Hump Ridge 3 day walk

We had been looking around since about Feb 2019 to find a 3 day great walk to do. Unfortunately everything was booked up. We asked at an Isite in Te Anau if there was any alternative and the lady suggested the Hump Ridge Track on the south coast. Not quite a great walk but will soon become one.
Pete and Cathers had done it and said it could be fun so we signed up.
The Hump Ridge track cost just under $500 NZD for 2 people. This includes a bunk bed and porridge at 2 huts. We thought this was pretty steep, much like the first day.

Day 1 up 1000m along beach and up through forest.

Day 2 down back through forest to sea level.

Day 3 is relatively flat.

The downside to walking through forest, is that you do not really get any views at all. The forest does change as you climb / descend, but it does get a bit tedious without the view to break it up. It felt like very old forest at the top of day 1 with green old mans beard type moss hanging in the trees.
I had Harry Potter on audiobook so I was happy tracking along.
The best views were at the end of day 1 after about 7 hours walking. Even better views were a 30min summit walk above the lodge. We decided to do this on the morning of day 2 rather than the evening of day 1. Ended with some boil in a bag sausage and mash and some wine we had walked up.

After the summit on day 2 we started to make our way down the ridge. Unfortunately we were decending into clouds, so from the 1 lookout point and luncheon rock we saw nothing but white.
We descended to sea level, passing some impressive viaducts. Quite a few boggy bits of walk. Got to hut number 2 which was covered in Sandflies. So no sitting outside. We walked down the beach, but again got beaten back by hordes of sandflies.

Day 3 we stocked up on porridge and set off. Got to a beach and saw some surfing dolphins which was cool. About 13km into the 21km walk you start retracing your steps. The last 5km started to get hard work with the feet hurting. We got some heavy rain for the last 30min, luckily mostly under trees apart from the last 5 min dash back the car.

Overall a reasonably good walk, but for the price you pay and the views, not sure it was worth it. But we did only have 5 other people staying in our hut, so there was plenty of space. I guess the price deters the tourists. If you love forests, this is the place for you. If you are looking for epic views, probably try other places in NZ.

Drove back to Wanaka and zonked out for the evening.Read more