It connects Doubtful Sound, a deep indentation in the coast of Fiordland, to the valley of the West Arm of Lake Manapouri.

[3] University of Otago Professor Mainwaring-Brown died while exploring the area to the west of Lake Manapouri in 1888.

In 1921 Leslie Murrell established a tourist lodge at Deep Cove, reopened the track and conducted walking trips from Manapouri.

The pass is crossed by a gravel road which was constructed to facilitate development of the Manapouri Hydroelectricity Project.

[8] From south, the only land-based connection to the power station is via Percy Saddle, where the track is little more than a marked route.