Heaphy and West Coast

The Heaphy Track starts out of Collingwood in Golden Bay and heads up and over Perry Saddle, which is the watershed divide, with everything beyond flowing to the West Coast and the Tasman Sea. I spent the first night at Perry Saddle Hut. The next day, I experienced the tussocks landscape for the first time - red/orange/yellow streaked native bunchgrasses stretching out over the horizon. Beautiful and reminded me of western Colorado a bit. In between the expanses of the tussocks, there were pockets of trees, where upon entering, you feel as though you've stumbled back a few million years. Ancient-looking ferns, mosses, "podocarp" forests - dinasaurs wouldn't be out of place here.

Platform walkway leading to a swing bridge crossing one of the streams along the Heaphy Track.

After traversing the tussocks, a long day at 27 km, I spent the night at James MacKay hut, which is on a ridge that looks down at the Heaphy River watershed, including the mouth of the river where it meets the Tasman Sea. That would be the last night - Heaphy hut at the mouth of the river. But at Mackay, a huge storm blew in in the evening and stayed for much of the night. Perfect timing! After living in western CO, I expect storms to last about five minutes, but indeed, which was not the case here. It just kept going and going. Actually I had trouble falling asleep with all the ruckus - imagine that! The next day dawned misty and threatened of more rain, but it never materialized. But it was absolutely gorgeous walking through native forests softly draped in mist.

The West Coast near the Heaphy River outlet. The brown water at the foreground is from the heavily tannined freshwater before it is integrated into the sea.

Spectacularly rugged and remote, this section of the West Coast.

Eventually the Heaphy was completed, with the last day being one of my favorites for scenery. The track just follows the coast til the Kohaihai Shelter. I got picked up by shuttle and spent the night in Westport, which wasn't much to write home about. Then I made my way by bus down the coast to Fox Glacier.

Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki.

Mt. Tasman in the evening light.

Mt. Tasman and Mt. Cook (right), the latter the tallest peak in NZ. "Cloud Piercer", I think it's called, for good reason. The village of Fox Glacier in the foreground. I was walking back towards "town" after walking to Lake Matheson.