Dreamland of mountains, glaciers, river
valleys and alpine lakes
Mount Aspiring National Park straddles the southern
end of the Southern Alps, of which the mountainous
and glaciated heart is largely unspoilt wilderness. Wild
landscapes survive within the flora and fauna of ancient
Gondwanaland. The landmark peak from which the
park derives its name was known to Mäori as Tititea
(glistening peak) hundreds of years before the arrival
of Europeans, who named it Mount Aspiring in 1857.
Comparable to Switzerland’s Matterhorn, it was carved
into a four-sided pyramid by ancient glaciers. Close to
Wanaka and Queenstown, Mount Aspiring is the least
developed and third largest of New Zealand’s 14 national
parks. Activities like tramping and climbing predominate,
although fishing, hunting, kayaking and short walks are
also popular.
Diverse contrast featuring Mt Aspiring Photo: Y Sprey
Climate – four seasons in one day
Summer is the best time to get out and about, but be
prepared – the weather is notoriously changeable, and
even the brightest summer day can end in snow flurries.
Mountaintops often experience freezing conditions year
round, and many of them have permanent snowfields
and glaciers. Annual rainfall varies from 300mm in
Central Otago to over 8000mm in the Southern Alps.
Access to the park is available all year round, depending
on current backcountry conditions.
Huts
Opened in 1949 and constructed of local schist rock,
Aspiring Hut in the West Matukituki Valley is the most
magnificent of the park’s huts. This is one of five huts
in the park owned by the New Zealand Alpine Club and
managed by DOC. Located beneath Cascade Saddle,
en route to Mount Aspiring/Tititea, it opened up the valley
for climbers and trampers. You can reach it in a two
hour walk from the Raspberry Creek carpark (one hour’s
drive from Wanaka). A warden is in residence from late
October to late April, providing cooking gas, firewood,
and back country and weather information. A camping
area and flushing toilets are located nearby.
The Routeburn track is very popular and classified as a
Great Walk. Huts on Great Walks require pre-booking
during the summer. Numerous huts exist within the park,
which don’t require pre-booking. Established camping
areas exist on many tracks. Ask at the DOC Visitor
Centre about the backcountry hut pass.
Aspiring Hut Photo: DOC
Getting there
Three settlements act as a gateway: Wanaka (117km
from Queenstown via State Highway 6), Makarora
(Haast Highway State Highway 6), and Glenorchy (68km
north of Queenstown on the Queenstown-Glenorchy
Road). Wanaka and Queenstown have airports with daily
services from the main cities.
Things to see - variety of natural highlights
The touch of wet moss or riverbed shingle underfoot, the
feel of a mountain breeze on a sweaty brow, the scent of
wild flowers in the air, the carrying sound of a waterfall
and the wild cry of a high-flying falcon.
The park is renowned for its amazing diversity -
mountains, alpine lakes, river valleys, waterfalls, glaciers,
beech and podocarp rain forests, all accompanied by
birdsong and the chance to see endangered flightless
birds or rare native fish. Above the tree line, subalpine
gardens of tussock, lichens and dainty flowering herbs
survive against all odds. The mountainous and glaciated
heart of the park is unspoilt and truly a wilderness.
Special features include a glaciated schist landscape,
extensive wilderness areas, the distinctive ultramafic
rocks of the Red Hills Range, the horn of Mount Aspiring
and the remnant ice sheets of the Olivine Ice Plateau.
Mount Aspiring/Tititea is the highest mountain in the
Park at 3033m. It rises 700m above the park’s largest
glaciers, the Bonar, Therma and Volta - three of over 100
glaciers in the region. Nearly all the landforms in the park
have been influenced by intense glaciation. The Dart
Glacier is the most studied in the park, but is retreating at
a rate of about 50m a year.
Rob Roy Glacier Photo: DOC
Following is a small selection of short and long walks
and tramps in the park area. There are several other
walks in and around the park. Information on these can
be accessed from www.doc.govt.nz or any visitor centre.
Short walks – Haast Highway (SH6)
Roaring Billy Easy (25 minute return, 1 km) walk through
lowland podocarp/silver beech rainforest ending with
views of Roaring Billy waterfall across the Haast River.
Thunder Creek Falls Short (5 minute return, 0.2
km) path in podocarp/silver beech rainforest to a 28m
waterfall.
Haast Pass/Tioripātea summit (563m) An easy
ascending track (1 hour return, 3.5 km), leading to a
viewpoint above the bushline, provides a stunning vista
including Mt Brewster.
Blue Pools An easy walk (30 minutes return, 1.5 km)
leads through silver beech/tahina forest and over a swing
bridge to a viewing platform overlooking magnificent
crystal-clear pools at the mouth of Blue River. Large
brown and rainbow trout can often be seen feeding in the
pools.
Makarora Bush Nature Walk An easy walk (15 minutes
return, 1 km) from the Makarora Visitor Centre. This
looped nature walk passes through a remnant patch of
lowland podocarp/silver beech forest, including large
specimens of mataï, miro, kahikatea and rimu. Another
feature is a pitsaw display, illustrating this pioneering
timber milling technique.
Short walks – signposted off Routeburn
Rd, Glenorchy
Lake Sylvan, lower Dart Valley A flat walk, 40 minute
one way (2.5 km) or 1 hour 40 minutes returning (5 km)
via the tramline loop, through mixed mountain/silver
beech forest to a glacial lake containing brown trout and
numerous small native fish. This is an Operation Ark site
where DOC staff work to protect the endangered möhua/
yellowhead.
Routeburn Nature Walk This 45 minute, 2 km walk
crosses the Routeburn swing bridge and takes a winding
path down from the main track onto the valley floor, where
you pass through beautiful red beech/tawhero dominated
forest.
Things to do – discover wilderness
Activities range from jetboat and aircraft scenic rides
to extreme ice climbing. With over twenty huts in the
park, it’s possible to walk from one valley to another
over spectacular mountain passes such as Rees Saddle
linking the Rees/Dart, Gillespie Pass linking the Young/
Wilkin, Harris Saddle on the Routeburn, and Cascade
Saddle between the West Matukituki/Dart. Scrutinise
Rob Roy glacier within
3-4 hours walk from the
Raspberry Creek carpark,
or wander from Dart Hut
for the day along the lateral
moraines of the Dart Glacier
above 1500m.
Cherish the sounds of
nature by taking a stroll
through the rainforest
flanking the Haast Pass/
Tioripätea Highway (SH6).
The highway offers easy
access to river flats, gorges,
waterfalls, towering peaks,
and forest. It passes
through 60km of the
northern end of the park,
and signs explain attractions
along the way. Department
of Conservation (DOC)
Visitor Centres at Wanaka,
Makarora, Haast and
Queenstown provide up-to-
Enjoy your journey
date information on what to
Photo: J Kenney
see and do along the road,
along with displays on the
region’s natural and historic features. Several unsealed
roads end short of the park boundary.
Besides driving in and around the park and exploring
on foot, visitors can enjoy much of the park from water
and air, by jetboat, plane or helicopter. Jetboats operate
regularly on the Dart, Makarora, Matukituki and Wilkin
Rivers and may be hired for trips on other rivers such as
the Haast. Aerial sightseeing by helicopter or fixed-
wing plane is available from Haast, Makarora, Wanaka,
Queenstown and Glenorchy. Guided expeditions into
the park include tramping, mountaineering, hunting,
fishing, canoeing, rafting and ski touring.
Longer walks
Bridle Track, Haast Pass/Tioripätea Highway A well
graded (1.5 hours/4 km each way) walk through montane
silver beech rainforest, following the original packhorse
track, the first link between Otago and Westland.
Rob Roy Valley, West Matukituki The valley is a good
entry point to an area of spectacular alpine scenery,
snowfields, glaciers, sheer rock cliffs and waterfalls.
A popular half-day (3-4 hours/10 km return) walk from
Raspberry Creek carpark crosses the West Matukituki
River via a swing bridge, climbs through a small gorge
into beech/tawhai forest, then into subalpine herb
fields which offer spectacular views of Rob Roy Glacier
perched above sheer valley walls.
Routeburn Flats, Routeburn Valley, Glenorchy Walk
the first leg of the famous Routeburn track. From the
carpark at the Routeburn shelter cross the swing bridge
to the well-formed, easy graded track (2 hours/6.5 km
each way) through red/mountain/silver beech forest
alongside a gorge to grassy river flats. Past Sugarloaf
Stream the track is a remnant of the old bridle path built
in the 1870s and climbs directly to Bridal Veil Stream.
Blue Pools Photo: DOC
Culture and history
Dart River Mäori encampment about 400 years ago
Mäori were here first, searching for food and pounamu
(greenstone). Greenstone trails along mountain passes
are still in use today such as Haast Pass/Tioripätea on
State Highway 6 (the major road between Wanaka and
Haast). Mt Aspiring National Park is included in the Te
Wähipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage
Area - a global concept that identifies natural and cultural
sites of world significance … places so special that
protecting them concerns all people.
The concept of Töpuni comes from the traditional Ngäi
Tahu custom of rangatira (chiefs) extending their mana
(power and authority) over areas or people by placing
their cloak over them. It is an enduring symbol of the
tribes’ commitment to conserving areas of high natural
and historic values, as well as ensuring an active role
for Ngäi Tahu in the management of these areas. Töpuni
protect three peaks in the park. Tititea/Mount Aspiring
(the highest peak in the park) plays an important role in
many of Ngäi Tahu’s stories and legends. The second
highest peak in the park, Pikirakatahi/Mt Earnslaw, stands
as guardian over the pounamu resource and marks the
end of a trail, with the tohu (marker) to the pounamu
resource sitting opposite on Te Korokä/Cosmos Peak.
When viewed from the right vantage point, Te Korokä/
Cosmos Peak resembles a reclining giant, with the
pounamu exiting the mountain from the mouth of the
giant. Captain Cook’s men were informed, while moored
in Dusky Sound, of the giant in the interior that emits
pounamu from his mouth. Staging camps for the retrieval
of pounamu were located at the base of the mountain.
Pounamu transported back to coastal settlements was
fashioned into tools, ornaments and weapons.
Tramps
Routeburn Track – Great Walk (3 days/32 km). NZ’s
most popular transalpine track, well-graded and well-
marked, linking the Hollyford and Routeburn Valleys via
Harris Saddle (1,255m). The Great Walks are DOC’s
premier walking tracks, through some of the best
scenery in the country. Huts and tracks are of a higher
standard than other tramping tracks and the Routeburn
Track has a hut booking system.
Rees-Dart Track (4-5 days/62 km). A loop track through
the Rees and Dart River valleys. Rees Saddle is the
highest point at 1,447m. A side trip to the Dart Glacier
is recommended. Spectacular mountain scenery, forest
and alpine vegetation, rivers and the Dart Glacier are all
significant features of the track.
Cascade Saddle (1-2 days/17 km). Links with the
Rees-Dart track after beginning at Aspiring Hut in the
Matukituki Valley. This challenging alpine route is for
experienced trampers only.
Gillespie Pass Circuit (3-4 days/58 km). A loop track
from Makarora linking the Young, Siberia and Wilkin
Valleys via Gillespie Pass (1490m). Impressive mountain
views on the main divide. A day trip to view the icebergs
on Lake Crucible is a must.
Mt Brewster (1-2 days/6 km). From Fantail Falls near
Makarora on SH6, climb up a good track for 3-4 hours
above the bush line to find the hut on a prominent snow
grass ridge. Superb views of Mt Brewster (2,423m), the
Brewster glacier, Makarora Valley, Mt Aspiring and sun-
sets over the West Coast are your reward. The summit of
Mt Armstrong is a demanding 2 hour walk from the hut.
West Matukituki Valley (3-4 days). From Aspiring Hut
(2-3 hours from Raspberry Creek carpark), challenging
trips can be made to Cascade Saddle, Liverpool Hut
and French Ridge hut. Easy walks discovering the valley
floor contrast the steep climbs up either side of the valley
through and beyond the bushline. Mt Aspiring (3,033m)
is climbed from the valley.
Wilkin Valley Track (3-4 days/56 km). A good track
into the mountainous heart of the park, with at least
one crossing of the Wilkin River at Kerin Forks Hut. To
access the second hut at Top Forks, traverse grassy
flats and patches of beech forest. A day trip to the three
glacial lakes in the north branch is highly recommended.
Views in the U-shaped valley of Mt Pollux and Mt Castor
leave you in awe. Aircraft landings in this valley are
permitted.
Vegetation Other animals
The main divide splits the park into western (wetter) and New Zealand has no animals that are harmful to
eastern (drier) catchments. Hence vastly different plants humans. Introduced animals within the park include
exist in the east and west, especially in the lowland and whitetail deer, chamois, red deer, and Himalayan tahr.
montane forest zones. Small areas of rimu, mataï, miro Introduced brown and rainbow trout are found in the
and kahikatea-dominated podocarp forest can be seen lower Route Burn and brown trout in Lake Howden.
at the Roaring Billy short walk, and the Makarora Bush Threatened native long-tailed bats/pekapeka roost
nature walk beside the Makarora Visitor Centre. Beech/ in mature red beech forests around Makarora, East
tawhai forests dominate below the bush line. The lower Matukituki Valley, and the Routeburn. Bats are New
Dart, Rees, Routeburn and West Matukituki Valleys Zealand’s only native land mammal.
boast 30-35m tall red beech/tawhero. Silver/tahina and
mountain/tamauka beech can survive winter snowfalls
at higher altitudes. Above the treeline, slopes are
dominated by snow tussock grasslands and herbfields
with mountain buttercups, daisies, and ourisias.
Rock wren Photo: DOC
Alpine buttercup near Gillespie Pass Photo: J Kenney
Birdlife
At least 37 native bird species have been recorded in
the park. The most common in the west are bellbird/
korimako, tüï, kererü and South Island käkä. The rivers
of the interior attract whio/blue duck, while grassy flats
usually harbour paradise shelduck/pütakitaki. The park’s
mountain birds include the mischievous keas, known for
investigating packs and tents. The other is the rock wren/
tuke with its tame behaviour and endearing hopping
dance. The endangered yellowhead/möhua, rifleman/
tïtipounamu, and yellow-crowned parakeet/käkäriki
inhabit forests in the Matukituki, Dart, Makarora and
Wilkin Valleys. Towards evening, moreporks/ruru may be
seen and heard. Several critically endangered tokoeka
(south island brown kiwi) are monitored by DOC within
the Haast Tokoeka Bird Sanctuary, between the Waiatoto
and Arawhata Rivers south of Haast. Kea Photo: C Mosen
Safety
The backcountry of Mt Aspiring is renowned for its
rugged terrain and changeable weather. Much of the
Mount Aspiring
National Park
park is wilderness and is remote from facilities. River
levels fluctuate rapidly. Please check weather and track
conditions at a DOC Visitor Centre before your trip.
Grandeur of scenery - the Southern Alps
Visitor Centres
Mount Aspiring National Park is served by four DOC
Visitor Centres. Wanaka, Queenstown, and Haast are
staffed throughout the year. All have displays interpreting
the ecology and history of the park. Information on
recreational opportunities can be provided, and maps,
brochures and hut tickets can be purchased.
Mount Aspiring National Park Visitor Centre
Ardmore Street, P.O. Box 93, Wanaka, 9343
Tel: (03) 443 7660 Fax: (03) 443 8777
Email: mtaspiringvc@doc.govt.nz
Makarora Visitor Centre
State Highway 6, Makarora, P.O. Box 93, Wanaka, 9343
Tel: (03) 443 8365 Fax: (03) 443 8374
Email: makaroravc@doc.govt.nz
Haast Visitor Centre
State Highway 6, Haast, P.O. Box 50, Haast, 7844
Tel: (03) 750 0809 Fax: (03) 750 0832
Email: haastvc@doc.govt.nz
Queenstown Regional Visitor Centre
38 Shotover St, P.O. Box 811, Queenstown, 9348
Tel: (03) 442 7935 Fax: (03) 442 7934
Email: queenstownvc@doc.govt.nz
Further information:
Visit the Department of Conservation
website: www.doc.govt.nz
Cover Photo: Lake Wanaka Tourism
Published by Department of Conservation
PO Box 5244, Moray Place
Dunedin 9016
March 2011. © Crown Copyright.
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