TOBINS TRACK (ARROWTOWN) TO MOUNT BEETHAM

This post will give you the details about walking both Tobins Track and Mount Beetham, making for a great 8-9km out and back walk.

Tobins Track is a popular walk with the local’s thanks to the track being:

• easy to access
• a good way to get the heart pumping without being extreme
• you get some great views

By adding on the walk up the Mount Beetham Summit you can get a really good workout, with your calves almost surely burning on the way up. But again, you’re rewarded with views which are always better when you work for them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Details | Map | How To Get There | My Experience

DETAILS ABOUT TOBINS TRACK TO THE MT BEETHAM SUMMIT

When¹: October 2020

Difficulty²: Medium. Tobin’s track isn’t too tough, but the 1km grind up Mount Beetham is tough. Thankfully it’s less than 1km.

Hike Distance³: My Strava recording isn’t complete as I ran out of battery on the way back down. But it says it’s 4.2km to the summit from where I started (mentioned below). This feels about right on, so a returned walk will be about 8.4km.

Incline⁴: From Strava, the elevation recorded 526 metres of elevation gain with Mount Beetham at about 922 metres above sea level. This is going to be accurate as there are no descents on the way up to the peak. Strava isn’t always super accurate recording the elevation, so prepare for 500 – 550 metres of elevation gain total.

Hike Duration⁵: It took me 1 hour to reach the Mount Beetham Summit. After spending about 5 minutes up there, I began to walk down and made it back in about 50 minutes for a round trip of just under two hours total. This is going to be on the fast side, with most people taking longer to get up the Mount Beetham section. I’d schedule 2 – 3 hours for this walk (which gives you some time to enjoy a snack at the summit).

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MAP OF TOBINS TRACK + MOUNT BEETHAM SUMMIT TRACK

The above is the Strava data overlaid on a topo map.

Tobins Track is labeled on both Google Maps and Maps.me, but neither of them shows the track up to Mount Beetham (at the time of publishing).

HOW TO GET THERE

Tobins Track is considered to starts at the car park at the bottom of Ford Street here. But I feel like most people are going to be better off starting from closer to Arrowtown’s town centre. Opposite the Arrowtown Wine Store works for me.

Arrowtown is easily reached from Queenstown by bus and car, or is less than an hours drive from Wanaka. There’s lots of free parking available opposite the wine store.

MY EXPERIENCING WALKING BOTH TOBINS TRACK & MOUNT BEETHAM

I wasn’t too excited about Tobins Track going into the walk (for no real reason), but when I heard about the Mount Beetham add on, it became one of the must-do walks in Arrowtown for me.

After walking from the bus stop to the wine store (mentioned above) to get my bearings, I walked through the car park towards Arrow River. Turning right at the river, it’s a nice flat start to the walk, through a light canopy of trees with a few tourists looking to get lucky panning for gold.

At about the 1km in you’ll come across a pedestrian bridge that takes you over the river. There’ll be a sign mentioning Tobins Track too.

Crossing the bridge, you’re then turning right onto the 4WD track that starts going up the hill right away (again, there’s a sign). You’ll be following this 4WD track all the way for the next 2.5km or so. It’s rarely flat, but the incline isn’t crazy.

It’s important to note, you need to ignore the orange triangle signaling to turn left unless you want to complete the New Chum Track 🙂 Stay on the 4WD track.

The 4WD track is lined with trees to start, but they soon give way and you’ll start to see views of Arrowtown and the surrounding area on your right (the left is a bank). I started taking photos of the views early on, but they only get better the further you go on. You can even tell The Hills Golf Club is world-class from here, it’s immaculate.

You might also notice the plaque which will give you insight as to why the track is named what it is.

Once you get to the top of Tobin’s Track there’s a couple of benches, and from here you get awesome views.

And you’ll get your first view of Mount Beetham. It’s an intimidating sight. The trail is steep! I was expected lots of shrubs and bushes, but it’s straight-up grass.

So it’s time to decide if you’re fully committed now. If you’re pretty exhausted already you’ll want to turn back and head down the way you came (there’s also a track called Tobins Drop which takes you straight down to the river, but I haven’t gone down here). Mount Beetham isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Continuing on the gravel track for a couple of hundred metres to the base of Mount Beetham it’s flat, so catch your breath as you’ll be working hard shortly. You’ll see the route is marked with poles and orange tips as you cross over the stiles on the fence.

The sign at the entrance is ominous, with 272 metres of elevation gain in 900 metres.

In theory, you could take any route to the summit you like, but it’s best to stick to the route people have taken before you as there are some convenient footholds. If the grass is wet, this would be super tricky. Bring half-decent shoes!

I was working hard all the way up the hill. Glancing behind me to make sure the views are worth the struggle, and trying not to look up too often. The summit didn’t feel like it got any closer. You won’t be racing up this hill in quick time, give it the respect it deserves.

Once you get to the top you’ve views that are way better than the ones at the top of Tobins Track including Crown Peak and Brow Peak, two of the more ambitious Arrowtown walks. And there are a few nicely placed rocks (thanks nature) that’ll allow you to take some good photos so everyone knows you’ve actually made it.

If you decided to bring food with you, this is the spot to eat it. Though it’s very exposed so if there’s a southerly you might suddenly find yourself quite cold.

And when you’re ready, it’s time to go back to Arrowtown the way you came. The Mount Beetham descent is not going to be friendly on the knees, fortunately, it’s soft terrain so it shouldn’t be too bad. Everyones going to be going down at different speeds, go at whatever is comfortable for you.

And once you’re back on the 4WD track you’ll be away laughing as you cruise back down to Arrowtown.

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Tobins Track was more excited than I expected with nice views on the way up. But the addition of Mount Beetham is epic, and as long as you’re somewhat fit, make it happen 🙂

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