After hiking up to the Temple Basin ski area in Arthur’ Pass National Park, our next stop was a short hike on the Christchurch side of Arthur’s Pass Village. The Bealey Spur Track promised some good views through the Waimakariri River valley, as much of the morning fog had lifted we decided to make the hike up to the small mountain hut at the end of this track.
After walking through the small hamlet of Bealey the trail climbed up through a forest.
As we climbed the trees started to thin and we could start to see the steep valley at the side of the trail. Although the trail followed the ridge, it was surprising to see the steep drop off just a few steps away.
As we continued to climb the vegetation changed again and we crossed a marshy area on a series of board walks.
After crossing this flat section of the trail, we began to climb again, however this time the trail crossed areas of thick tussock grass. The clumps of grass made it hard to pick out the trail, but the views over the grass more than made up for the difficult trail. We could see out across the marsh we had recently crossed and then all the way down the Waimakariri Valley, the valley that we would later follow in the car back towards Christchurch.
We reached another break in the slope and from this point were able to look up the Waimakariri Valley, deeper into Arthur’s Pass National Park.
We could also see up the Bealey Valley towards the small town of Arthur’s Pass. This was the Valley we had hiked in earlier in the day and we could still see the clouds hanging in the lower valleys.
The trail passed through one final area of woodland which had quite an eerie feeling thanks to all the moss and lichen growing on the trees.
After a short distance we came out into a clearing to find the Bealey Spur hut, the overnight accommodation at the end of this track. It was certainly one of the more basic huts, but would be a great place to sit and watch the stars from!
After enjoying a quick snack at the hut we made out way back down the trail to the car taking in the views of the valley as we climbed down the hill. Despite the early morning cloud, it was a great first trip to Arthur’s Pass National Park.