Klondyke Spur & Valley Tracks, Victoria Forest Park, West Coast NZ
A varied walk up the Klondyke Spur Track to above the bushline, with great views before you return via tarns & the Klondyke Valley Track.
On our first trip to the South Island West Coast we’d been denied views on our only long walk of the holiday due to the typical cloudy and wet weather. So with a good long weather window in late summer we headed west again, and our first of two excellent walks was this circuit up the Klondyke Spur Track and down the Klondyke Valley Track. The views were very good, but there was also a nice variety of forest and alpine vegetation, and a number of picturesque tarns in two alpine basins. A period of off-track walking (linking the two tracks) adds to the adventure.
Some people opt to camp near the tarns, however it makes a good day-walk of moderate difficulty. Track notes at the end.
We also did the nearby Mt Haast Route in the same weekend: really excellent views on that walk, although this circuit offers a more varied walking experience. To avoid indecision best do both.
Klondyke Spur & Valley Tracks: The Scenery
Lush forest as we ascended Klondyke Spur. The upper and lower alpine basins visible here. Looking west down the Inangahua River Valley. We stayed in in Reefton which is down there at the end of the valley.
Impressive topography to the north-west. Very glacial. The upper alpine basin. A panorama of the upper alpine basin. Sophia admiring the view from the walk’s high point – 1541m. A panorama of ridges and peaks to the north-west. A close up look at those ridges and peaks. Looking east.
Drooping down to the upper basin. The high point of the route is on the right. The big tarn in the upper basin. Arriving at the upper tarns. Attractive spongy land in a small tarn.
Sophia as we prepared to leave the upper basin. The route back along the Klondyke Valley Track. A varied patchwork of different vegetation types surrounding the lower tarns. An attractive speargrass flower. There were lots of small and attractive cascades along the Klondyke Valley Track. One of a few attractive cascades on the Rahu River Right Branch. Some really nice patches of forest on the Klondyke Valley Track.
Track Notes
You could do this circuit in either direction, however we ascended up the Klondyke Spur Track and got to the views early, then descended steeply off the ridge to the upper tarns. From there you descend steeply down on the true left of the Rahu River Right Branch to the lower tarns, where you pick up the Klondyke Valley Track.
You could do this circuit in either direction, however we ascended up the Klondyke Spur Track and got to the views early, then descended steeply off the ridge to the upper tarns. (You can descend in a few places – just avoid bluffs on the way down). From there you descend steeply down on the true left of the Rahu River Right Branch to the lower tarns, where you pick up the Klondyke Valley Track. The tracks were quite muddy so choose appropriate footwear. More information on these and other nearby routes on the DOC website.
