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- Distance: 26.47km
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- Duration: 11h 49min including lunch and a lot of photos
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- Difficulty: challenging
The hike begins by turning right from Glenorchy-Paradise Road onto Lovers Leap Road, and after a few minutes, a grassy parking area comes into view. If you plan to complete the journey in a day, it’s advisable to arrive early. We underestimated and started around 9 am – fortunately, New Zealand summers have long daylight hours, and we returned to the car almost at 9 pm. Camping is also an option; it might be less strenuous than doing it in a single day, providing an unforgettable experience waking up to that view. We regretted not having a tent. However, there are no toilets up there, so it’s essential to prepare for that. The official DOC recommendation for such cases can be found here.
So, what makes this 26 km hike so challenging? It doesn’t seem like much, right?
The majority of the trail leads through the forest, and this path is not maintained. Fallen trees, streams, slippery rocks, and roots make progress difficult. It’s challenging to progress fast because these obstacles constantly slow you down. We crawled under tree trunks and climbed over them. Continuous focus was required on where and how to step to avoid slipping and falling. Perhaps the fact that it rained the day before didn’t help; the trail was quite muddy. Meanwhile, we also had to pay attention to the signs. Small orange triangles marked the trail through the forest, attached to tree trunks – many of which were already leaning. Unfortunately, once we made the mistake of paying too much attention downward and following footprints instead of the signs, successfully got lost. After some forest wandering, we found our way back to the trail and thereafter paid closer attention to the markers. By the end, I referred to this part as the cursed forest, as it seemed never-ending.
This forest section ascends slowly but steadily. Shortly after the start, there is a shorter section through a meadow. There is no view in the forest, only towards the end, overlooking the parallel valley and waterfalls. However, when we finally emerged from the forest, and the valley and space opened up, our jaws dropped. We saw numerous waterfalls, and at the end of the valley, the snowy peak sparkled. The glacier wasn’t visible yet, but we knew we were getting closer.
This gave us an extra boost of energy, even though we were far from the end. A well-trodden, flat trail leads through the valley, but the abundance of waterfalls floods the ground: the smaller streams have no channels, and water flows wherever it wants. It’s nearly impossible to walk through this section with dry shoes, but the terrain is much more manageable than the forest. The view is beautiful throughout as the glacier gets closer, and water cascades down from the valley walls. Unfortunately, there’s no shade in this part, so a hat and sunscreen are a must.
Finally, facing the glacier, we found a camping spot, sat down to eat the remaining sandwiches, and took a break to dry our boots a bit. We still weren’t at the foot of the mountain; the trail continued. I ventured the last part alone, with about 20 more minutes to the glacier. Many turned back earlier – after all, you have to descend the mountain, but I think it’s worth going to the end.
Here, you can truly feel the enormity of the glacier. The view is fantastic, with walls rising towards you, and waterfalls cascading from everywhere. I felt tiny and grateful in this space.
On the way back, although we had our backs to this sight, we looked back at the glacier several times. Then, we entered the forest, and the descent began. We thought going down would be easier, that we could progress faster, but the obstacles didn’t cease. Maybe we were a bit faster, but it was no less exhausting than going up.
By late afternoon, several hikers came our way, equipped for camping. As we reached the bottom, we kicked off our boots. After realizing that none of the cars parked here were meant for sleeping, as everyone sleeps on the mountain, we showered from the car’s water tank. It felt refreshing as it was still quite warm. Although not originally planned, we ended up spending the night in the parking lot, as there were no restrictions.
If you want to see the glacier without putting in this much effort, specialized companies can take you by helicopter for around 800-900 dollars. 🙂
Equipment
- First aid kit
- Drinking water (more than we had)
- 2 sandwiches each
- Many cereal bars and snacks
- Zip-off hiking pants
- Extra socks
- Sunscreen, lip balm
- Lightweight jacket, raincoat
- Hat, cap, sunglasses
- Camera, phone
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