The Gillespie Pass Circuit

Another new year, another hike ticked off of the bucket list! When my brother and I completed the Rees Dart Track, we had bumped into a family who were doing a series of linked tracks throughout the south island and had just come from the Gillespie Pass area. They kept raving on about how good it was and since then it’s been a priority to get there.

This is a step above your typical great walk. It requires some basic river crossing skills, although given we had fair weather we had a very easy time with the few crossings involved. It’s really quite a stunning part of Aotearoa and felt like a shorter version of the Rees dart, without skipping out on some epic alpine terrain.

There are so many variations to do this trail, but most recommend doing it anti clockwise for safety reasons as you’ll be going up the steeper more exposed section first. Also try not to skip out on the side trip up to crucible lake. It’s well worth the effort.

Click the picture below to check it out!

Gillespie Pass Circuit

A dramatic alpine pass linking two spectacular mountain valleys