Mt Isobel via Jack’s Pass, Hanmer Springs

NZ hikesshort hikesCanterburyNorthern South IslandNorth Canterbury
Written By Mark Eaglesfield

Mt Isobel is at center-right.

Screenshots of the NZ topographic map are licensed as CC BY 4.0 by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Mt Isobel (1309m) is a short hike in the Hanmer Range next to Hanmer Springs, Canterbury, northern South Island. I accessed it from Jack’s Pass.

It is also possible to reach the summit by a longer hike from town itself, either on the Mt Isobel Track or the Waterfall (Dog Stream) Track. Or, you could start in town and finish at Jack’s Pass, or vice versa, so long as you have a friend with a car at Jack’s Pass. A friend of mine whom I dropped off at Jack’s Pass enjoyed descending to town on Mt Isobel Track.

The northernmost part of Hanmer Springs is visible at lower left.

Screenshots of the NZ topographic map are licensed as CC BY 4.0 by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Time

DOC estimates 3-4 hours return from Jacks Pass.

AllTrails users report an average of 2 hours 43 minutes return from Jack’s Pass (my route), 4 hours 19 minutes return on Mt Isobel Track, and, improbably, also 4 hours 19 minutes return on Waterfall (Dog Stream) Track.

I have done this hike twice. The first time, it took me a little over 60 minutes to reach the summit, and around 70 minutes to return to Jack’s Pass, not counting breaks. The second time, it took around 50 minutes to reach the summit, and again around 70 minutes to return to Jack’s Pass.

Route

AllTrails reports 471 meters of elevation gain over 6.1 kilometers, out-and-back from Jack’s Pass.

I chose to start at Jacks Pass because I wanted a short hike, after my longer Mt Dumblane-Mt Charon hike. There is a medium-size dirt parking lot.

The track was muddy in a few places near Jack’s Pass, although not quite as much as on the beginning of the Mt Dumblane track. As the vegetation thinned and the terrain became mostly rocks, it alternated between steep and somewhat loose sections, and flatter, easy sections. I was glad of trekking poles on the way down, even though it’s a short hike.

The track was easily visible in most places, but I lost it briefly on the way down on my first hike, between the summit and Point 1195. It was raining lightly. The second hike was a clear day, so no problem.

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give this track a 3 on some steep, loose sections, but mostly a 2 with some 1.

Most photos are from the second hike, because it had better light for photos.

Hunting

My entire route is in a hunting area, as is most of the route on foot from town. Hunters are forbidden to “discharge firearms near tracks, huts, campsites, road-ends or any other public place.” I have hiked in more than 30 hunting areas, and only passed hunters twice - this wasn’t one of those hikes.

Here is the DOC topomap with all hunting areas visible.

Other pages about this hike from Jack’s Pass

Pages covering most/all routes to Mt Isobel

Pages about other routes to Mt Isobel

Pages about other nearby hikes

Local info

We are usually told, moreover, that there is no scenery at Hanmer. Needless to say, this is a fallacy, which may have originated in the fact that Hanmer is primarily a health resort, and so the visitors congregate at the baths and gravitate between them and their various residences for the time being. Mount Captain, Mount Charon, Mount Isabel [sic], Mount Perceval, Miro-Miro, are all fine peaks, from which the most magnificent views can be obtained, especially of the Spencer Mountains and of the peaks of Southern Nelson, with their strange mixture of names, e.g., Faerie Queene, Billhook Peak, Mount Una, Black Serpent's Tail, Mount Guinevere, Mount Hatless, etc., this last being a most suggestive name.

The Hanmer Mountains are all pierced by streams, and up each stream are charming spots. The waterfall on the front of Mount Isabel should be visited by all who do not fear a scramble. On Jack's Pass and Jollie's Pass, masses of Celmisias and other beautiful plants may be seen. The Waiau Gorge, near the bridge, has splendid rock scenery, while the view from the garden of the accommodation house nearby, with the turbid Waiau and its island far below, and the broad yellow plain flanked by noble mountains, is extremely beautiful. The scenery as viewed from the coach road is in many places very pleasing, especially where it follows the bank of the Waiau.

—Cockayne, L. ‘A glimpse into the Alps of Canterbury.’ In: W. Reece (ed), 1900. Canterbury old and new: A souvenir of the Jubilee.


Mt Isobel from the center of Hanmer Springs

Conical Hill at left, Summit center-right? This isn’t the angle with which I’m familiar.

Mt Isobel seen from the road nearby (left), from Mt Dumblane (center, and the panorama below), and from Conical Hill (right)

Looking back toward Jack’s Pass (obscured) from Mt Dumblane. Maukuratawhai center-left, Mt Isobel just right of center, Hanmer Plain at right.

Mark Eaglesfield
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