On track for scenic bliss
Countless lesser-known routes offer the same breathtaking scenery as New Zealand’s eight Great Walks. One of them is just a two-hour drive from Christchurch.
New Zealand has eight Great Walks which are considered premier tracks and are internationally renowned. But countless lesser known tracks offer the same diversity of terrain and breathtaking scenery. A twohour drive from Christchurch, this is one of them.
Cass-Lagoon Saddle Track
Although best known for its skifields, Canterbury’s Craigieburn Forest Park offers good tramping, this walk being the most popular multi-day trip in the park. The 34-kilometre track features one large hut and several smaller ones, two gentle passes, and pleasant valley walking.
Because the Craigieburn Range lies on the drier eastern side of the main divide, it often provides a good tramping alternative when a nor’wester is drenching Arthur’s Pass National Park.
Although the track is not a circuit, it begins and ends on State Highway 73, where public transport is available. Although any season has its merits, during winter an amble over the CassLagoon Saddle Track is often particularly rewarding, with the beech forests draped in snow.
Be aware, however, that Cass Saddle can be prone to avalanches from Hamilton Peak. In summer, swimming in rivers offers a pleasant way to cool off when the weather proves hot.
State Highway 73 to Cass Saddle Hut (3 bunks, woodburner) 3.5 to 4 hours, 9km
From the car park, follow a vehicle track past a row of pine trees until it reaches the Cass River. Plod up the gravelly Cass River, at first staying mostly on the true left. The neat dip of Cass Saddle is visible ahead.
Near the Long Valley Stream junction, a track begins on the true right, which sidles and climbs through beech forest. After an hour or so in the forest, cross a footbridge to the true left, where the track stays until shortly before Cass Saddle Hut.
Cass Saddle Hut to Hamilton Hut (20 bunks, woodburner) via Cass Saddle 2.5 to 3 hours, 8km
Beyond the hut, the track soon breaks out of the bushline, where poles lead over the gentle Cass Saddle (1326 metres). The saddle offers good views of the nearby Black Range and the Hamilton Valley – even as far as the hut.
From Cass Saddle, the route drops almost immediately into beech forest, where a track leads down a steep escarpment to join Hamilton Creek. Once in the valley itself, the track remains on river terraces, crossing some matagouri-covered flats shortly before reaching the large and well-designed Hamilton Hut, with its sun-welcoming veranda. Good camping spots exist nearby.
For those with a day to spare, the 4 to 6 hour return trip to The Pinnacles is well worth the effort. Located in the lower Harper Valley, downstream of Hamilton Hut, these fantastically eroded pinnacles have resulted from the action of weathering on relatively young and soft rock, made from compressed gravels and sands. This side trip requires crossing the Harper River, so should not be attempted if the river is high or if rain is due.
Hamilton Hut to Lagoon Saddle A-Frame Hut (2 bunks) 4 to 5 hours, 10km
From Hamilton Hut, the track leads downstream to the junction with the Harper River. Two bridges are crossed in quick succession, the first (a three-wire) over Hamilton Creek and the second (a swing bridge) over the Harper.
Between these bridges is a worthwhile side track (20 minutes return) to Mirror Tarn, a small lake surrounded by forest. Beyond the second bridge, the track remains on the true right of the Harper, sometimes in the bush and sometimes on gravelly river terraces. The West Harper Hut (a historic mustering shelter), with a dirt floor and canvas bunks, is not an attractive place to stay, but would suffice in an emergency.
About a kilometre beyond the hut, the track climbs shortly and sharply over a low shoulder to avoid a gorge in the river, then follows cairns along the riverbed for another kilometre or so. Past the Mangos Creek junction, be careful to pick up the track heading up the Harper (marked by a large orange triangle) and not accidentally head up the Long Creek tributary, which is as large as the Harper. The track remains on the true left until reaching the A-frame Lagoon Saddle Shelter.
Another two-bunk hut occupies a position on the far bank, but has no windows or mattresses.
Lagoon Saddle A Frame Hut to State Highway 73 via Bealey Hut 2 to 3 hours, 7km
From the shelter, the track ascends through thinning beech forest to emerge onto the flanks of Mt Bruce. After a short section of boardwalk, the route becomes poled, crossing a sometimes muddy section of track. Panoramic views over the mountains of the Waimakariri Basin unfold. After an hour or so along the tops, the track descends at a gentle gradient into pine forest, then beech forest, reaching Bealey Hut (6 bunks) just five minutes before the road end and car park at Cora Lynn. A 10-minute walk along Cora Lynn Rd leads to State Highway 73.