New Zealand’s tracks less-travelled

Aug 3, 2010 5:50:35 AM

Mike McDermott
Lonely Planet Author

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The Milford Track gets all the press – and consequently has the most expensive licence – but there other wondrous ways through New Zealand’s wilderness.

View from the Hollyford Track

The Hollyford Track takes you through beech forest into the true Deep South of New Zealand and onto the West Coast beaches, remote and wild. It was one of my first tramps I took with my Dad, so it’s special to me. I had new boots and didn’t load my pack correctly so I got blisters all over my feet. But the smell of the beech forests, the untamed West Coast beaches and the amazing clear air of the Deep South – it’s got to be the best in the world – made it all worthwhile.

Walking along the Hollyford Track

I also loved doing the Abel Tasman at the tip of the South Island, which is easier then the Hollyford. There are plenty of good huts, the beaches are wonderful, and the walking isn’t hard. Walking the Abel Tasman is an incredibly popular experience, but for a bit of an alternative spin, you can also kayak alongside the route of the track as the sea is generally calm all year long.

1500-year-old rimu tree on the Hollyford Track

In New Zealand we call it tramping rather than hiking, and most New Zealanders do it by themselves rather than going on guided tramps. However, on the Hollyford it pays to go guided as it’s a hard tramp and you need to organise getting to it and out again. Or you can do as I did and go with someone who knows about tramping. The Abel Tasman’s a very accessible hike: if you have a reasonable fitness level you’ll be fine.

On the Hollyford Track

The best time of the year to go tramping is in late spring and summer – that way you’ll avoid the worst of the rain and mud (some parts of the Hollyford can get bogged down in winter) and you’ll be able to swim the beaches along the Abel Tasman (the West Coast beaches along the Hollyford, however, are pretty wild and woolly even in summer!).

Hollyford Track practicalities

This dramatic track starts in the midst of lowland forest, crossing mountain streams and passing pretty waterfalls as it follows the broad Hollyford River valley all the way to the sea at Martins Bay. The Tasman coast makes a satisfying end point, with dolphins, seals and penguins often greeting hikers on their arrival. However, it does mean backtracking another four days back to your start point unless you take one of the sneaky shortcut options.

The 56km track is graded as a moderate hike, but involves some creek crossings and suffers frequent flash floods that can leave trekkers waiting it out en-route for several days until the trail becomes passable. The trickiest part of the route is the ominously named Demon Trail (10km) alongside Lake McKerrow. It’s imperative that you check with DOC in Te Anau for the latest track and weather conditions and for detailed maps.

Getting there and back

TrackNet has shuttles between the Hollyford Rd turn-off and Te Anau ($47, one hour) and Queenstown ($87, 3¾ hours). Options for reducing the length of the there-and-back journey include hitching a jetboat ride south with Hollyford Track Guided Walks for the length of Lake McKerrow; book in advance. A more-luxurious, three-day guided walk ($1655) includes fancy accommodation, jetboat trips in both directions along Lake McKerrow and a flight back to Milford Sound from the coastal finish line at Martins Bay.

You can also arrange a flight between Martins Bay and civilisation with Air Fiordland (to Milford/Te Anau $580/1160) for up to four people (price is per flight, so you can share the cost). Hollyford Track Guided Walks sometimes has empty seats when it flies from Milford Sound to pick up its walkers at Martins Bay, and can drop you at Martins Bay by plane ($135) or helicopter ($185). Booking these services is essential.

There’s more information about Hollyford Track – and nearby Milford Track as well – in Lonely Planet’s guide to New Zealand’s South Island.

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Comments

21 August 2009 10:57AM annebe Report this comment
If you want some more off-the-beaten track hikes then investigate the Tekapo Trek in the newly created Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park, which takes in the Two Thumb Range, on the eastern side of Lake Tekapo. Gives great views of the Southern Alps, including Aoraki Mount Cook, and out over the Mackenzie Basin. You can still do it in winter too - on snowshoes - or nordic skis. This hike is diiferent from all the ones mentioned above, because it is alpine - with wide open views all the way - and there's no "footpath".
21 August 2009 11:04AM annebe Report this comment
Here's a suggestion for anybody who has done all or most of the tracks listed above and is looking for something really challenging. Do the Ball Pass Crossing in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. You hike from the Tasman Glacier, up the Ball Ridge - straight opposite the awesome Caroline Face of Mt Cook, over Ball Pass and back down the Hooker Valley. It's actually beginner mountaineering, and you need crampons and ice-axe, but fine if you go with a guide.
3 September 2009 10:35PM mtber53 Report this comment
Mueller hut is a two day trek from Mt Cook village to Mueller hut and return. Brings you deep into the Southern Alps. Gives breath taking views of Mt Cook and the surrounding peaks at sunrise/sunset and is relatively unknown.
8 August 2010 9:36AM jimtokyo Report this comment
Don't think you have to travel to the South Island to experience stunning scenery and to feel lie you have the New Zealand forest all to yourself. Head to Lake Waikaremoana in Urewera National Park, which is inland from Hawke's Bay / Gisborne / Rotorua (google 'Waikaremoana'). Urewera National Park has stunning walks from 1/2 hour through to many days. The walk that is a must is the 3 day hike around lake Waikaremoana. You heard it here first!