Bealey Spur - Jordan Saddle - Waimakariri River
- 1 – 2 days loop track with a road section
- Medium/hard
A long day trip with great views from open tops travel, a descent down a stream and beginning and ending with beautiful beech forest.
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Walking time
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1 – 2 days
10 hr – 12 hr
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Distance
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21.0km |
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Type
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Loop track with a road section
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Grade
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Medium/hard |
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Bookings
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No bookings — open access
No — open access
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Starts
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Bealey Spur Settlement |
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Ends
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Waimakariri Road Bridge |
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Maps
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NZTopo50-BV20
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Altitude
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640m
–
1,875m
Altitude change 1,235m
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Follow the easy track through beech forest and scrub to Bealey Hut. This makes a good first stop for morning tea. A well-worn path leads through the final small patch of bush and up the ridge to point 1545. The ridge continues for some way providing 360 degree views of the mountains and the heads of Power Stream and Little Jordan Stream. The Avoca Valley can also be glimpsed from further along. There are a couple of gnarly sections between points 1581 and 1794 but the ridge travel is largely straightforward.
From the high point (1875m, about 3 hours from Bealey Spur Hut) it is a quick scree descent into the tussocks of Jordan Saddle. Travel slows as you navigate the tussocks then descend into Jordan Stream. The stream is fairly steep at the top but the gradient eases off and after a couple of hours it opens right out as you approach the middle of Turkey Flat.
Keep close to the bush line so you can pick up a faint trail through the grassy flats which will join up with the poled route that is the Waimakariri Valley Track. This deposits you at the Waimakariri Road bridge where you can hitch a lift back to Bealey Spur.