Mount Iron Track — Attraction in South Island

One of our first full “hike” here in New Zealand and we thought it was a pretty simple one to go for - with good views and a decent trail up and down the mountain ⛰️

Tip: Start from the right, and come down from the left once you reach the summit.

We would advise to start from the right side of the track, as it was a little more dangerous coming down from that end, having gone up from the left and down from the right. To solidify our point, joggers were going up and down the same way (from the left) on our way up. The right side of the track was much more stoney, and we had a couple of slips/ankle twists.

Apart from that, the views were fairly good for the effort, and there’s benches from time to time to let you rest on the way - took us 1.5 hours for the entire trip, with 2 short breaks to enjoy the view and a leisure...

Glacier ice submerged and sculptured Mount Iron into a typical “roche moutonnée” shape.

Roche moutonnée, (French: “fleecy rock”) is glaciated bedrock surface, usually in the form of rounded knobs. This is a French expression that refers to rocky outcrops in glaciated landscapes, which are round on one side and irregular on the other.

The term roche moutonnée was first used by de Saussure between 1779 and 1796 because these rocks bear a fanciful resemblance to the wavy wigs fashionable in his day. The term was widely adopted after its glaciological significance was recognized.

Lake Wanaka is already approximately 300m above sea level so the loop walk is 4.5km and ascends 240m. It takes roughly 1-2 hours to complete the loop.

Reaching the summit you are rewarded with...

Great walk with 360 degree views! Signs say, allow 45 minures. If you havent been on a long walk in a while id allow an hour to walk to the top. My partner and I are both reasonably fit and it took us 30 minutes to walk to the top, but to be honest we were more power walking. Once you get up there the views are worth it. Side note, a lot of locals like to walk there dogs on this track and they're happy to stop and let you pat them, we saw at least 3 the day we walked up. If its a hot day i would recommend taking water and wearing sunscreen as there is not much shade and little seating. Long story short, if you're a visitor and would like to do a Wanaka walk that's not hours long, then...