Trails › New Zealand › Wellington › Tararua Range › Alpha
Tararua Southern Crossing
On Alpha, Tararua Range
Next nearby hike: TAR - southern crossing 1.0 mi · 1.7 kmExplore Alpha →
Tararua Southern Crossing 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
Best months: Nov–Apr · highs 10–15 °C (50–59 °F)
- J15°8°115
- F15°8°113
- M13°6°132
- A10°4°131
- M8°2°165
- J5°0°199
- J4°-1°194
- A5°-1°180
- S7°1°163
- O8°2°189
- N10°4°156
- D13°6°162
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
The Southern Crossing is one of the four classic tramps of the Tararua Range.
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0).
Trail facts
- Length
- 26 km · 16 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)
- 3 days
- Official page
- doc.govt.nz/link/01f85cb8133e413d939b0d9ba34
- Mountain
- Alpha (mountain; GeoNames)
- Mountain range
- Tararua Range (North Island Mountain Spine; GMBA)
- Nearest town
- 14 km N of Featherston (South Wairarapa District, Wellington Region) · GeoNames
- Connects to
- Dobson Loop Track, Field Hut and Table Top, Renata-Alpha Crossing (at its start or end)
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Country
- New Zealand
- Region
- Wellington
- Continent
- Oceania
- Route centre
- -40.9857, 175.2713
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 centreTAR - southern crossing
1.0 mi · 1.7 km · Tararua Forest Park
TAR - Holdsworth to Kaitoke Track
4.1 mi · 6.6 km · Wellington
Neill Winchcombe Circuit
4.2 mi · 6.7 km · Tararua Forest Park
Cone Ridge Tracks
4.4 mi · 7.0 km · Tararua Forest Park
Renata-Alpha Crossing
4.5 mi · 7.3 km · Wellington
Dobson Loop Track
4.7 mi · 7.6 km · Tararua Forest Park
All trails in Wellington → · All 1,167 trails in New Zealand →