Kea Basin Track other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)
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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
Best months: Feb · highs 17–17 °C (63–63 °F)
- J16°8°282
- F17°8°187
- M14°6°251
- A11°3°216
- M6°0°258
- J2°-3°255
- J2°-4°200
- A3°-2°221
- S5°0°246
- O7°1°279
- N11°3°214
- D14°6°299
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
It takes half a day to climb to this beautiful sub-alpine tussock basin beneath Mt Earnslaw/Pikirakatahi.
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0).
Trail facts
- Length
- 2.2 km · 1.4 mi (DOC route geometry)
- Source
- NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0)
- Difficulty
- Hard (7/10) (Advanced · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0))
- Typical time (DOC)
- 8 - 10 hr return
- Official page
- doc.govt.nz/link/a21c27820a7e4e1d965b06c1db9
- Mountain range
- Forbes Mountains (Main Divide of The Southern Alps › Southern Alps; GMBA)
- Nearest town
- 44 km NW of Arthurs Point (Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago) · GeoNames
- Park or forest
- Mount Aspiring National Park
- Best months
- Feb
- Country
- New Zealand
- Region
- Otago
- Continent
- Oceania
- Route centre
- -44.6213, 168.4528
How it’s scored
Hard (7/10). Official rating: Advanced · 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 centreRees-Dart Track
1.4 mi · 2.3 km · Otago
Earnslaw Burn Track
6 mi · 10 km · Lower Dart Conservation Area
Sugarloaf/Rockburn Track
9 mi · 14 km · Mount Aspiring National Park
Lake Sylvan Track
9 mi · 14 km · Mount Aspiring National Park
Scott Creek Track
12 mi · 20 km · Otago
Cascade Saddle Route
13 mi · 21 km · Mount Aspiring National Park