But there is one track I’ve been wanting to do forever, the Heaphy Track. New Zealand has ten Great Walks, including the Heaphy, and I’ve basically done them all, some even a few times. Great Walks have better infrastructure than our normal backcountry tramps – they also come with bigger price tags and book out fast. Bigger, fancier huts with wardens. Some even have flushing toilets (!!!). Wide and better-maintained trails, and for some of them, you can choose guided options.
While kiwis pride themselves on being tough and cheap when it comes to tramping (no arguing), there is something great about easier tracks. I’ve done my fair share of slogging through frigid rivers, climbing tree roots and scrambling up dodgy rocks, and even walking in knee-deep mud (f*ck that). I’m pretty sure the motto here is, “Why build a nice switchback trail when you can just climb straight up the mountain?”
But I’m gonna be honest: I love a chance NOT to use my hands when tramping, hanging on for dear life, and praying to whatever god is out there that torture ends soon. I really don’t care about being hardcore.
- I drove from Wanaka to Westport in a day and stayed in a motel that night
- The next morning, I drove north, and I dropped a bag of clean clothes and toiletries at the tiny airport in Karamea
- Then I drove 15 minutes to the start of the track on the West Coast side
- I parked my car at the Kōhaihai campsite, which is where the track begins
- Over the next four days, I walked the Heaphy Track
- I stayed in these huts in order:
- Day 1 – Heaphy Hut
- Day 2 – James Mackay Hut
- Day 3 – Perry Saddle Hut
- I met the Golden Bay Air car shuttle pick-up at the end of the track at Brown Hut to head to Takaka airport
- I grabbed my hire car and my other bag from the Takaka airport
- I stayed in Takaka for three nights to explore Golden Bay
- I returned to the Takaka airport to return the hire car and catch my short flight back to the Karamea airport
- Then, the shuttle brought us back to the start of the track at Kōhaihai, where I left my car
- Then drove back to Wanaka
**This looks like a lot, but basically, when you book with Golden Bay Air, they cover all of these services, so the process is streamlined, and the timings all line up, so you don’t have to wait around. And for those of you reading from overseas, the Karamea and Takaka airports are tiny, the size of a room; they’re more like an airstrip, not for larger commercial jets. There’s no queuing or anything.
