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

The Hump Ridge Track, officially the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track, is a three-day loop in the far south of New Zealand's South Island. It starts and ends at the Rarakau car park, about 20 km west of the small town of Tuatapere in Southland, and climbs from the beaches of Te Waewae Bay onto the subalpine tops of the Hump Ridge, on the south-eastern edge of Fiordland National Park. DOC gives the loop as 61.5 km. Volunteers from Tuatapere built the track and opened it in 2001, and on 25 October 2024 it became New Zealand's 11th Great Walk. You sleep in two lodges run by the community trust, Okaka Lodge on the ridge and Port Craig Lodge in an old sawmill village, so you do not need a tent or a stove.

The route

The walk goes anticlockwise. Day 1 follows the coast along Bluecliffs Beach and across Stoney Creek, then turns inland and climbs steadily through podocarp and beech forest past the shelter at Luncheon Rock (Tītahi) to Okaka Lodge at 835 m, just above the bushline. On a clear evening you look over Te Waewae Bay to Stewart Island/Rakiura, and a short boardwalk loop around the lodge passes alpine tarns. Day 2 follows the ridge south and then drops about 1,000 m to the logging tramway of the 1920s and follows it past the Edwin Burn, Percy Burn and Sandhill viaducts, to the ruins of Port Craig on the coast. Day 3 is the easiest: it follows the South Coast Track east through coastal forest and along the beaches of Te Waewae Bay, a marine mammal sanctuary where Hector's dolphins are often seen, back to the car park.

This guide follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 3 stages, about 19.3 km each, one per day.

Viaduct closures in 2026

Read this before you go. In February 2026 DOC closed the Percy Burn and Edwin Burn viaducts because their century-old timber is no longer safe. Do not try to cross them. The track stays open: at Edwin Burn you cross on a 58 m swing bridge, and at Percy Burn you walk a bypass track down into the gully and up again. Sandhill Viaduct is still open. Allow extra time on day 2 and check the alerts before you start.

When to walk the Hump Ridge Track

The lodges open for the summer season, from 23 October 2026 to 17 April 2027. The track is strictly closed in winter. December to February has the longest days and the mildest weather. This is the far south of New Zealand: rain, strong wind, low cloud and cold can arrive in any month, Sandflies are common on the coast, and wasps can be a problem in late summer.

How many days do you need?

The standard plan is 3 days and 2 nights, and the lodges are booked that way. Each day is long: DOC gives 7–9 hours for days 1 and 2 and 5–7 hours for day 3. Add a night in Tuatapere before you start, because you must check in at the track office, and plan to be back at the car park by about 2 pm if you want the shuttle and a bus out the same day.

Difficulty

DOC grades the walk as intermediate, and the Trust asks for moderate to high fitness. Day 1 climbs almost 900 m from sea level, most of it in the second half, on steps, roots and boardwalk. Day 2 is a long, steady descent that is hard on knees. Day 3 is mostly flat but long. The tops are exposed in high wind and can be in whiteout, so carry full waterproofs, warm layers, a hat and gloves even in midsummer.

Booking and fees

The Hump Ridge Track is a Great Walk, but it is not booked through the DOC Great Walks system and DOC hut passes are not valid. You book a package with the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track Trust. For 2026–27 the "from" prices are $495 for the Freedom Walk in an 8-bed room (children 14 and under $247.50), $575 for the Freedom Walk in a 4-bed room, $1,195 for the Prime package (made-up beds, hot showers, evening meals and a helicopter bag lift) and $2,395 for the guided walk. Prices are in New Zealand dollars; private rooms, showers, sleeping bag hire and a day 1 helicopter pack lift cost extra.

Every walker must check in at the office at 31 Orawia Road, Tuatapere, the afternoon before or the morning of the walk, for a short safety briefing, maps and lodge passes. The only campsite and the only DOC hut on the loop are at Port Craig, and they are booked separately with DOC.

The lodges

Both lodges have shared rooms with 8 or 4 beds, private rooms, a kitchen with gas, pots, pans and crockery, drinking water and flush toilets. Hot showers cost extra unless you are on the Prime package. A small bar and shop sells evening meals, snacks and drinks, and Freedom and Prime walkers get free porridge at breakfast. There are no power sockets. Bring a sleeping bag or hire one, and all your lunches and snacks.

Getting there and away

Tuatapere is about 1 hour 15 minutes by road from Invercargill and its airport, 1 hour 15 minutes from Te Anau and 2 hours 30 minutes from Queenstown. The Trust runs shuttles from Invercargill and Te Anau ($75 one way, $110 return) and, via Mossburn or direct for groups, from Queenstown ($145 one way, $195 return); they run only on days with bookings. The track shuttle leaves Tuatapere at 8 am for the Rarakau car park and returns at 2:30 pm ($30 one way, $45 return). If you drive, the last part of Papatotara Coast Road is unsealed, and cars at Rarakau are left at your own risk.

Money and phone signal

Tuatapere has a Four Square supermarket, fuel, cafés and a hardware and outdoor shop; there is no shop on the track apart from the lodge bars. Do not count on mobile coverage on the coast or in the forest. Hire a personal locator beacon (PLB) from the track office at check-in if you do not have one.

What to pack

A 40–50 litre pack, sleeping bag, waterproof jacket and overtrousers, a warm layer, thermals, hat and gloves, broken-in boots, sandfly repellent, sunscreen, a headtorch, a power bank, a first aid kit with blister care and antihistamines, and three days of lunches and snacks. Treat water from streams and the tank at Luncheon Rock.

Safety

In an emergency call 111 and ask for the police, who run search and rescue. Parts of the coast, such as Blowholes Beach, are passable only at low tide: check the tide times and do not go on if waves wash over the track. Cross Stoney Creek on the footbridge inland at high tide or in flood. After a long or strong earthquake, move to high ground at once. The nearest emergency department is Southland Hospital in Invercargill.