I was pleasantly surprised by the number of peaks that Bri & I ended up trekking during our time on New Zealand’s South Island. We virtually ticked-off everything from our hiking list and even managed to squeeze in a few scrambles along the way; enough to compile a Top 10 list. I’ve added trip reports for a few of these: Avalanche Peak, Mount Ollivier, Sebastopol Peak, St Arnaud Range, and Mount Wakefield. This can be viewed under the Trip Reports section. Make no mistake, while content with the ground we covered, we hardly scratched the surface in terms of what New Zealand’s South Island ranges have to offer!
A lot of the peaks we did don’t quite fit the description of scrambling and some high points we trekked up don’t quite qualify as peaks. Hence it’s all hear in one list. Starting with the top pick and working downwards:
1) Mount Wakefield 2051m
For the full trip report, follow the link to https://steepsheepca.wordpress.com/mount-wakefield-nz/ . This was hands down my favourite outing in the South Island. Everything from the superb sunrise to the ruggedness of this unmarked scrambling route. We didn’t quite reach the true summit, turning back at the high point of 2020m. The panorama views include a close up of Mount Cook, the Tasman Valley, Lake Pukaki, and Hooker Valley plus the village below. Incredible and intense!
2) Avalanche Peak 1833m
This one is also written up under the trip reports, so I will just sum up the highlights here. Early morning fog left us hiking above the clouds, the track was surprisingly hands on, and the views were breath taking. Bonus: the track was a loop! Full trip report available here: https://steepsheepca.wordpress.com/avalanche-peak-nz/
3) Mount Luxmore 1472m
Mount Luxmore summit is part of the Kepler Track near Te Anau, one of New Zealand’s many Great Walks. For those limited on time and/or money you can easily stomp this out as a day trip, albeit its a long day. There is nothing technical about the route and makes for a very pleasant hike. The initial approach leads through fern dense rain forest, tussock alpine grass and a rocky summit.
4) Sefton Bivy 1660m
The Sefton Bivy caught us by surprise. Partly it was that the route is hidden in plain sight of the extremely popular Hooker Valley Track. More surprising was the epic close-up view of Mount Sefton’s extreme glaciated south face. The views looking back towards Lake Pukaki were equally impressive. This made for a nice 5.5hr round trip from Mt Cook village and is more-so trekking than scrambling. Highly recommend it as an alternative to nearby Sealy Tarns. It is also possible to stay overnight in the bivy hut but space is very limited (4 people I believe) on a first-come first-serve basis. Watch out for territorial Kea, one took a swoop at us part way up the cliff bands!
5) Mount Fyffe 1602m
Located just outside of Kaikoura this was an interesting one. The track itself doubles as a mountain bike trail and thus is relatively well groomed. There’s even a DOC Hut part way up as you can use this route for longer multi-day outings. On a clear day you have ocean on one side of the peak, and rows upon rows of razor green ranges on the other. While on a technical level this is pretty straight forward trail walking, you gain a whopping 1400m from carpark to summit! Admittedly we did clouded out on the summit, but still consider this to be one of our favourite hikes on the South Island.
6) St Arnaud Range 1787m
I loved this one. Similar to Mount Fyffe, I got clouded out at the top. The view of Lake Rotoroa was impressive, but the sneak peaks at the icy blue tarns on the eastern plateau beneath the ridge crest were the true highlight! The ridge was narrow, and marked by an unofficial trail but was completely hike-able (i.e. not a scramble). The only catch with this one are the numerous switch-backs earlier on in the approach. Full trip report available here: https://steepsheepca.wordpress.com/st-arnaud-range-nz/
7) Sebastopol Peak 1468m
This was a quick 4 hour round trip in Mount Cook that brings you up past the more popular Red Tarns. Once past the tarns it is a hands on scramble with at least one moderate section. Perfect for a half day trip and only a fraction of the crowds seen on Sealy Tarns. Full trip report: https://steepsheepca.wordpress.com/sebastopol-peak-nz/
8) Ben Lomond Peak 1748m
This popular track in Queenstown lived up to its reputation. Stunning views all round and some of its neighboring peaks can be done in the same trip. It was scorching hot so we stuck with the main peak here. There is no shade whatsoever after leaving the treeline so be sure to bring lots of sun protection. Ample information available in Queenstown, but once on trail straight forward enough!
9) Mount Ollivier 1933m
Ah, a Kiwi Classic here. Mount Ollivier’s summit was a blast to scramble up from the Mueller Hut and offers a little taste of big alpine country. Why so low on this list? Simply put, the stairs leading up to the Sealy Tarns are horrendously steep and overcrowded. But once past the staircase, great alpine outing! Full trip report available here: https://steepsheepca.wordpress.com/mount-ollivier-nz/ .
10) Rocky Mountain 775m
Out of the three peaks we did while in Wanaka, Rocky Mountain was certainly my favourite. An easy to obtain summit that’s the highlight of a gentle 3 hour hike with massive views for the effort. Even better: it’s over-shadowed in popularity by near-by Roy’s Peak and thus only had a fraction of the crowds experienced on Roy’s.
11) Roy’s Peak 1578m (Honourable Mention)
In my first edition of this post, I bashed this one pretty relentlessly. So, here’s the unbiased version: the views are splendid up-top, and the crowds are plentiful. Simple as that. If you do decide to brave the crowds for this popular peak, my advice is to skip the “instagram” line-up and continue another 50m or so higher along the ridge towards the summit. We found the views better at this vantage point, and better yet did not have to line up for any photos. The summit is easily obtainable from here if you choice to continue, and for those energetic enough you can continue south to Mount Alpha, though this will require a car shuttle and makes for a much longer trip. We stuck with Roy’s Peak on this outing.
Steep Sheep 