Mt Owen (1875m) is a fabulously gnarled and crevassed lump of limestone, and the tallest mountain in Kahurangi National Park, at the top of the South Island. As one of the most unique mountains in NZ, climbing it had been on my to do list for a few years. It ended up being the last mountain we climbed on the South Island, before leaving the country after four years living there. There’s not only spectacular views from the summit, but a good variety of plant and bird life, and the final rocky kilometre to the summit is otherworldly. Highly recommended.
The most common route to the summit is via Granity Pass Hut, where you can stay a night or two. Although a bit longer than other routes up the mountain, there’s good variety along the way, and it’s easy to navigate. See my track notes at the end for details.
Mt Owen via Granity Pass Hut: The Scenery
Pictures between the hut and summit here.
On our way back down…
After leaving Granity Pass Hut…
Track Notes
To Granity Pass Hut
The route starts at Courthouse Flat camspite, accessible from Nelson. (In early autumn the bumble bees were a real nuisance at the campsite, so I wouldn’t have wanted to stay there). From there it’s a fairly long slog up a ridge through bushes, then into beech forest. (Note you can go via the Blue Creek Track also, but I heard this is more challenging, with some scrambling required in the forest).
This is not the best walking experience, but as you climb steeply down to Blue Creek and enter Ghost Valley the walk start gets more interesting. There’s lots of bird life and the vegetation is attractive and varied.
Granity Pass Hut is in a nice location, and we stayed there, but some others took a tent up onto the mountain. It is very bushy around the hut so suitable camping spots are limited.
From the hut to the summit
Accessing the summit from Granity Pass Hut is mostly straightforward, with the biggest challenge being finding your way up through the many rocks and fissures towards the summit. There are cairns to help you, and if you don’t see one for a while just backtrack and find where you went wrong. There is some easy scrambling required on occasion. Try not to fall into a fissure.
More info
DOC have more info on the route, but note their estimate of 7 hours return from the hut to the summit is a significant overestimate. You won’t need that long – most people were up and down in about 3 hours or so, although you’ll want to spend time up on the summit area in good weather. There’s lots to see and a few different vantage points for the best views. One night is enough for this walk but we took our time and spent two nights.
Edward, thanks for all your reports, reviews, photos and notes. I read them avidly and use them for planning my hikes, although I don’t have the experience or the spouse to quite follow in your footsteps!
Thanks for the feedback Laura 🙂 Always nice to know I have an audience. I liked walking just with Sophia or else alone, so that I only walked in a group twice in NZ! This did contribute to me becoming quite experienced, as I had nobody to rely on (Sophia’s a good walker but a shocking navigator! 😄) That’s all very well but it means I didn’t meet many people in NZ (except through work). I know some people who joined tramping clubs to meet people and a couple of people that met their spouses through those groups.