Heaphy Track

The Heaphy is the longest of the Great Walks at about seventy-eight kilometres, and its appeal is how much the landscape changes along it: a climb from Golden Bay beech forest onto the Gouland Downs, a stretch of open red tussock tableland scattered with limestone arches and caves, then a long descent through forest to the Heaphy River and out along a West Coast shore lined with nikau palms and pounded by surf. Great spotted kiwi call at night on the downs, and the coastal section has a subtropical look that is startling at that latitude. It is also one of two Great Walks open to mountain bikes - the Paparoa is the other - and here only outside the main walking season, from 1 May to 30 September. The catch is logistics: the road distance between the two ends is around 460 kilometres, so most people fly, use a shuttle service or arrange a car relocation. Huts must be booked and the coastal sandflies are notorious.

History

Māori settled along the lower Heaphy River as early as the 14th century, and in 1846 Charles Heaphy, Thomas Brunner and their guide Kehu explored the coastal section. A gold miner named Aldrige made the first recorded crossing roughly along today's route in 1859, and after gold was found at Karamea in 1861 James Mackay and John and Arthur Knyvett cut a rough track that December (Wikipedia, Heaphy Track).

Highlights

• The Gouland Downs - red tussock tableland with limestone arches.
• The nikau coast - palm-lined West Coast surf on the final day.
• Great spotted kiwi - calling at night on the downs.
• The bike season - open to mountain bikes in winter, one of two Great Walks that allow them.

When to go

November to April for walking; May to September for biking. Book huts well ahead. Sort the end-to-end transport before anything else - it is the hard part.

Things to know

The two ends are 460 km apart by road, so transport costs real money and planning. Sandflies on the coastal section are severe. The downs are exposed and weather changes fast. Rivers can rise.

Nearby

Collingwood and Golden Bay are at the eastern end; Karamea and the Oparara Arches at the western.

Key facts