Trails › New Zealand › Southland › Darran Mountains
Gertrude Saddle Route
Next nearby hike: Moraine Creek Route 5.4 mi · 8.6 kmExplore Darran Mountains →
Gertrude Saddle Route other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)
Get directions · Google MapsApple Maps
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0) · OpenStreetMap · Official page · Basemap: OpenFreeMap (OpenMapTiles, © OSM contributors).
7-day forecast
Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)Best time to hike
No month meets all three rules below at this spot.
- J12°4°668
- F12°4°419
- M10°2°568
- A7°0°510
- M4°-2°569
- J1°-5°482
- J0°-6°414
- A1°-5°445
- S3°-4°555
- O5°-2°628
- N8°0°522
- D10°2°694
Average high °C · low °C · precipitation mm per month. Highlighted: best months.
How we pick months
Best months are those where the 1981–2010 average daily high is 10–27 °C (50–81 °F), the average overnight low is 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer, and average precipitation is 200 mm (7.9 in) or less. Values are long-term monthly averages for the ~1 km cell at the trail point on the map, from CHELSA V2.1 climatologies (Karger et al., CC0), not a forecast. Higher or more exposed parts of a route can be colder, wetter or snowier.
About this trail
Gertrude Saddle includes rocky alpine terrain and should only be attempted by experienced trampers and in good weather. Wet weather, snow or ice create treacherous conditions in any season.
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0).
Trail facts
- Length
- 3.0 km · 1.9 mi (DOC route geometry)
- Source
- NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0)
- Difficulty
- Very hard (9/10) (Expert · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0))
- Typical time (DOC)
- 4-6 hr
- Official page
- doc.govt.nz/link/e12bb2da76aa43308d0fc674f9a
- Mountain range
- Darran Mountains (GMBA)
- Nearest town
- 57 km NW of Arthurs Point (Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago) · GeoNames
- Park or forest
- Fiordland National Park
- Country
- New Zealand
- Region
- Southland
- Continent
- Oceania
- Route centre
- -44.7536, 168.0178
How it’s scored
Very hard (9/10). Official rating: Expert · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0).
A score is omitted when we do not have an official rating or enough measured length and elevation gain to compute one. Nothing is guessed. Read the NPS method: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/how-to-determine-hiking-difficulty.htm
Hikers can rate difficulty from 1 to 10 (1 = flat, short, easy walk for anyone; 3 = gentle hills, a little effort; 5 = moderate climbs, some fitness needed; 7 = steep or long, solid fitness required; 10 = extremely strenuous or technical; long steep climbing; experienced hikers only). The community average is shown once at least 3 people have rated the trail; until then the official or computed score is used when we have one.
Nearest trails
distance from the trail centreMoraine Creek Route
5.4 mi · 8.6 km · Fiordland National Park
Falls Creek Route
6.1 mi · 9.8 km · Fiordland National Park
Deadmans Track
7 mi · 11 km · Fiordland National Park
Key Summit
7 mi · 11 km · Fiordland National Park
Routeburn Track
8 mi · 12 km · Fiordland National Park
Tūtoko Valley Route
8 mi · 13 km · Fiordland National Park
All trails in Southland → · All 1,167 trails in New Zealand →