Old Ghost Road emergency & health guide: hospitals, rescue, 111 and PLBs

Emergency numbers

There is almost no mobile signal on the Old Ghost Road. Lyell Saddle, Ghost Lake, Stern Valley and Specimen Point huts each have an emergency phone that connects to NZ Police; between huts and at the two DOC huts you need a personal locator beacon (PLB). Register your beacon free at beacons.org.nz, or hire one from Buller Adventures in Westport and Murchison (0508 486 877). People who are deaf or have a speech impairment can register for 111 TXT. Tell someone at home your plans and check the trail status page and the Ghost Lake forecast before you start.

Rules to know

• Book every night in the trust huts online before you start: there is no walk-in accommodation. Through-users pay a flat fee for 1 to 4 nights: $160 per person for a hut bunk, $360 per private summer sleepout (up to 4 people, September to May) or $50 per tent site (up to 2), in NZ dollars; a discounted rate applies in winter. Carry your printed booking confirmation.
• One night in and out from either end (Lyell Saddle or Specimen Point) costs $40 per bunk, $90 per sleepout or $25 per tent site. Day users are asked for a $15 trail contribution, or $30 for the whole trail in a day.
• Cancellations count back from 3 pm on your start date: up to 21 days before you lose 20% (or $20 if over 3 months), from 21 days to 72 hours 50%, and under 72 hours everything. If the trail closes for weather, fire, earthquake or damage, bookings can be moved but not refunded.
• Goat Creek (4 bunks) and Mōkihinui Forks (10 bunks) are free DOC huts: not bookable, first come, first served, with a wood fire and long-drop toilet but no gas, cookware or toilet paper. Tent sites at the trust huts give no access to the hut: bring your own stove.
• Rivers: several creeks have no bridge and can flood after heavy rain, notably Irishman's Creek about 4 km from Lyell and Goat Creek, which you must ford to reach its hut. Never cross a creek in flood: wait in a hut until it drops, and carry a spare day of food.
• Weather: about 13 km of the trail is above 1,000 m. Snow, heavy rain and freezing temperatures are possible in any month, and snow can block the tops between Lyell Saddle and Stern Valley. Carry full waterproofs and warm layers, and there is no water on the tops between huts.
• Mountain bikers share the whole trail and can come fast round blind corners. Listen, keep to one side and step aside where it is safe; riders are asked to signal and give way to trampers.
• Wasps are common in the lower beech forest from January to April: carry antihistamines, and an adrenaline pen if you are allergic. Sandflies are everywhere below the tops.
• Dogs are not allowed: most of the Mōkihinui area is national park, and other conservation land needs DOC authorisation. Clean boots, poles and bikes to stop the spread of weeds and didymo, and stay behind the barriers at the Croesus battery near Lyell, where old workings held cyanide.
• Transport: the trailheads are about two hours apart by road and Seddonville has no public transport. Book a shuttle or car relocation with an official partner (HikenBike, Buller Adventures, Go Tracks) and the DOC Lyell campsite ($18 adult a night) ahead.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Clinics and doctors

There is no doctor or first aid post at Lyell, on the trail or at Seddonville. The nearest doctors are at Murchison Hospital & Health Centre (35 km from Lyell), the Ngakawau Health Service in Hector (weekdays, about 15 km from Seddonville) and Buller Health in Westport, which has 24/7 acute care. For advice when it is not an emergency, call Healthline on 0800 611 116 (24/7).

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies:
• ATMs:
• Shops:
• Shuttle pick-ups:

There is no pharmacy on the trail, at Lyell, at Seddonville or at Mōkihinui, and New Zealand has no national duty-pharmacy rota. Buy all your medicines, a blister kit, antihistamines for wasp stings and sandfly repellent in Westport, Nelson or Greymouth before you go. The huts have no power: carry a power bank.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.