The jewel bit… what qualifies this valley, when there are others that I think are even prettier such as the remote Wilken north branch and the Rockburn?
These two and many others typify the Otago Alps, where the mix of river, mountains, warm brown grasses and beech forest allow a feeling absent in the rawness of the Canterbury valleys, with their mean rivers, acres of gravel and rock, all with little in the way of natural shelter for man, bird or beast.
Really it is simply because the West Matukituki is so close and easy of access, just an hour’s drive from Wanaka.
All photos below are from a one day trip to Aspiring Hut return, in late May 2018. They span from Mt Aspiring Station homestead to the NZ Alpine Club’s Aspiring Hut…
Read all about the status of the birds v. predators in the valley at this recent post in Southernlight.co.nz >>
