New Zealand Paparoa Track

Punakaiki · New Zealand

Moderate3 daysOceania~£350 est.

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Overview

New Zealand's newest Great Walk, opened in 2019, was built as a living memorial to the 29 men killed in the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster, and it feels different from the classics: a purpose-built 55-kilometre benched trail that climbs from the Blackball side through rainforest to spend a full day riding the crest of the Paparoa Range. From Moonlight Tops and Pororari Hut you look west over rank after rank of limestone escarpments to the Tasman Sea; the descent drops into the Pororari River gorge, all nikau palms and hundred-metre karst walls, to finish at Punakaiki near the Pancake Rocks. It is also the only Great Walk designed from the outset for shared use: trampers take three days, mountain bikers ride it in two, and the huts (book through DOC well ahead) mix both tribes over the evening brew. The variable that catches people is the weather switch. The tops are utterly exposed, and a westerly front turns the ridgeline day into horizontal rain, so build in a spare day. About £350 covers hut fees, shuttles and a night either side in Greymouth or Punakaiki; November to March is the reliable season.