Ben Nevis (1619 m) and Ben Nevis South Peak (1642 m)

The first challenge for this hike is to get to the start of the track itself. To get there you need a 4WD car. At the spot where I left my car, the start of the 4WD road, there is a DOC sign that says "4WD vehicles are recommended" but after seeing the road myself I won't try to go up that road with my regular 2WD car, or at least not to the very end. What I suggest is to start driving up and if you find it too difficult just stop and park the car. There are plenty of opportunities to park the car on that 4WD road. I have marked a few with waypoints, the biggest ones, but there are many more. If you manage to go up 1 Km that means you reduce the length of the hike by 2 Km which makes a difference.

Since I didn't know that, I parked my car all the way down at the beginning of the 4WD road. This means that I added 11 Km to the hike. 5.42 Km up and 4.42 Km down on that boring 4WD road.

Google Maps takes you to the beginning of the 4WD road (-41.4943933, 173.09648476). At this spot you will find a DOC signpost. See the picture titled "Start and end of hike (4WD road starts)".
Be careful on your way back because there is no phone coverage in that area.

Either if you decide to drive up or to walk the 4WD road, once you get to the end of it you will find a small area for parking the car. See the picture titled "Parking at the end of the 4WD road". You will also find a gate that prevents you from driving any further and about 300 meters higher up you will find the official DOC signpost that indicates the start of the Ben Nevis track.

The track itself to the summit of Ben Nevis is about 5 Km. The first section runs inside a forest and once it clears out you will be at the ridge where you have clear views of the summit. You will still need to walk for a while on that ridge and slowly you will end up at the summit.
From Ben Nevis summit you have great views of the surroundings and you can also see the South Summit. It's worth continuing and reaching the South Summit, which is a bit higher in elevation. Getting there is fairly easy. The track goes a bit up and down, it is also a bit rocky in some sections but nothing difficult. A few minutes later you will reach the South Summit.

To go back to the car you just follow the same way that took you up here.

In summary, another enjoyable hike in the beautiful mountains of New Zealand.



Full description and more pictures at Back from Summit: Ben Nevis