Kurow Hill Walkway, Kurow

NZ hikesshort hikesWaitaki ValleyCanterbury

10 Feb

Notice that the route stops far short of the actual summit of Kurow Hill.
Screenshots of the NZ topographic map are licensed as CC BY 4.0 by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Kurow Hill (Te Kohurau; 593m) is west of the village of Kurow, in South Island’s Waitaki Valley. The peak is not publicly accessible. The Kurow Hill Walkway is an easement leading from the west side of the village up to a viewpoint and bench at around 365m, making for a very short hike.

Local opinion differs on whether this region of the Waitaki Valley is part of North Otago or South Canterbury.

Time

VirtualWaitaki estimates the ascent alone takes around 45 minutes. AllTrails users report an average round-trip of 90 minutes.

I decided to treat the approximately 250m ascent as pure exercise, so instead of my normal pace, I walked it without stopping for 17 minutes. That’s a pace 880 meters per hour, which I couldn’t have kept up for an actual hour; 17 minutes was hard enough! 30 minutes would probably be a normal ascent time for me.

The leisurely descent took me around 35 minutes, including stops for photos.

Route

The trailhead is at the west end of Grey St, with a gravel parking area on the north (right). The track is an easement across Awakino Station’s hill pasture. I didn’t see any sheep or cows. It is a fairly narrow dirt track, amidst tussock and other plants.

Armchairs have been placed at some of the switchbacks by the Kurow Trails Committee. I don’t know whether the chairs were carried up as a sort of hazing of new members, or dropped by helicopter. I also wondered about mold, since it’s not like the wind will reach into all the crevices of the chairs. Perhaps it doesn’t matter, so long as the outward-facing parts are mold-free?

The track reaches a broad hilltop with a bench.

A few weeks after my hike, I read news that steps had just been installed. I don’t actually remember whether they were there during my hike, but I’m assuming not. Anyway, it’s now a friendlier hike for people with a decent cardiovascular fitness but lesser musculoskeletal ability.

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give the ascent a 1.