Alex Knob Track

The 4 hour (one way) track to Alex Knob climbs steadily from lowland forest through sub-alpine scrub to alpine meadows and herb fields, affording superb views of glaciers, mountains and seascapes at various viewpoints along the way.


Vegetation changes visibly from rimu, rata and kamahi forest to sub-alpine New Zealand cedar and tree daisies. The less common kaka and parakeet can be found along with tui, bellbird and New Zealand pigeon as well as kea and pipit higher up.





The track to Alex Knob zigzags steeply upwards to Rata Lookout for your first view of the glacier and main divide. It is a gentle grade to Christmas Lookout at 900 metres where there is a good rest spot and fantastic glacier views. The primitive grass or pineapple tree, the stringy barked NZ cedar, leathery leafed tree daisies and mountain flax grow in abundance in this area.




A 5 minute detour leads to the Louisa Peak viewpoint where snow grass grows on the cold southern side and scrub on the warm northern face. The marked track continues on over snow tussock and mountain daisies to the Alex Knob 1303 metres summit.