time they got to West Cape, and came out in the helicopter.