Hump Ridge Track

The Humpridge track is the newest of the NZ " great walks" and slightly different from the standard DOC organised ones- better huts, better accomodation options - and more expensive. However it is managed privately so you avoid the Glastonbury- like rush to nail your hike the day bookings become available. Which is probably why we ended up here inthe furthest south westerly part of habitated main land NewZealand.
And worth the significant drive it was. The hike ( "tramp" in kiwi-speak) is a fantastic mix of wild beaches, primeval forest and lofty mountains. It's a fairly long yomp- 20k on each of 3 days, with 1000m ascent on day one- but this means you feel like you're getting deep into the heart of nowhere. Day 1 ended up clouding in, so we had no views from the hut on arrival, but the warped forest draped in moss and lichens in the quiet clag was almost a spiritual experience.
Day 2 we woke to clear blue skies and a the sun rising across the bay. No wind alllowed the first half of day 2 to be a delight - in and out of the tree line . A feature of this hike , rightly or wrongly , is the interminable boardwalk and wooden cut steps. A little sanitised but it meant there was little chance of muddy shoes despite being in the back of nowhere where annual rainfall might be 7m!
The boardwalk took us back down to sea level where we then followed an old logging track over some impressive timber viaducts to our overnight amongst the fascinating mechanical debris of a old logging settlement. We then had the full kiwi naturalist experience of keas, swimming with hectors dolphins tempered by omnipresent sandflies....
Day 3 was a long flat walk out through forest alive with birdsong and along beaches, leaving us wanting more.Read more