Old Ghost Road

In the gold-rush years dray roads ran up from Lyell and along the Mokihinui, and in 1886 a road was surveyed to join them, but the stretch between was never finished. A community trust found the survey line on old maps and, between 2007 and 2015, completed it as a trail - eighty-five kilometres from Lyell through beech forest, up onto open tussock tops above the bushline at around 1,300 metres, past the Skyline Ridge and Ghost Lake, then down the Mokihinui Gorge to Seddonville. It is the longest single-track trail in the country and is graded advanced: exposed sections with steep drops, a notorious set of switchback steps below Ghost Lake, and no exit points in the middle. Riders take two to three days, walkers four to five. Six huts along the route must be booked in advance and fill months ahead for the summer season.

History

During the West Coast gold rush of the early 1860s the town of Lyell was founded, with a dray road towards the Lyell Saddle, while another dray road ran along the Mōkihinui River, and in 1886 a road was surveyed to join them. In early 2007 Marion Boatwright was handed the original 1886 survey plan, he and Steve Stack tramped the route that July, and the name Old Ghost Road came from the idea of the never-built road as a ghost (Wikipedia, Old Ghost Road).

Highlights

• The tussock tops - open ridgeline at around 1,300 metres.
• Ghost Lake - the high point of the route, with a hut above it.
• The Mokihinui Gorge - the long descent to the coast.
• The old dray road - the 1886 survey line the trail follows.

When to go

November to April. Huts book out months ahead - reserve before planning anything else. Weather on the tops changes fast in any month.

Practical notes

Graded advanced: exposed drops, technical descents, and no bail-out points once committed. Not a beginner trail despite being called a cycle trail. Huts are basic and must be booked. Shuttles between the two ends need arranging separately.

Nearby

Westport and the Buller Gorge are at the ends; Reefton is south-east.

Key facts