Motatapu Track

Activity Date: 10 Jul 2020
Updated: 11 Nov 2024
People: Finn, Jen, Justin, Francie, Becky, Neil

Day 1: To Highland Creek Hut

The thing about this trip is that once you reach Macetown at the South end you need to have a plan, are you going to do an extra long day and walk all the way from Roses Hut to Arrowtown? Are you going to take a tent and stay? Are you going to book a 4WD to come and get you? We opted for the 4WD. This will become important later..

It’s mid-winter, it’s cold and there’s snow up on the hills. This day however was sunny and once we got going, we soon warmed up. The track climbs very steadily for the majority of the day, until after about 11km you reach pt. 1267. Before that, however, you will pass Fern Bern Hut at approximately 7.15km. This is a potential first night, but we were planning to skip it. It is single-person-wide walking track the whole way, essentially, but the track is very good condition.

The landscape is pretty awesome through here, and it is well worth remembering to turn around and look down the valley to Glendhu Bay and Lake Wānaka. The descent from pt. 1267 is steep and for us, snowy/icy. We had to go pretty slow as we didn’t pack any crampons!

Day 2: To Roses Hut

For me this day was equal parts beautiful, and completely and utterly frustrating. There is some pretty epic ridgeline travel and some stunning views up and down the valley. However.. the track felt a bit manufactured. After reaching a saddle between pt. 1540 and pt. 1261 it descends 450m steeply into a valley, before climbing straight back up the other side. A lot of gruelling climbing have been could be avoided if the track had chosen to sidle across. Ah well, not our decision to make!

Back on the positive side, the views are completely unreal. Especially in winter with a dusting of snow on the tops and underfoot.

Day 3: Abort to Glendhu Bay

This is where it gets a little unfortunate. Yesterday while on the tops around pt. 1245 we got a weather forecast and it was not good. Lots of rain, possibly some snow. This isn’t our first winter trip and we could have all handled the cold and wet, especially since we only had one day left. The problem is that for the 4WD to pick us up from Macetown he has to ford the Arrow River many times on the way from Arrowtown, and it’s not a shallow river. If as much rain comes in as we think, we might find ourselves at Macetown without a ride - and therefore having to walk ourselves out! Another 10km+ in the cold and wet!

So, after hours of discussing we went to bed and woke up none the wiser and with no decision made. In the end we decided that Jen and I would run down the Motutapu Station 4WD road (with our tramping packs) back towards Glendhu Bay until we got reception, at which point we would cancel the 4WD. Great, it’s dark, raining and cold. Off we go! Mum, Dad, Becky and Neil finish packing up the hut and follow us down the track a short time later.

Jen and I managed to get reception about halfway down the road and the 4WD operator was very thankful as he was not going to be able to get up to Macetown anyway! Phew. We made the right decision. From that point we just walked, aware that we were on private property. The 4WD station road is not open to the public. We didn’t see anyone and therefore weren’t stopped, but were glad to get back to the car and rest some weary feet and legs.