Heaphy Track hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Heaphy Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks and one of the most varied. It crosses Kahurangi National Park in the north-west of the South Island, from Brown Hut in the Aorere valley of Golden Bay to Kōhaihai near Karamea on the West Coast. DOC gives it as 78.4 km one way, and most walkers take 4 to 6 days. It climbs through beech forest to the red-tussock Gouland Downs, follows the Heaphy valley to the Tasman Sea and ends on a coast of nīkau palms and surf. You sleep in six bookable DOC huts or at nine Great Walk campsites, and you carry all your food.

The route

From the car park at the end of Aorere Valley Road the track climbs steadily on an old bridle route, past Aorere Shelter, to Flanagans Corner (915 m, the highest point) and Perry Saddle Hut. Next come the open Gouland Downs, with limestone outcrops, caves and tussock, the small historic Gouland Downs Hut and Saxon Hut. The track then rounds Mackay Downs to James Mackay Hut, where on a clear evening you see the Heaphy River mouth 15 km away and 750 m below. A long day leads down through forest to Lewis Shelter, over the new Heaphy and Lewis river bridges and past giant rātā trees to Heaphy Hut at the river mouth. The last day follows the coast south through nīkau groves to Scotts Beach and Kōhaihai.

This guide follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap, Brown Hut to Kōhaihai, the direction most walkers use, and splits it into 6 stages, about 12.2 km each: the six DOC sections from hut to hut. You can walk the track in either direction.

Highlights

• Flanagans Corner: the highest point, with views over the Aorere valley
• Gouland Downs: open tussock downs with limestone caves; listen for great spotted kiwi (roroa) at night
• James Mackay Hut: sunset over the distant Heaphy River mouth and the Tasman Sea
• The Heaphy valley: some of the largest rātā trees in New Zealand, and the new Heaphy River swing bridge
• The Heaphy coast: nīkau palms, wild surf and the churning Heaphy River mouth
• Ōparara Arch: a limestone arch off the road between Kōhaihai and Karamea

When to walk the Heaphy Track

The track is open all year, and the huts and campsites must be booked all year. October to April is the main season, with the longest days and the highest fees. Hut fees drop from May, and mountain bikers share the track from May to November. Winter is quieter and cheaper, but days are short, storms damage the track more often, and some transport and accommodation businesses close. Expect rain in any month: the area gets over 4,000 mm a year.

How many days do you need?

The six hut-to-hut sections take 1.5 to 6 hours each. A common plan is 5 days: Brown Hut to Perry Saddle, then on to Saxon, James Mackay, Heaphy Hut and Kōhaihai. Fit walkers manage 4 days by joining sections; slower walkers can take all six. Many people sleep at Brown Hut the night before. Keep a spare day for floods.

Permits and booking

Park entry is free, but every night on the track must be booked through the DOC Great Walks booking system, all year round. Without a booking you may be charged a penalty or turned away. Summer huts fill months ahead. In 2026/27 huts cost NZ$44 a night for New Zealand adults and NZ$66 for international adults from 1 October to 30 April, and less from May to September. Great Walk campsites cost NZ$19 (NZ$28 international in summer). Huts have mattresses, heating, toilets and cold water; most have gas cookers, but Brown and Gouland Downs do not. There are no showers or cooking pots. No guide is needed.

Getting there and away

The Heaphy is one way, and the two ends are about 460 km and 7 hours apart by road, so plan your transport before you book huts. Brown Hut is 156 km from Nelson (about 2.5 hours), the last 28 km on Aorere Valley Road from Collingwood; fords on this road can flood. Kōhaihai is 110 km from Westport (about 1 hour 45 minutes), 15 km past Karamea, with the last 3 km on gravel. Air New Zealand flies to Nelson and Sounds Air to Westport.

The usual options are:

• Shuttle to Brown Hut: Trek Express runs from Nelson, and Golden Bay Air from Nelson and Takaka.
• Fly back: small planes fly from Karamea to Takaka (Golden Bay Air), a 30-minute flight instead of a 7-hour drive.
• Shuttle from Kōhaihai: Karamea Express runs to Karamea and on to Westport (regular November to April, on demand otherwise), where buses continue to Nelson.
• Car relocation: companies such as Heaphy Track Help drive your car to the other end while you walk.

Off-season services often need minimum numbers, so book early.

Money and phone signal

There are no shops on the track. Buy food and stove fuel in Nelson, Takaka or Westport. Mobile coverage is poor; you may get a signal at Aorere Shelter, near the Heaphy River mouth and on the coast to Scotts Beach. The landlines at Brown Hut and Kōhaihai have been removed. Carry a personal locator beacon (PLB).

What to pack

Pack a warm sleeping bag, pots, a stove (essential at Brown and Gouland Downs huts), food plus a spare day, full rain gear, warm layers, water treatment, a first aid kit, sandfly repellent and a PLB. Campers need a tent that copes with heavy rain. Keep gear inside at James Mackay Hut, where kea chew boots and packs.

Difficulty and safety

DOC grades the Heaphy as an intermediate tramping track. The path is well built and the day 1 climb is long but steady. The danger is water. Rain comes with little warning, and even small streams are dangerous in flood. The Mackay Downs wetland, Cave Stream, the lower Heaphy valley and Crayfish Stream can all become impassable: wait at a hut or at Lewis Shelter, never cross. On the coast, big waves at high tide can block the track, so check the tide times. Do not swim at the Heaphy or Kōhaihai river mouths, where currents and rips are strong. Slips and rockfall happen without warning after rain. In an emergency call 111.

History and status in 2026

Archaeology shows Māori living at the Heaphy River mouth, where two pounamu (greenstone) trails meet, as far back as 500 years ago. The huts recall James Mackay, Charles Lewis and John Saxon, who pushed for and surveyed the bridle route in the 1880s. Storms in February 2022 destroyed the Heaphy River bridge and two others. The track reopened end to end on 19 October 2023, with a new bridge downstream above the 100-year flood level and a new Lewis River bridge. It stayed open through the July 2025 storms that closed other Kahurangi roads. In October 2026 DOC lists it as open; the only alert is a 1080 predator-control drop over the Heaphy lowlands planned for 16 October 2026, which does not close the track; avoid the area while bait is being laid.