Devil’s Creek Track, Cromwell

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The full Devil’s Creek Track is labeled 7 at lower left. My hike went just past the 7. I prefer it to the Kānuka Track, labeled 5.

Screenshots of DOC publications are Crown Copyright and licensed as CC BY 4.0 by DOC.

Devil’s Creek Track is a long track leading from the highway west of Lake Dunstan deep into the Dunstan Mountains of Central Otago, South Island. It is near Cromwell in the vaguely defined Bendigo area.

I followed the track a moderate distance, to an indistinct spot of around 780 meters of elevation, before turning back due to what seemed like approaching rain. I like the scenery, and hope to hike further uphill on a return visit.

I enjoyed the scenery more than at the nearby Kānuka Track, which took me a similar amount of time.

This is one of two Devil’s Creek Tracks in the inland regions of Otago. The other is on Mt Dewar, which lies between Queenstown and Arrowtown in the Queenstown Lakes region.

Screenshots of the NZ topographic map are licensed as CC BY 4.0 by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Time

DOC estimates 4-6 hours return. AllTrails users averaged 5 hours 15 minutes return.

For my shorter hike, it took me a little under 4 hours to reach around 780 meters of elevation, and then return. This includes breaks.

Route

The trailhead is at a parking lot beside highway 8, between Cromwell to the south and Tarras to the north. The portion of the track that I did was a wide, regular 4WD track. After a brief forest/bush section, it was open hills and valleys, with plenty of intriguing tors. There was at least one easy stream crossing.

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give this track a 1 at its worst. There were some moderately steep sections; the 6th and 8th photos below show examples. I wonder if it gets worse at a higher elevation.

parking lot trailhead

west toward Lake Dunstan & the Pisa Range

I hope to revisit this landscape in light snow.

I turned back as dark clouds approached.

Other pages about this hike

• https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/otago/places/bendigo-area/things-to-do/devils-creek-track/

• https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/otago/bendigo-area-brochure.pdf

• https://hikingscenery.com/devils-creek-track-mt-kinaki-bendigo-conservation-area/

  • Compare the greener vegetation in my photos (above) with Edward’s photos of browner vegetation at this link. I hiked in spring, while he hiked in autumn. Central Otago is the driest region of New Zealand.

• https://www.alltrails.com/trail/new-zealand/otago/devils-creek-track--2

• https://planmywalk.nz/tracks/devils-creek-track

Regional info

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo,_New_Zealand

• https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/18620/shrek-the-hermit-sheep

  • there is an exhibit to Shrek behind the petrol station in the nearby hamlet of Tarras

The nearby town of Cromwell is the site of Mary Immaculate and the Irish Martyrs Catholic Church. Presumably the church’s name was a rejoinder to the town’s name. Where did the town’s name come from? Supposedly, it was proposed by an Ulster Protestant surveyor who was feuding with the area’s Irish Catholic miners (https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121830771/cromwellians-divided-over-towns-murderous-namesake).