Earnslaw Burn (head of Lake Wakatipu)   

Earnslaw Burn

Earnslaw Burn	Earnslaw Burn	Mt Earnslaw	Turret Head	Upper Valley	Mt Earnslaw
Down valley.	Earnslaw Burn.

Head of the Earnslaw Burn

Descent by the ridge on the true left

Upper Valley	Forbes Mntns	Ridge	Wakatipu	Centaur Peaks	Earnslaw Burn

Other routes out of the Earnslaw Burn

There is a difficult route over Lennox Pass to the Rees (see here). Moir's Guide North lists two routes over the Turret ridge. The northernmost crosses the ridge at the saddle below Turret Head and descends to Dans paddock The southernmost crosses the ridge between p1789 and p1749 and descends near the River Jordan.

Down valley	Traverse	Upper valley	Saddle	Saddle

Notes

The Earnslaw Burn track is reached from Paradise road. Either turn right onto the last public road (Lovers Leap Road) before the bridge over the Burn, or turn right onto a short access road just past the bridge (park before the Burn; ford it; then climb up through beech forest crossing two fence lines to reach the track with its orange markers). The track is well formed and well marked --- in February 2015 it was in good condition with only minor tree falls. At the top of the bush there are large orange markers to the rock bivvy on the other side of the burn (in Dec 2017 were a few more tree falls and the marker for the bivvy had vanished). On continuing up valley (on the true left), you soon come to a campsite.

Above the bush, the valley is open flats (easy travelling and many possible campsites).

To descend the ridge on the true-left of the Burn, go about 500m down the track through the bush to a large side stream (open views) and climb the spur on the true left of this. There is no track (apart from the occasional animal track), but travel is fairly easy. Once out of the bush, sidle right and up easy slopes to reach the ridge (c1480m). Moir's says to descend the ridge, but I found it more prudent to dodge the rocky bits on the ridge (c1300m) on the right. Once you can see down to the start of the track, you can head down anywhere on the open grassy slope (easy ground).

Caution: The Earnslaw Burn is not in a protected National Park, and helicopters sometimes land tourists in the valley.

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Copyright © 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 J.S. Milne.