Gentle Annie Track

The COVID world tour continues. In April, Australia and New Zealand opened a travel bubble between the two countries. And despite a few outbreaks in Australia, the bubble is holding. 

NZ is hiking heaven. Everywhere you go there are trails to hike. And for the most part, they are all breathtaking. For example, today we drove about an hour outside of Wellington with no plan in mind. Wanting to stretch the legs we picked a random trailhead and started hiking.

There are a lot of entry points to the Tararuas providing access to the windswept ridges and lush valleys. Today we started at the Holdsworth Road End. At the road end, there are spots for car camping and the start of the Gentle Annie Track.

The track heads uphill for 2 miles to aptly named Rocky Lookout, a great place to enjoy snacks and soak in the view. From here we continued onwards to Mountain House Shelter. We were tempted to continue on to the summit of Holdsworth Peak but we started too late for that.

To make it a loop, we descended the River Ridge Track until we reached the beautiful Atiwhakatu Stream. Azure blue water coursed past us as we walked the last two miles back to the car. 

This 7-mile hike was a great reintroduction to New Zealand hiking. It has all the classic kiwi scenery I missed: lush fern-filled forest, crystal clear water, and unspoiled views.

If you go: