Image: Ian Guthrie | DOC
Golden tussock grass grows in an alpine valley with hills in the distance.
Pylon Track

Located in Twizel area in the Canterbury region

From the Tekapo – Pukaki canal, follow the pylons along a low ridge of the Mary Range and enjoy expansive views to the Southern Alps. This track is part of Te Araroa trail.

This track is part of Te Araroa Trail.

Starting from the Tekapo – Pukaki canal, the track crosses an area of mature tall tussock grassland before reaching the maintenance track for the line of power pylons. Follow this track until it reaches Hayman Road, close to the shore of Lake Pukaki.

The track passes to the west of Mt Mary, known to Ngai Tahu as Ōtūpaka. The name of the Mary range probably derives from John and Mary McHutcheson who were first to occupy a Mackenzie run, building a wattle and daub hut on the western shore of lake Pukaki.

It is a landform of lateral moraine from the Pukaki/Tasman glacial advances. This has left us with the broken hilly landscape and many ephemeral tarns, some which hold water for most of the year and others which are frequently dry flat basins, home to many distinct perennial herbs and sedges.

From Twizel, follow SH8 for 18 kms north before turning onto Hayman Road. After 5 kms, at the Pukaki power station, turn onto the Pukaki Canal Road and follow this to the roadend, where the track begins.

Park clear of the bridge and the locked gates to the service road.

Alternatively, you can start the track from the other end,1.5 km along Hayman Road close to Lake Pukaki.

Weather conditions can change quickly

As this track is in the mountains, the weather can change quickly. Be prepared for the worst conditions and be ready to change your plans if necessary.

Help to control wilding pines

This track is part of Te Araroa trail. Te Araroa trust is collaborating with Wilding Pine Mackenzie to encourage trail walkers to give back to the environment by helping to remove wilding pines along their route. They can get a handsaw from boxes stationed at each end of the trail and return them to a box at the other end.