Tramping/hiking in New Zealand: Day Trips

Mt Cloudesley

MT CLOUDESLEY (2107m 7-9 hours Trip) may be reached via a variety of ways from the east as screes and ridges predominate. The easiest access is via the aptly named Long Spur route. Follow the road through Castle Hill Village into Thomas Bush (200m past the gate). Climb northwards anywhere to join the spur. This spur ducks and weaves its way towards the summit for 5km. Avoid the temptation to sidle on screes where the ridge steepens, as it tends to involve more effort than anticipated. MT ENYS (2194m) is normally an option via the relatively easy traverse being aware of cornices in winter, and taking plenty of water. (Grade. B+)

Hinewai Reserve

The Gardens of Hinewai are 1050 hectares of New Zealand bush and grassland, on Banks Peninsula, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I spent a sunny spring day with my walking group, exploring a loop track.

The trip notes used the word 'undulating'. For a pair of fifty-something legs, this seemed rather euphemistic! It was to be a typical walking day - up, up, up - followed by across, across, across, finishing with down, down, down. The bush held many surprises, though - and many perfect places to stop (phew!) and take photographs.

Every so often we'd pass a large, discretely labeled native tree - a totara, then a kahikatea, six hundred years old, giant guardians standing tall amidst a mass of tiny leafy neighbours.

Mt Alford

Mt Alford a walk through beech forest, open farmland and alpine scrub with great views of Mt Somers, Mt Winterslow and Mt Hutt.

Begins: Carpark at St end of Spoors Rd, Alford Settlement

Grade: A+

Length: 9.0 km (5.6 mi)

Time: 3 hr - 4 hr (½ – 1 day)

Altitude: 480m (1,574.8 ft) – 1,171m (3,841.9 ft) Δ 691m(2,267ft)

Richardson Track

From C drive to the next picture yellow dot car park Time: 2 - 4 hr one way Returning to Glentui Picnic Area from walking Mt Richardson Track Starting at the Glentui Picnic Area, this moderate to steep track climbs first through tawhai forest and then through tussock grasslands and Dracophyllum scrub on the upper slopes of Mt Richardson (1047 metres). A good track for people with moderate fitness.

Mountainbikes are not permitted on this track. (See Infomap 260 Sheet L34) Blowhard Track Time: 3 - 4 hr one way This track, once a stock route to Lees Valley, starts at the end of Maori Reserve Road near Boy's Brigade Camp. It takes 3-4 hours to ascend to the summit of Mt Richardson (1047 metres). The lower portion climbs a wind-swept ridge through tall open forest and emerges through stunted tawhai onto open grasslands. Skeleton tree trunks along the top ridge are a legacy of wildfire which swept up the Lees Valley. About 500 metres before Mt Richardson peak on the Blowhard Track, another track descends for 2 hours to access the Ashley River in the Lees Valley. Mountain bikes may be used on the Blowhard Track. Bikers please take care when passing other forest users on the track. Bypass Track Time: 1 - 2 hr one way Richardson and Blowhard tracks are linked by a bypass track which starts near the mid-point of the Blowhard Track. It follows a ridge down the eastern side of the Glentui River catchment, to emerge on the Glentui Nature Trail. The round trip from the Glentui Picnic Area via the Richardson, Blowhard, and Bypass tracks is a 4-6 hour walk. Mountain bikes are not permitted on this track. (See Infomap 260 Sheet L34) Getting there About 5 km east of the Ashley Gorge Bridge turn left onto Glentui Bush Road. This winding gravel road emerges at the Glentui picnic area after about 2.5 km.