Me, my partner, and our 4-year-old kid, Elliot, went on a wee adventure to Nina Valley. It’s not just home to the popular Nina Hut but also has many hidden hideaways with secluded spots for camping.
We initially followed the Nina Valley Track before reaching a sign pointing to Sylvia Tops. After a short stretch of overgrown track, we arrived at the Nina River – such a scenic spot so close to the car park! It’s ideal for a wee trip with a kid. We hung out there for the rest of the day, throwing rocks into the river for hours, and by 6 PM, Anna and Elliot were off to sleep. Instead of being sensible and going to bed as well, I packed up and headed off to bag Upper Nina Biv. I’d been putting it off for way too long.
I set off about an hour before sunset. I reached Nina Hut in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It’s a pretty straightforward walk along the DOC track, though the mid-section is a wee bit hilly. From Nina Hut, the track first drops down to the Nina River before following it on the true left all the way to Upper Nina Biv. At first glance on a map, it looks like a Sunday stroll, but don’t be fooled – it’s a decent adventure with plenty of mud and ups and downs. The final section was in the riverbed, as parts of the track seemed washed out. My Strava recorded 680 metres of ascent from the car park and back. It was pretty muddy with some windfall in a few places. It was generally OK, however, following the track wasn’t always super straightforward in the dark. It was a bit of a spontaneous trip, so I made a wee error – I didn’t bring spare batteries for my partially charged torch, and my phone kept throwing an error when I tried to turn on its torch. Oh well, I managed with a dim light but ended up off track many times. In the end, it took me about five hours to walk from Sylvia Track over Nina River to Upper Nina Biv and back. If starting from the car park, I reckon it’d take about six hours for a fit person or eight hours at a more “normal” pace. DOC time is 10 hours which is pretty realistic for a tramper who doesn’t rush.
The next morning, we made some tea, had porridge, threw more rocks into the Nina River, and then headed back to the car park. It’s such a great spot – something tells me I’ll be back soonish!
Nina valley carpark – Nina hut – Upper Nina biv – Nina hut – Nina River at the bottom of Sylvia tops route: 27.6 km (from the carpark back to back to Upper Nina Biv, it’d be around 30 km / 15 km each way), 6 h, 680 m ascent. The route on NZ TopoMap.
Tramped on 1-2nd March 2025.
Max elevation: 813 m
Min elevation: 629 m
Be the first to comment on "Upper Nina Biv + camping at Nina Valley"