Kānuka Track, Tarras, NZ

The Bendigo area, northeast of Cromwell. This track is labeled 5. Devil’s Creek Crack is labeled 7.
Screenshots of DOC publications are Crown Copyright and licensed as CC BY 4.0 by DOC.

Kānuka Track is a short loop hike in the Bendigo area of Central Otago, South Island. The closest settlement is Tarras, a little less than 20 minutes by car, while the closest town is Cromwell, a little more than 20 minutes by car.

I did not enjoy the scenery as much as I did when hiking the nearby Devil’s Creek Track for a similar length of time. Surprisingly, this track was fairly popular, with walkers, runners, and dog-walkers. By contrast, I was alone on the Devil’s Creek Track. I wonder if locals like this track because it seems more sheltered from wind than most hikes in this area.

Time

DOC estimates 5 hours.

AllTrails users reported an average of 3 hours 33 minutes.

The track took me around 4 hours, including breaks.

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

Route

The trailhead is by the side of Blue Mines Road, a narrow dirt road up which a campervan can’t safely be driven. There is space for a few cars by the trailhead.

There is initially a single track, which soon becomes a loop. I took the clockwise loop. I recommend counter-clockwise, because it puts a long, steep part of the track on the ascent (where I prefer it).

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give this track a 2 at its worst. The final photo of the six below shows one of the steep, loose stretches of track.

looking north, before the loop begins

looking north while hiking the loop

another view north

southwest toward Lake Dunstan

west toward Lake Dunstan & the Pisa Mountains

Hunting

The entire route is in a restricted hunting area, which unlike most hunting areas mentioned on this blog, requires a specific permit. Hunters are forbidden to “discharge firearms near tracks, huts, campsites, road-ends or any other public place.” I have hiked in more than 30 hunting areas, and only passed hunters twice - this wasn’t one of those hikes.

Here is the DOC topomap with all hunting areas visible.