Heaphy Track
Here's the full story...!
We had an early start on Friday morning (5:30am departure!) - four of us set off for Collingwood. Marcel, Patrick, Johan and I (German, Irish, Swedish, Scottish – nice variety!) headed for the Eastern end of the Heaphy Track, and began walking around 1:30pm.
We were aiming to reach Saxon Hut for the first night, which meant covering 30km that afternoon, but it was an easy track so we were walking pretty quickly. The sun was shining (bonus – we were expecting dodgy weather) and the first hour or so was pretty interesting beneath the bushline. To be honest, the rest of the day disappointed me a bit – I felt like we were stuck in the bush, chasing the sun all day and when we did get out in the open (around the Gouland Downs area) it was kind of plain. Not to sound depreciative of the scenery, but for a Great Walk it didn’t quite meet our expectations. From Gouland Downs Hut on we were walking with head torches in the dark which was good fun, I found myself really noticing the night sounds! We were all more than ready to reach Saxon Hut, for a well-earned dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Day 2 – we set off around 9am, again with blue skies and sunshine – I seem to be more than lucky with the weekend weather (touch wood) for my trips at the moment! Shorts and t-shirt in winter and not cold, I’m happy with that.
After meeting Joe and Lachlan at the James Mackay Hut (the crazy pair who we swapped car keys with – they were doing all 82km in a one-day mission having started at 4:45am Saturday morning!), the track got much more interesting. We were above the bushline more, and could see towards the Heaphy river mouth, leading out to the Tasman Sea. There was an interesting variety of vegetation, river valleys, cliffs and tropical looking trees, making the track far more impressive as it went from East to West.
We had lunch at Lewis Hut – a great spot by the river with the sun shining, except for the sandflies – they might be the most annoying creatures…EVER.
We reached Heaphy Hut late afternoon, having covered 35.5km that day. It is set in a beautiful location beside the beach at the Heaphy River mouth. We watched the sun set over the water, with driftwood lining the beach and palm trees surrounding the hut – the second half of the track is definitely worth “Great Walk” status!
I was relieved that the others were up for the bottle of wine the second night, because carrying it out again would have been a bit pointless (I wouldn’t have let that happen!) Dinner was also more of a success (sorry guys, I really wasn’t impressed with my effort the night before although I don’t think anyone else cared).
We set off at 9am Sunday morning to walk out the West end of the track – this section continued to impress us as we followed the beach all the way. The track wound in and out of trees, crossing several beaches and following the coastline right to the Karamea car park.
Apart from a slightly disappointing day one, the track got better and better as it went on, and it made for a very enjoyable tramp. We found the only petrol station available for miles around in Karamea, which was just as well because we certainly weren’t going far otherwise, and then met the boys in Springs Junction to swap back cars. It was nice to have power steering back and leave the jerky Mazda behind, but it made me realise I really miss having a manual car. All in all, another great trip with incredibly lucky weather once again – long may it continue!
The overview...
Leaving Christchurch on Friday evening and back by Sunday night - with an 82km walk along the Heaphy Track in between! It was a great weekend with nice weather and the track got better and better as we headed from East to West. The first day the trail lead through bush - interesting vegetation but a bit too closed in. Day 2 and the views were superb by the river and in the valley areas, towards the tropical location of Heaphy Hut, with palm trees by the beach. The last section of the track follows the coastline back to Karamea with beautiful white sandy beaches and rocky outcrops. We swapped cars with another couple of guys who went the other direction, definitely a good option saving over 600km of driving at the end of all that walking!
We had an early start on Friday morning (5:30am departure!) - four of us set off for Collingwood. Marcel, Patrick, Johan and I (German, Irish, Swedish, Scottish – nice variety!) headed for the Eastern end of the Heaphy Track, and began walking around 1:30pm.
We were aiming to reach Saxon Hut for the first night, which meant covering 30km that afternoon, but it was an easy track so we were walking pretty quickly. The sun was shining (bonus – we were expecting dodgy weather) and the first hour or so was pretty interesting beneath the bushline. To be honest, the rest of the day disappointed me a bit – I felt like we were stuck in the bush, chasing the sun all day and when we did get out in the open (around the Gouland Downs area) it was kind of plain. Not to sound depreciative of the scenery, but for a Great Walk it didn’t quite meet our expectations. From Gouland Downs Hut on we were walking with head torches in the dark which was good fun, I found myself really noticing the night sounds! We were all more than ready to reach Saxon Hut, for a well-earned dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Day 2 – we set off around 9am, again with blue skies and sunshine – I seem to be more than lucky with the weekend weather (touch wood) for my trips at the moment! Shorts and t-shirt in winter and not cold, I’m happy with that.
After meeting Joe and Lachlan at the James Mackay Hut (the crazy pair who we swapped car keys with – they were doing all 82km in a one-day mission having started at 4:45am Saturday morning!), the track got much more interesting. We were above the bushline more, and could see towards the Heaphy river mouth, leading out to the Tasman Sea. There was an interesting variety of vegetation, river valleys, cliffs and tropical looking trees, making the track far more impressive as it went from East to West.
We had lunch at Lewis Hut – a great spot by the river with the sun shining, except for the sandflies – they might be the most annoying creatures…EVER.
We reached Heaphy Hut late afternoon, having covered 35.5km that day. It is set in a beautiful location beside the beach at the Heaphy River mouth. We watched the sun set over the water, with driftwood lining the beach and palm trees surrounding the hut – the second half of the track is definitely worth “Great Walk” status!
I was relieved that the others were up for the bottle of wine the second night, because carrying it out again would have been a bit pointless (I wouldn’t have let that happen!) Dinner was also more of a success (sorry guys, I really wasn’t impressed with my effort the night before although I don’t think anyone else cared).
We set off at 9am Sunday morning to walk out the West end of the track – this section continued to impress us as we followed the beach all the way. The track wound in and out of trees, crossing several beaches and following the coastline right to the Karamea car park.
Apart from a slightly disappointing day one, the track got better and better as it went on, and it made for a very enjoyable tramp. We found the only petrol station available for miles around in Karamea, which was just as well because we certainly weren’t going far otherwise, and then met the boys in Springs Junction to swap back cars. It was nice to have power steering back and leave the jerky Mazda behind, but it made me realise I really miss having a manual car. All in all, another great trip with incredibly lucky weather once again – long may it continue!
The overview...
Leaving Christchurch on Friday evening and back by Sunday night - with an 82km walk along the Heaphy Track in between! It was a great weekend with nice weather and the track got better and better as we headed from East to West. The first day the trail lead through bush - interesting vegetation but a bit too closed in. Day 2 and the views were superb by the river and in the valley areas, towards the tropical location of Heaphy Hut, with palm trees by the beach. The last section of the track follows the coastline back to Karamea with beautiful white sandy beaches and rocky outcrops. We swapped cars with another couple of guys who went the other direction, definitely a good option saving over 600km of driving at the end of all that walking!
posted by Mhairi
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home