Mt. Iron
The Mount Iron Track is a little loop walk, easily accessible from the car park off State Highway 84. A very popular walk, as it offers a perfect 360 degree panoramic view from its summit. On my first day Christl mentioned already, that she wanted to take me there. Eventually we would do this Track together with Carlos during my last week.
After parking the car, the well maintained trail with sand and some rocks leaded us up. There are a few steeper sections, but I would still call it an “easy” rather than a “moderate” walk. We had lots of fun with Carlos (9 years old) doing “Photo-bombing” and hiding amongst the trees. Once we reached the top, we enjoyed the scenery and had lunch before heading back down.
Distance: 4.5 km loop Grade: easy to moderate (with some steep sections)
Time: 1.5 – 2 hrs walking (loop)
Mt. Aspiring Hut
This huge, newly renovated hut is located Matukituki Valley and Mt. Aspiring National Park in the Otago region. It’s an easy but long walk all along the Matukituki river. If you want to drive all the way to the start at Raspberry Creek, you are definitely better of with a 4WD car or a truck, as you have to go through some fords and gravel roads to get there. Nicola did a fantastic job, driving us there.
Soon after the start, you will see a swing bridge on the right. This is the track to Rob Roy Glacier. We continued straight. The Track took us through sections of open farmland, grassy flats, crossing some streams, and a bit of native forest. We enjoyed the views of notable glaciers and the mountain range around us.
It’s not a difficult Track, but it is long. Once arriving at the Mt. Aspiring hut, we were all very impressed by the “luxury” of it. 32 bunk beds, a well set-up kitchen area with gas cookers and three big inviting tables, ideal for sharing our lunch. As the hut was already fully booked, we only went for a day hike. The camping site, right next to the hut looked very nicely too.
On the way back we passed a lovely fresh fruit ice cream food truck. Of course we had an ice cream to celebrate the end of an amazing day!
Distance: 18 km (return) Grade: intermediate tramping track
Time: approx 5.5 – 6 hours (return)
Hawea River Track
Another lovely Track in the Otago region near Wanaka and Hawea is the Hawea River Track, starting from the eastern side of the Albert town campground. Suitable by bicycle or as a hike. This Track is also part of Te Araroa Trail. When I did one of my first walks with Christl, we did part of this gentle riverside Track which links Albert town with Lake Hawea. That day, there were a lot of cyclist too.
You can also walk from Wanaka using the Outlet Track, also part of Te Araroa Trail to connect to this Track. We did a bit of walking along the shoreline in Wanaka to see the Wanaka tree on one side and the “board-walk” on the other side of the beach, right next to the Intercity Busstop.
Distance: 14 km (one way) Grade: easy to intermediate
Time: approx 3 – 4 hr (one way)
