Tag: mountains

Rennix Walking Track, Kosciuszko National Park NSW

A pleasant walk near Jindabyne in Kosciuszko National Park. It passes through sub-alpine woodland and heath/grassland at around 1650m of elevation.

The Rennix Walking Track in Kosciuszko National Park near Jindabyne is at a lower elevation than some of the more famous walks, but offers a bit of variety if you’ve had your fill of alpine scenery. It is a 13km return walk on mostly flat terrain at roughly 1650m of elevation, and passes through subalpine woodland, heath and grasslands. There are views back up towards Australia’s highest ground from a few vantage points. Continue reading “Rennix Walking Track, Kosciuszko National Park NSW”

Main Range Walk & Mt Townsend, Kosciuszko National Park NSW

The Main Range Track is Australia’s highest walk, passing through rare alpine vegetation, and taking in a number of glacial lakes and Australia’s most extensive views. A side trip to Mt Townsend (2210m) is well worth it.

One of NSW and Australia’s classic day walks, the Main Range Walk in Kosciuszko National Park is also Australia’s highest walking track, maintaining an elevation between roughly 1800m and 2200m. It’s a 22km loop through alpine vegetation, taking in glacial lakes and Australia’s most extensive views along the way. The side trip to Australia’s second highest peak, Mt Townsend (2210m), is well worth it, and offers a more interesting experience than the shorter side trip to our highest peak, Mt Kosciuszko (2228m). If you were keen you could do both, but we by passed Kosciuszko as we’d been there before. The walk as depicted here was about 25km with 750m change in elevation. Continue reading “Main Range Walk & Mt Townsend, Kosciuszko National Park NSW”

Earnslaw Burn Track, near Glenorchy NZ

A truly spectacular walk to a tussock basin below the Earnslaw Glacier. Highly recommended for fit walkers or those willing to spend a night there.

You get up close and personal with Mt Earnslaw and its glacier on this mammoth walk, which took my wife and me almost 10 hours. The Earnslaw Burn Track follows the true left bank of the Earnslaw Burn through beech forest up to a tussock basin below the Earnslaw Glacier. Once out of the forest the views will be enough to knock your hiking socks off, and are amongst the best we’ve seen on any day hike. They include the Earnslaw Glacier and numerous waterfalls, big fallen rocks, and we caught sight of an avalanche too. Continue reading “Earnslaw Burn Track, near Glenorchy NZ”

Sawpit Gully Circuit, Arrowtown NZ

The Sawpit Gully Circuit is a pleasant enough walk in the hills behind Arrowtown, which is itself a very pleasant historic town.

The Sawpit Gully Circuit starts in Arrowtown’s historic Chinese gold mining settlement next to the Arrow River. If you walk it clockwise the track climbs into the surrounding hills and returns through the Sawpit Gully and Arrow River Gorge. It’s a nice enough walk, but with some really spectacular walks in the area it has some steep competition. We’ve done it three times so far and it’s been a good choice for a not too strenuous walk close to Queenstown, and you can hang out in the picturesque village of Arrowtown afterwards. Probably shouldn’t be first on your list if you are new to the area. Continue reading “Sawpit Gully Circuit, Arrowtown NZ”

Mt Pisa via Tinwald Burn Ridge Track, Central Otago NZ

A long hard walk up 1600m of elevation to reach the barren plateau on top of the Pisa Range, finishing at the summit of Mt Pisa (1963m).

The ascent of Mt Pisa is a pretty gruelling slog up 1600m of elevation over 12.5 km, but the otherworldly moonscape on top is impressive and worth the effort. Most of the climb is through farmland on a vehicle track, and when we did it there was a lot of animal dung around, so it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. Once out of the farmland and into the Pisa Conservation Area the terrain changes to a barren and rocky moonscape, and when on the plateau there’s a further 2km of mostly flat walking to rocks on the summit at 1963m of elevation. Continue reading “Mt Pisa via Tinwald Burn Ridge Track, Central Otago NZ”

Mt Alfred ascent, near Glenorchy NZ

Mt Alfred sits alone on the edge of Mt Aspiring National Park, and the summit provides some of my favourite views in New Zealand.

Mt Alfred stands alone in one of the most picturesque spots in New Zealand. The summit provides some of the finest views in the country, with archetypal scenery north into Mt Aspiring National Park, and south over Lake Wakatipu. The Dart River runs from the former into the latter, and adds to the already starkly contrasting colours. Continue reading “Mt Alfred ascent, near Glenorchy NZ”

Tasman Glacier Lake Walk, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park NZ

A great short walk to the Tasman Glacier Lake foreshore, in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

If you visit Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park there are a number of excellent short walks that you could do in the same day, or squeeze into the day you get there, or the day you leave. Visiting the Tasman Glacier Lake is one of these, and offers excellent views of the Tasman River Valley and of course the lake, all for under an hour’s walking. Continue reading “Tasman Glacier Lake Walk, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park NZ”

Hooker Valley Track, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park NZ

Spectacular scenery for moderate effort on this classic walk in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. Take your camera!

One of New Zealand’s classic walks, the Hooker Valley Track takes you over the Hooker River and some of its tributaries on swingbridges as far as the glacial Hooker Lake. There’s dramatic alpine scenery all the way, and particularly good views of Aoraki/Mt Cook framed by mountains along the Hooker Valley, and then across Hooker Lake, which will be frozen in winter, and might have icebergs floating in it in spring/summer. And you can fit it easily into a half day. Continue reading “Hooker Valley Track, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park NZ”

Invincible Mine Track, near Glenorchy NZ

The Invincible Mine Track passes through nice forest scenery and provides excellent views up the Rees Valley on its way to an old gold mining site.

The Invincible Mine Track is a good easy-to-moderate walk through beech forest and manuka trees to an old gold mine. There are excellent views up the Rees Valley from the mine. I originally chose this as a warm up walk before we hit the longer trails, and it served that purpose nicely.  Continue reading “Invincible Mine Track, near Glenorchy NZ”

Glenorchy Walkway, Glenorchy NZ

An easy circuit walk through a wetland near the town of Glenorchy, at the very picturesque northern end of Lake Wakatipu.

Glenorchy Walkway is a flat and relatively short circuit walk through a wetland near the town of Glenorchy, at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu. It’s a spectacular area, and this walk is a good option if you want to stretch your legs surrounded by many high mountains. The track is constructed the whole way, and entirely flat, so you don’t need any special gear. Continue reading “Glenorchy Walkway, Glenorchy NZ”