Highlights:

• Panoramas atop Paparoa Ranges

• Spectacular Pororari River Gorge

• Limestone landscapes and rock formations

• Pristine rainforest and abundant birdlife

Brief:

⏱ Duration: 3-4 Days
🗺 Distance: 55 km
⛰ Difficulty: Moderate
🗓 Best Time: Sept-May
🛏 Accomm: DOC Huts

Walk Overview

It is always exciting when a purpose built multi-day walk is created with walkers’ needs in mind. The Paparoa Track is the newest tenth addition to New Zealand’s collection of Great Walks. It is set within the Paparoa National Park located on the South Island’s rugged and remote west coast.

The park covers 38,000 hectares and offers a genuine wilderness experience. The track has been designed as a shared use path for walkers and mountain bike riders. As such, the trail is well formed and clearly signposted. Track accommodation is provided in recently constructed Department of Conservation (“DOC”) huts, which must be booked in advance. Each hut contains bunks, mattresses, heating, gas cooktops, toilets and water supply. A DOC ranger is on site during peak seasons.

The track traverses the stunning granite Paparoa Range which affords magnificent views of the Tasman Sea, the Southern Alps, Grey River and Punakaiki River. The sunset views from the aptly named Moonlight Tops Hut are renowned for their beauty and the clear skies make for spectacular stargazing. Limestone underlies most of the park and is responsible for the area’s remarkable landscapes including the towering Pororari River Gorge cliffs and the Lone Hand rock formation. The latter sections of the track involve descending through a series of large scenic river valleys.

Pristine, lush and everchanging vegetation is another highlight of this walk. Near the coast, glades of exotic nikau palms add a subtropical feel to the track. Further inland, there is a wonderful mix of ancient beech forests, moss encrusted podocarp trees and gigantic rim trees. Not surprisingly, all this greenery attracts abundant birdlife and is a haven for birds unique to New Zealand such as the great spotted kiwi, the native owl, the bellbird and the blue duck. Hence, walkers are accompanied by an orchestra of birdsong.

The track starts near Blackball and finishes on the Tasman Sea coastline at Punakaiki (well-known for its pancake stack rock formations). The first 20 kilometres of the walk incorporates the historic Croesus Track which features relics of the 1860s gold mining settlement in the area. It is also planned that the Paparoa Track will ultimately connect to a new 10 kilometre memorial trail leading to the site of the Pike River coal mine tragedy which claimed the lives of 29 miners in 2010 (the Pike29 Memorial Track).

We can help you book a walking holiday along the magnificent Paparoa Track. It is important to note that this track needs to be booked in advance as accommodation in the National Park DOC huts is limited. We can also assist with comprehensive advice on the walk, transport, accommodation and travel insurance.