Directions

This track can be accessed from the end of Boatmans Road which turns off the Reefton Highway 12km north of Reefton.

Kirwans Reward

There is a steady 6 hour climb up a well-formed pack track to the modern Kirwans hut near the bushline.

Good rainbow and brown trout fishing is an attraction in season. This is a great walk for families with young children or those people new to tramping. The track is a well formed bench track that can also be completed as a day walk.

From open-cast quartz mine workings near the hut, a steep descent partly follows the line of an old cableway to the Lord Brassey stamper battery. From there, a track descends to Montgomery Hut and a rough 4 wheel-drive road leads to Gannons bridge on the Waitahu Valley road, which meets the highway 5 km north of Reefton.