Parking
O’Malleys Track car park on SH73 at the Christchurch end of Bealey Bridge. The access entrance is on a sharp bend.
Overview
About O’Malleys Track
Why go
- A short beech-forest sidle opens onto Waimakariri braids
- Turkey Flat is a distinctive Jordan Stream alluvial fan
Heads up
- A climb and sidle before the path drops to the fan
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Arthur's Pass map
Full mapElevation624–686 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Arthur's Pass alerts
- CautionFlood damage and rockfall risk on Harper Pass RouteFlood damage and an active slip affect the Harper Pass Route below Kiwi Hut and near Locke Stream Hut.Official details
- CautionFlood damage on route to Sudden Valley BivvySignificant flood damage makes the route to Sudden Valley Bivvy passable only when rivers are low.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Arthur's Pass Tour Guide
Your drive to O’Malleys Track, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Arthur's Pass National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
O'Malleys Track to Turkey Flat0:00 / 0:25
“Up ahead is the start of O'Malleys Track, a walk into the wide Waimakariri valley. Allow about ninety minutes for the four-kilometre return to Turkey Flat, through beech forest to open gravel and scrub.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Arthur's Pass Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bealey Hotel
- Klondyke Corner Campsite
- The Knowledge Behind Arthur’s Pass
- Bealey Spur Track and Hut
- 42 audio storiesacross Arthur's Pass’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, New Zealand Falcon, Blue Duck, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 49 trails, 59 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking O’Malleys Track
The short route to Turkey FlatO’Malleys Track is a 2 km one-way out-and-back from Bealey Bridge to Turkey Flat, so plan for 4…
O’Malleys Track is a 2 km one-way out-and-back from Bealey Bridge to Turkey Flat, so plan for 4 km return and about 1.5 hours. It’s a short way into the Waimakariri valley: a forest sidle above the river, then an open alluvial fan at Jordan Stream. This is the Turkey Flat walk, not the longer overnight route that continues upstream.
Through the trees and onto the fanThe track climbs at first, then sidles along Bealey Spur through mountain beech.
The track climbs at first, then sidles along Bealey Spur through mountain beech. Openings give you views over the Waimakariri’s braided channels and swampy valley margins. Near the end the forest thins and the path drops to Turkey Flat, a broad fan of gravel and scrubby matagouri formed by Jordan Stream. The fan and the shifting river channels are the payoff; look back toward the spur from the open ground to see how the forested slope meets the wide valley.
Starting out and knowing where to turnUse the O’Malleys Track car park at the Christchurch end of Bealey Bridge on SH73; its entrance…
Use the O’Malleys Track car park at the Christchurch end of Bealey Bridge on SH73; its entrance is on a sharp bend. DOC lists 2 km to Turkey Flat, while an older local account describes about 3 km for the named walk. The saved route follows the official Turkey Flat turnaround, and the longer track continues beyond it. Dogs are not allowed in Arthur’s Pass National Park. A side stream about halfway can rise after significant rain; the continuation beyond Turkey Flat involves more serious river crossings, so don’t treat this short walk as a hut route.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Arthur's Pass
982 sightingsKeaMost seen around noonSighting map
39 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
190 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
20 sightingsKākāMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
15 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
15 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Arthur's Pass. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
