St James Walkway | North Canterbury
The St James Walkway is a great introduction to multi-day walking in the hills.
There’s not much in the way of dangers: the track is benched, ie, usually an even gradient; there’s little in the way of roots, rocks or other obstacles; the two passes are relatively low, Ada Pass barely discernible, Anne Saddle easy enough from the Lewis Pass direction; the large comfy huts are a pleasant day’s wander apart and have reasonable amenity, ie, mattresses, and a water and wood supply; the views of the mountains are spectacular although you aren’t required to clamber up much.
The major issue might well be the distance, 65 km, sufficient to give you the feeling that you’ve really achieved something and managed to at least get away from civilisation for a few days.
Overall a not-too-excessively challenging experience to acquaint beginners with tramping for longer than the weekend, just a Little Adventure through the mountains without having to actually climb them.
where | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
The top of the Lewis Pass to the Boyle River village via the Waiau River.
distance | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
around 65 km
time | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
4 nights, usually, ie, 5 days
when | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
best in summer and autumn, ie, much of the year, the major issue is a slight, but very real, avalanche danger in winter and early spring in the Ada Valley. Warning signs are posted at the locations.
maps and GPS | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
These days, having integrated GPS on your cell phone means a mapping app can precisely locate you on the LINZ Topo250 and Topo50 maps.
There are quite a few choices of topo map apps available, but NZ Topo50 works well enough and costs $6.99 for each island. You download the 3 GB app for the whole of the South Island plus Stewart Island/Rakiura before leaving home. This app then works for both these islands, away from cell phone towers. (The North Island is a separate $6.99 app.)
Unlike some apps, you don’t have to download numerous smaller “tiles” where, if you change your plans, you can find yourself off the map.
NZ Topo50 uses the full digital LINZ base map with details of the topography, tracks, contours, huts, roads, etc. You can also record your progress. Users can import .gpx or .kml track files ahead of time to follow pre-planned routes.
Other apps do much more, recording your distance, speed, elevation gain, or loss, etc, but this comes with a significant disadvantage: it is more battery-intensive, and your phone won’t last a full day.
Unfortunately, cell phones have three issues.
1. You need to carry a chunky power bank to recharge every day. If you record your route as you go, or forget to put it in flight/aeroplane mode, batteries drain quickly. However, because NZ Topo50 loads the entire map natively, users can turn off the active GPS function entirely and only switch GPS on when needed for brief “spot checks” of their location to save power drain.
2. Phones can be lost, damaged, float away down a river, drain due to the cold, etc.
3. Wet screens or wet fingers often make smartphone touch interfaces completely unusable in rain.
No big deal about maps on this track, if you want a free alternative in the map department, you can take a digital photo of the topographical maps that are on display at each roadend and at the huts, and look at your camera when you need clarification to your, or your next destination’s, whereabouts. They have a high enough level of detail.
If that’s not enough, there are a few options.
Download free digital versions from LINZ Mapchooser, then you can print off the areas you need yourself.
Or it’s possible to buy the real thing, ie, on old fashioned paper, there’s a couple of detailed options there.
Newtopo.com produces the most useful dead tree map of the St James Walkway at a scale of 1:75,000, available for $9 from major DoC offices and some outdoor stores, Macpac keep them, or consult their website that shows a list of retail outlets. Note that the First edition, 2011, shows the location of the old, burned-down Anne Hut, it was rebuilt in 2012, 800 m to the east.
There are also the Topo50 series maps that cover the country, for the St James you need three, BT23 Lewis Pass, BT24 Ada Flat, and BU 23 Boyle Village, each costing around $7.90 and available at DOC offices, outdoor shops, and bookshops where maps sold. There’s a nationwide list at LINZ Map Retailers.
Need a custom map for your GPS device, download a more compact .klm format file from topomap.co.nz for free, although if you download a few maps consider a small donation, there’s considerable work gone into getting that info onto the internet and we should support these useful resources.
route description | St James Walkway, North Canterbury
Starting at the top of the Lewis Pass the walkway goes over the low Ada Pass towards the Waiau River before returning to State Highway 7 via Anne Saddle and following down the Boyle River to Boyle Village. Note, there’s little in the way of things you might normally expect at a “village” at Boyle Village, ie, no pub, shop, village green, etc. You have to bring your own maidens.
The Lewis Pass to Boyle direction gives an easier walk over Anne Saddle, but the direction is more dictated by transportation possibilities.
For DOC’s version
huts | St James Walkway, North Canterbury
It’s possible to sleep in a serviced hut every night, they are supposed to have firewood supplied, and have the usual hut features: water, mattresses, and a good roof.
Here are the huts you might encounter on the walkway.
There are also a few in the vicinity that might also be worth a visit:
Tramping times | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
Here’s the DoC stated tramping times between huts, as shown on their website, usually actual walking times, ie, not taking into account any long breaks. DoC bases its estimation on times for an “average” tramper which means that it’s possible to slash times for more popular sections. With more remote sections the stated time is close to the actual time required.
Lewis Pass car park – Cannibal Gorge Hut
Time: 3.5 hours
Distance: 7 km
Cannibal Gorge Hut – Ada Pass Hut
Time: 1.5 hours,
Distance: 3 km
Ada Pass Hut – Christopher Hut
Time: 4.5 hours
Distance: 10.5 km
Christopher Hut – Anne Hut
Time: 4.5 hours
Distance:13 km
Anne Hut to the Boyle Flats Hut
Time: 7.5 hours
Distance: 17 km
Boyle Flat Hut to Boyle Settlement
Time: 5 hours
Distance: 14.5 km
getting there | St James Walkway, North Canterbury
You can jump on the East West Coaches bus departing Westport at 8 00 am, arriving Lewis Pass at 10 10 am, or, departing Christchurch at 2 00 pm and arriving at 4 35 pm. Phone 03 789 6251, or 0800 142 622 for further information and pricing.
Getting around by hitching is also possible but, of course, entirely unreliable. There are okay hitching places at both ends of the walkway.
supplies | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
Nelson, Blenheim, and Richmond have the usual major supermarkets, Countdown, New World, and Pak’nSave for getting the main supplies. Shellite or Fuelite and gas canisters for your stove can be obtained at outdoor and hardware stores in Nelson or Blenheim, if you haven’t been allowed to fly with it.
From the other direction, Christchurch has the works, of course. Hamner Springs has two supermarkets, the Hamner Four Square on Conical Hill Road, open 7 days, most 8 30 am to 6 pm, and the Hamner Springs Foodway on Amuri Avenue, open 7 days, 9 am to 5 pm.
warnings | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
All major streams are bridged, although some smaller ones require care to cross after rain.
In spring, or after heavy snowfalls, there is a slight but real avalanche danger. Trail signage marks these areas.
other websites | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
DOC’s version of the walkway.
a big image slideshow | St James Walkway – North Canterbury
Here’s a 39-image slideshow from the St James Walkway giving an indication of the general track conditions and sights along the way, if you need any further convincing.
Click on the thumbnail image below to get the slideshow started, then you can click on the left or right sides of the bigger images to go forward or back.
Images of the St James Walkway huts can be found in the St James Walkway huts section.