Heaphy Track

Highest point on the Heaphy at 915 meters

The river mouth from a distance

Travelling nearly 80 kilometers west and south through the Kahurangi National Park, the Heaphy Track is the longest Great Walk in New Zealand. Each day on the Heaphy is unique, and the scenery shifted so completely that the large distances passed with little effort. We knocked out most of the climbing on the first day, slowly gaining about 850 meters through forested hillside, measuring our height against the surrounding mountains. We spent the night at the Perry Saddle campsite, where the saddle channelled the evening's rain clouds directly into us. (There was plenty of rain during our five days on the Heaphy, most of it horizontal, but the fun was that it never fell from above, we were literally inside the storm clouds.) The following day we passed through the gorgeous tussock downs, crossing a series of frightening cable bridges (maximum capacity one!). Just off the trail we found a series of limestone caves, the largest of which had a large waterfall pouring out of it. We bathed and played in the chilly falls and pool- the most fun we've had tramping so far.

Day three was completely washed out. Thankfully it was our shortest day. Visibility was poor and we had to leap across a few flooding streams before finding the James Mackay hut, which we paid a fee to spend the night in. The fireplace in the hut was going when we arrived, and to raise our spirits we made some tea with powdered milk and sugar (it is the civilized way to tramp). We woke up early the next morning to improved weather for our longest day's hike. We gradually descended towards the sound of the rushing Heaphy River, which we followed until it connected with the west coast of the South Island. It was exciting to turn the final corner and see the incoming tide of the coast halt the flow of the river - the mix of fresh and salt water provided plenty of action. Here was the Heaphy campsite, where he spent our final night with some murderous sandflies. The final day was an easy and gorgeous walk, travelling 16 km south down the west coast. Following the track we had a sub-tropical jungle, full of nikau palms, to our left, and the pounding waves and fearsome currents of the west coast to our right. (Or, if we closed our eyes, we could hear the steady roar of millions of insects to one side and the immense waves on the other!). The waves appeared to be travelling in every possible direction, and as we were warned, it did not appear safe to swim. We landed at Kohaihai at 1pm and then caught a shuttle to the nearest town, Karamea.

I failed to mention the wildlife we saw on Cape Reinga and Abel Tasman, so I'll return there now. As advertised, the birds dominate New Zealand. The songbirds sing their unpredictable songs as we walk through the forest and jungle, and they help to ease us asleep and wake us in the morning. We've encountered a number of curious flightless birds, who have thrived (until recently) in New Zealand thanks to the complete lack of land predators. We've seen goofy swamp hens dance around each other, flightless turkeys run across our path, and wekas investigate our tent. At night on the Heaphy we were thrilled to hear the loud trill of the nocturnal kiwi, though we haven't spotted one yet. Fantails, wood pigeons, and tuis are other exotic birds we've come across. Beyond the birds, we saw two New Zealand fur seal colonies on Abel Tasman, and before retiring to our tent on Cape Reinga I was stunned to see a boar (!) rush down a hill just in front of us with some great purpose. The next morning we saw a family of hoof prints on the beach...

This week we travel to the far south of Fiordland National Park, where we walk the Milford, Kepler, and Routeburn tracks. My interest in all of these walks began with a travel documentary I caught on the Milford in 2007. In less happy news, my new camera died on the track. Two nights later, like many bereaved widowers, my Kindle gave up on its own life. It was not the moisture.