Parking
Use the Kerr Bay Road access in St Arnaud and start at the northern edge of Kerr Bay Campsite; no dedicated Gibbs Walk parking was found.
Overview
About Gibbs Walk
Why go
- A short public connector through pole and black beech.
- A glacial erratic with beech roots makes the brief climb more interesting.
Heads up
- A sharp climb for a very short path.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Nelson Lakes map
Full mapElevation635–648 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Nelson Lakes alerts
- ClosureRotoroa Route permanently closedThe Rotoroa Route is permanently closed along the eastern side of Lake Rotoroa between Rotoroa village and Sabine Hut.Official details
- CautionUnbridged stream between Sabine and D’Urville hutsThe bridge on the track between Sabine Hut and D’Urville Hut has been removed; trampers must cross an unbridged stream at GR E1571366 N5359831.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Nelson Lakes Tour Guide
Your drive to Gibbs Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Nelson Lakes 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
Kerr Bay and Lake Rotoiti0:00 / 0:27
“You're approaching Kerr Bay, an easy place to get down to Lake Rotoiti without taking on a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Nelson Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Nelson Lakes Visitor Centre
- St Arnaud: Food and Village Stops
- Lodge Road and Black Hill Walk
- Teetotal Campsite and Duck Pond
- 26 audio storiesacross Nelson Lakes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor New Zealand Falcon, Weka, Kererū, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 57 trails, 47 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 Gibbs Walk
A brief forest connectorGibbs Walk is a 275 m (0.
Gibbs Walk is a 275 m (0.17-mile) one-way footpath from the northern edge of Kerr Bay Campsite to Lake Road, about 200 m short of Bridge Street. Allow roughly 10–15 minutes for the short climb. It is a worthwhile little link if you are already at Kerr Bay; retrace it to return, or continue on to the separate Black Valley Walk. Dogs are not allowed on DOC conservation land here.
The climbThe path starts level, then climbs sharply over an old moraine ridge through pole beech and…
The path starts level, then climbs sharply over an old moraine ridge through pole beech and black beech. Its short distance makes the steep section brief, but it is more of a climb than a flat stroll. At the upper end, the path meets Lake Road; reaching Bridge Street means continuing along the road beyond the mapped trail.
A small glacial detailThe moraine was left by retreating ice in the Lake Rotoiti basin.
The moraine was left by retreating ice in the Lake Rotoiti basin. One erratic rock along the track supports beech trees rooted in very little soil, with roots winding down toward the ground below. It is an easy detail to miss if you hurry through the climb.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Nelson Lakes
20 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
39 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsKererūMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
55 sightingsBlack SwanMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
17 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Nelson Lakes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
