Hiking the Pukaki Kettle Hole Track

The Pukaki Kettle Hole Track is a short and easy walk with a killer view. It crosses rolling hills, goes through a sheep paddock, and follows the ridge line around the water. This is the perfect hike to do if you want to see all of the beauty that the Canterbury Plains has to offer.

In this guide, I’ll go over everything you need to know before your hike. Let’s go!

General information

• Difficulty: Easy
• Total elevation gain: 101.5 m / 333 ft
• Length: 4 km / 2.5 mi return
• Time: 45 minutes return
• Type of track: Out and back

Check out the official DOC site here.

How to get to the Pukaki Kettle Hole Track

If you’re coming from Twizel or Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, follow State Highway 8 around Lake Pukaki. You’ll see a sign for the track on your right, just opposite the campground. Follow the gravel road up the hill until you reach the car park on your left. Entering “Pukaki Kettle Hole Car Park” in Google Maps also works great!

Pukaki Kettle Hole Track

From the parking lot, start walking down the gravel road in front of you. Very soon you’ll hit a fork in the road. You want to take the right-most path (the one with the gate across the road). I mistakingly took the left path, which is a steep section that ends up at this random circular pond. It made for a cool little detour, but it’s not part of the official track so walk at your own risk.

After the first gate, you walk through gently rolling hills for about fifteen minutes before reaching the ridgeline. The walk is slightly uphill most of the way, but it’s not too strenuous or difficult. The path is wide and made of gravel, so it’s easy to follow.

During this section of the track, I stumbled upon an entire flock of sheep right in front of me (awww). I will say… although the walk itself isn’t difficult, avoiding stepping in sheep poo definitely is.

After a bit, the track curves left towards the lake. You reach a gate with a stile to hop over. This final portion of the track follows the ridgeline and runs parallel to the road below. About five minutes of walking up this portion will lead you to the end of the track. There are a few benches, signs explaining more about what kettle holes are, and stunning views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Lake Pukaki below. From the top of the hill, the 360 degree views of the Southern Alps mountain range is truly magical.

To get back to the car park, simply follow the same trail you came from. Roundtrip, this entire grassy track took me about 45 minutes to complete. The Lake Pukaki Kettle Hole hiking trail is great if you want a relatively easy walk with spectacular views over south Canterbury.

What is a kettle hole?

About 20,000 years ago, the Tasman Glacier stood where the track is today. The glacier’s ice was once 300 m (984 ft) thick.

Over time, the glacier retreated and left a large block of ice. That block of ice was sheltered from sunlight by gravel, causing it to slowly melt and form the basin (or kettle hole) in the ground.

Fun fact: a kettle hole that contains water year-round is called a kettle lake!

Tips for visiting Pukaki Kettle Hole

• There is no shade on this track. Make sure you slather on the sunscreen and reapply often!
• Because of all the sheep, there are no dogs allowed.
• Since the track is so exposed, it’s better to visit on a calm day. It can get extremely windy up there!

Other short walks nearby

• Lake Pukaki Foreshore Walk: Coastal track around the lake
• Twizel River Trail: Easy, flat trail around the Twizel River
• Alps2Ocean Trail: Walking and cycling track that takes multiple days to finish. The section around Lake Tekapo can be done as a day walk.
• Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park:
  • Governors Bush Walk
  • Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier viewpoint
  • Red Tarns Track 
  • Hooker Valley Track

Thanks for reading! Look out for some more New Zealand hikes and travel guides coming soon.

xoxo Niki