My third big sidetrip off Te Araroa was to do the Heaphy and Abel Tasman Tracks
I left Te Araroa at St Arnaud and hitched out to Kawatiri Junction - there is a small DOC campsite there you can stay. Next morning I got picked up by The Heaphy Bus track transport which took me to the start of the Heaphy. In retrospect I probably could have hitched - would certainly be easy to hitch to Westport and then take the Heaphy bus from there or chance hitching all the way.
Originally I had planned to stay in Karamea for the night but the Heaphy Bus stopped in Westport for half an hour so I resupplied there.
The Heaphy track started for me at Kohaihai Shelter (most people do it the other direction) but if you are going to do Heaphy then Abel Tasman aiming to end up in Nelson to resupply before going back on Te Araroa this is the way to go
There is a DOC camp there with some great camping sites right on the beach - well worth a day off if the weather is good!
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| Sunset at Kohaihai beach |
Day 1 January 22nd 2018 Kohaihai Shelter to Heaphy Hut 16km
Easy tramping as on all the Great Walks - weather not too special but great track with rain forest one side and the beach on the other.
The camp was very nice too - short walk down to the beach to enjoy a great sunset...
Day 2 January 23rd 2018 Kohaihai Heaphy Hut to James MacKay Hut 21 km
Day 3 January 24th Kohaihai James MacKay Hut to Perry Saddle Hut 24km
A more open tramp today with better views - if your boots are shot hang then on the famous pole!
Day 4 January 25th 2018 Kohaihai Perry Saddle Hut to Brown Hut 17km
It was easy walking today 4 hours through the forest mainly downhill. So that was the Heaphy - there is a lot of bushwalking on this track - days 2-3 especially - by that I mean no views - so if you are a big panoramic view addict like me then possibly you might be a little disappointed.
Heaphy could be done in 3 days as it's only 82km and the tracks are well maintained
Brown Hut really is in the middle of nowhere and would be pretty difficult to hitch out of so track transport is a good idea. I got transport to Takaka - stayed the night at Annie's Place backpackers which was a nice place.There is a big Freshchoice supermarket to resupply in before tackling Abel Tasman
I had a great weather window for Abel Tasman - again I did it opposite to most - Wainui to Marahau. I hitched out from Takaka to Wainui Bay - hot weather and a lot of great beaches meant progress was slow.
One thing to look at when you are booking Abel Tasman is the tides and where you intend to spend the night - I got caught out by booking Awaroa campsite and then finding the window for crossing the estuary at low tide was between 9 and 11pm! ie when it was dark!! Not the best planning. What I did was free camped at Goat Bay (sorry DOC but I left no trace I swear) and crossed the estuary the next day. So check the tides when you make your booking - not the day before you set off!
The other thing I would have done different was to research campsites a little better - there are a lot on Abel Tasman - some very small in great spots which would have been better than the busy big ones. There is no possibility of free camping here as the 500m from the track rule doesn't apply. Plus DOC staff can check your booking even if you are not in a camp - happened to me when I was sitting having a break near a hut!
Anyway Goat Bay was a great spot to camp as you can see...
Abel Tasman was definitely very busy compared to the other Great Walks - plus I was doing it on a good weather weekend which probably makes a difference too. I got round this by getting up at dawn - catching the sunrise then tramping for 3-4 hours. There's hardly anyone on the track at that point - all sleeping in or having breakfast! Then I just lazed around on the beaches until about 3-4pm and did another 3 hours tramping. Again hardly anyone on the track in late afternoon/early evening... Also had the advantage of being cooler although I was surprised to find that there is a lot of shade on AT
In addition I did the track Wainui to Marahau - I'm sure that helped in making it feel quieter for me. I'm sure you could do the AT in 2 days if you pushed it but it would limit the time for lazing around on the beautiful beaches - take my advice do 3 minimum - 4 if the weather is good!
Day 6 January 27th 2018 Goat Bay to Torrent Bay 18km
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| Have a pit stop for a cold beer at Awaroa Lodge - they have a nice outdoor chillout space! After the TA a beer in the middle of a tramp was quite a novelty!! |
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| Some massive crickets around - the collective sound is deafening! |
Day 7 January 28th 2018 Goat Bay to Marahau 22km
I then hitched out from Marahau to Nelson which was pretty easy - I was due to have a couple of nights in Nelson to relax and resupply but it turned into 5 as the tail end of a cyclone whipped through the South Island which would have made tramping in the Richmond Range a bit unpleasant. Still worse places to be stuck than NZ's craft beer capital! :-)
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| Nelson from the beach - Abel Tasman surveys it all.... |
