Kahurangi National Park
Walk the 78km Heaphy Track
Established in 1996, Kahurangi is NZ's second largest national park. In places it is an untracked wilderness, elsewhere a wonderful network of tracks lets you explore wild rivers, high plateaux and alpine herbfields, and coastal forests. You’ll have to make an effort to get here. Motueka, Murchison, Karamea and Takaka are the gateways. Roads extend from these towns to the park; some require a little care and may be closed after snow or heavy rain.
The 78km Heaphy Track takes 4-6 days and is a hard hike that you’ll need to plan for. Mountain bikes are allowed between May & November. Access is from Golden Bay and you’ll end up at Karamea, at the northern end of the West Coast. This is one of the “Great Walks” - there are seven huts and nine campsites along the way, requiring bookings.