Heaps of Heaphy

(steve)
We just got back from completing the Heaphy Track, an 84 km walk through the hills to the wild, Tasman sea on the west coast of the North Island. The trip took 5 days with 4 nights in the fabulous DOC hut system (seen in a previous photo). This time we left the sleeping pads and water filter behind to lighten the packs. The trip started off with a medium-long bus ride through the hills that included two creek fords (in the bus!) before dumping us out. Once there we found out that there wasn't any treated water. Oops. Oh well, all the locals drink the water and come out all right. We took the chance that the rain water supply at the huts was good enough (so far no nasty trips to the toilet).

The trail took us through a variety of climates from mountainous to tussock to tropical to coastal palms in a relatively short span. The first night we had our initiation with a local bird called a weka. About the size of a chicken, these crafty birds (generally non-flying) walk around and steal anything that they can, especially brightly colored objects common to most backpacks. We had a family of 5 that lived under the hut check out our stuff within the first 10 minutes of our arrival. That first night we heard the gentle screech of a Kiwi (the bird this time) at about 2 am. The hut warden said that it took him six months to actually see the bird, so we didn't have high hopes.


The next three days were spent walking through the bush (that still sounds dirty) looking out over spectacular views at the surrounding hills, headed towards the coast. The bedrock of the region is weathered limestone so we even found time to do some mini-cave explorations along the track. And what cave would be complete without cave wetas? One resource not lacking on the west coast of South Island is water. There are creeks, streams, and rivers everywhere (most were brown from the tannins in the leaves, but looked exactly like rivers of beer!). Funny thing about lots of creeks with no visible snow or lakes is that is comes from rain. Days 2 and 3 allowed us to field test our rain gear. Karen found out her jacket is water "resistant" as opposed to "proof." Makes all the difference after a 6 hour dousing. At least the huts are equiped with stoves to warm up and dry out. I got to make my first coal fire that night (with a little help from some camp fuel). Along the way we met a nice Swiss couple that ended up walking with us for almost the rest of the hike.


The most stunning part of the walk was the last day along the Tasman Sea. We left the hut (situated on a little hill overlooking the ocean) and continued along the beach the entire day. The Tasman Sea is absolutely amazing and very different from the ocean seen in previous photos, more grey and less inviting. The land was much more rugged (similar to the background in King Kong). The sound of the surf can be heard a half mile from shore. There were continual lines of large breakers that were mesmerizing. We finished the walk and took a little bus to Karamea to clean up. After 5 days the non-rain shower felt pretty good.



We spent the rest of the day in Karamea (population 650) resting. The biggest drama came when I left our nice new camera on the bus (really just a mini-van). After realizing this I frantically tried calling the bus company for the rest of the night. My only response came from the hotel desk manager who said, "it'll turn up." Not encouraging. Salvation came when the very same bus driver showed up the next morning to take us on the next leg. A short stop in the bus depot and I was saved. We were the only passengers on the bus that day. Moral of story: I'm not allowed to carry the camera any more.

In the end, the Heaphy was a much more "camping" type of hike that showed this country is full of great sites and plenty to see. We are continually amazed at the variety of scenery and can't wait to keep moving to see what is next.

(The full range of photos are on the flickr website in the Heaphy Track folder. Just click on one of the photos to access the website. Cheers!)