If you’re looking for a trail that’s a little off the beaten track near Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, then the Galway Beach Track is a great choice. The walk takes you to a wild and remote beach which is home to a large seal colony - somehow we failed to find them, but more on that later!
Along the way you’ll be treated to some exceptional mountain and glacier views, gorgeous mossy forest and a look into the local gold mining history. It’s a proper West Coast walking experience with more than its fair share of mud, but it’s an easy track and you’re likely to get the whole thing to yourself!
Here’s what to expect on the Galway Beach Track.
Galway Beach Track
The stats
Distance: 12.5km
Elevation: 246m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
The Galway Beach Tramping Track is an easy walk in the sense that there is little elevation gain, but the trail is unmanicured and there is a fair amount of mud. There are two very steep staircases to get down on to the beach which DOC has called ladders (but aren’t proper ladders in our opinion!).
It took us about 3.5 hours in total, but that was with a lot of mud and photo stops!
Starting the trail: to the gold dredge
The trail begins just behind Gillespies Beach and heads along a grassy path inbetween tall gorse. It’s not so tall that you can’t regularly see the tops of the mountains though, which added some wow factor to this section.
It’s pretty flat and the terrain is good, with no mud at all along this stretch on our visit. After 800m you’ll reach the gold dredge which was in use between 1932 and 1945.
Unfortunately for the miners it wasn’t a very successful gold dredge and you can still see the rusty old remains of some of the machinery.
After 100m you’ll leave the grassy track and head onto Gillespies Beach.
Crossing Gillespies Lagoon and the Miners Tunnel
The track now follows the stony beach for the next kilometre. The views out to the ocean are great and there are lots of piles of driftwood which give it quite a wild feel.
The walking is not especially comfortable as it’s all on stones, but it’s easy enough and it’s not long before you turn back into the bush again.
Roughly 150m after entering the bush you’ll come to my favourite part of the whole track, a gloriously scenic wooden bridge with outstanding views to Aoraki Mount Cook and the surrounding mountains.
As we’d never seen pictures of this track we were not expecting the views at all and couldn’t believe our luck that we had such a gorgeous clear day to make the most of them.
The bridge is 150m long and takes you over Gillespies Lagoon, it’s incredibly picturesque and definitely a spot to linger.
You’ll then enter a lovely stretch of forest, it’s a gradual uphill climb, but it’s not too muddy at first so enjoy this bit!
Just 350m after leaving the bridge you’ll arrive at a junction for the Miners Tunnel and Galway Beach Tracks.
The Miners Tunnel is just a 100m (each way) diversion, so it’s well worth going to look at first. The 30m tunnel was used to provide an all tides access route for miners and now offers a lovely elevated view of the ocean.
It might have just been the time of day that we went (early afternoon) but the light was incredibly golden through the tunnel which gave it an almost ethereal feel.
Through the forest
After retracing your steps to the junction you’ll then head right towards Galway Beach.
Interestingly the sign says you have as far to go at this point as you did from the end of Gillespies Beach and that it will in fact take you longer to get there! Not sure which sign came first!
The path is a little more rustic with tree roots and stones, but it’s never steep or difficult. The forest is full of moss and ferns and although there is gravel in places, the path feels more natural than the more manicured tracks in the area.
The trade off is the mud.
There are only small patches at first but the further into the forest you go the more prolonged the encounters. Tie your boots as tight as you can because this is the full suction squelchy kind that will claim any boot that dares to be anything less than ironclad.
I should mention that we did this track in winter so it might be better in summer, but as this is the West Coast and it rains a lot, I can’t imagine it ever completely drying out.
Oftentimes there are logs you can use to navigate the longer sections and it’s only ankle deep so you don’t need to worry about Stewart Island style up to your knees mud baths or anything.
The final stretch to Galway Beach
Roughly 5.3km into the walk you’ll reach a stream crossing. At first it looks like you have to go through the water, but there’s actually a little path to the left that drops you down onto some rocks for an easy crossing.
The next few hundred metres are the muddiest with some sections I wish I’d had walking poles for, but all can be navigated with a bit of care.
You’ll soon pass the mud and the trail dries out a lot as you begin descending down towards the beach. You will come to two steep staircases which are referred to as ladders but aren’t really (in our opinion!).
After that there are a few rocks to climb over and you’ve made it onto Galway Beach. The beach is stony like Gillespies and has an even more remote feel. It’s a lovely spot, although there are of course the resident sandflies - luckily they are much less prevalent in winter!
You can then follow the beach to the left to get to the seal colony. If the tide isn’t too high it’s easy to walk along the sandy pebbles by the shore. If the waves are up you might end up needing to do some easy rock hopping.
We followed the beach for 600m looking for the seals and couldn’t find them, we’ve since worked out we probably stopped just short of where they should be as we measured it was 6.1km to Galway Beach, and the walk should have been 6.8km!
Ironically you are most likely to find them in numbers in winter when they have hauled out for the season, but smaller numbers can be found at other times of year too!
The signs all say this, but obviously don’t get too close to the seals as they can be quite aggressive - I remember this from being a little naive the first time I visited the seals at Kaikoura!
Nonetheless, we loved seeing this wild bit of the West Coast and couldn’t believe that we had the whole thing to ourselves. Seeing the seals would have been the icing on the cake, but that will have to be for another time!
Heading back
It was on the way back that I discovered there is such a thing as ‘mud legs’. We had been rather embarrassingly slow through the forest on the way to Galway Beach and picked up speed massively on the way back.
Turns out you get used to walking through the mud without slipping or getting stuck, and it felt so much easier second time round!
Although there is a small amount of uphill on the way back, it’s mainly flat or gently downhill, so it’s an easy finish.
All in all we really liked getting a little off the beaten track and were rewarded with some sensational mountain views, as well as the great beaches. If you also find the seals it will be a half day well spent -providing you are ok with the muddy bits!
If you’re looking for other great things to do in the Franz Josef area, we have you covered in this list.
Getting to the Galway Beach Track
The track begins at the Gillespies Beach car park. Much of the road is unsealed but it’s a good gravel road and doesn’t require any special clearance. It’s quite narrow and wouldn’t be suitable for towing vehicles.
Before turning onto the gravel road you will pass Peak Viewpoint which offers a superb view of Fox Glacier and doesn’t require any additional walking. The Galway Beach Track also works well combined with a trip to Lake Matheson.
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