Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy NZ

A pleasant walk through attractive beech forest to good views of a glacial valley and up to the Humboldt Mountains near Mt Bonpland.

Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy

The Glacier Burn Track crosses the Glacier Burn early on, and then climbs up through attractive beech forest to good views of a glacial valley and up to the Humboldt Mountains near Mt Bonpland. I enjoyed the walk through beech forest, and thought the views at the end to be quite impressive. Nevertheless, a friend of mine was underwhelmed by the lack of views on this walk, so it depends what you are after. I enjoyed it enough to do it twice, however there are better walks to do in the area before this one, for example, the first section of the Routeburn. Nevertheless, you can expect to have the track mostly to yourself which is always nice. And this walk is shorter than the best walks in the area.

Track Notes

Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy
Obvious track once you cross the Glacier burn. The upper valley is apparently avalanche prone in winter/spring so don’t wander too far.

There’s basic track info on the DOC website. Note that you can cross the Glacier Burn without getting wet feet, but I’ve never found that spot. I expect it may not be possible after heavy rain.

Glacier Burn Track: The Scenery

Just a few shots from this walk…

Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy
Looking towards Mt Earnslaw from the start of the walk. (Taken in March 2008)

Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy

Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy
No glacier there nowadays but an impressive view nonetheless. This photo is actually from our first time in New Zealand, back in March 2008. 
Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy
Looking back from the track end.
Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy
Some of the nice beech forest we walked through. Looks quite steep here.
Glacier Burn Track, near Glenorchy
This photo also from March 2008. Looking back from the start of the walk over towards Mt Larkins and Mt Alaska on the other side of Lake Wakatipu.

 

 

Author: Edward Hathway

I'm a clinical psychologist and keen hiker.

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