In early July 2026 Luna and I headed up to the Mavora Valley to try and hike the Kiwiburn loop. It has been two years since I was hiking regularly and have become quite unfit over time. We knew that there was cold weather up those ways but never expected there to be this much snow!
After a 2 hour drive up from Invercargill we began to notice the fields turning white and snow settled on the road. I started to wonder whether my 2WD 2020 Qashqai would be capable to reaching the trailhead. As the valley turned whiter and whiter we saw the sign pointing to the carpark.
The field was covered in snow, so we parked up on the roadside and proceeded to trudge through about 5cm of fresh snow from the night before. The air had a chill to it that indicated it was definitely winter time in Southland!
Upon making it to the swing bridge, we crossed over into the green forests that line the edges of the conservation area. We turned left to try and make our way towards the hut. The trail was remarkably clear and mostly free of snow, however some of the stream crossings became a bit sketchy for Luna as shoes were beginning to get a bit old.
We built a bridge using old logs to help cross the water and continued over until our hands became too cold. We were under prepared, not expecting the temperature to be so cold. Shortly after we found an idyllic spot to have some lunch before proceeding to turn around. Although the trip was short, we enjoyed having a snowball fight and trudging back before heading off to have some nice hot Jimmy's pies from the Four Square in Lumsden.
