Tramping the Heaphy Track from Karamea to Collingwood with Jacq Nesbit

The Heaphy is a Great Walk I want to do, and hopefully sooner rather than later... I've been to both ends of it, and I researched it pretty hard for my first solo hike before the Old Ghost Road won (more on why below). But I soooo want to go back and do it.

So I had a lot of questions for Jacq Nesbit. She's based in Christchurch, has listened to the podcast for ages, and has walked every Great Walk in the South Island. The Heaphy was the last one she ticked off, mainly because of the logistics. Then she cracked them solo, with a scenic flight, two shuttles and two days of annual leave. Which is wild.

We go through it day by day, from the coast north of Karamea to the Golden Bay end. Plus the huts, her secret weapon snack, the sandflies and how she booked it all last minute (my kind of person). Great Walk bookings were about to open when we recorded, and the Heaphy feels like a bit of a hidden gem, because it doesn't book up as fast as the Milford or the Routeburn. Happy listening!

In this episode

• How Jacq got into tramping
• Getting to and from the Heaphy Track
• The Heaphy Track day by day
• Heaphy huts, packing and bookings
• Jacq's South Island Great Walks
• Karamea and Golden Bay, either end of the track
• Mountain biking the Heaphy Track
• Jacq's advice for the Heaphy Track

How Jacq got into tramping

Jacq grew up on a farm in North Canterbury, and she was super outdoorsy, in a very different way to tramping. She rode horses competitively around most of New Zealand, well into her late 20s, doing eventing, cross country and dressage. Then a series of unfortunate events made her fall out of love with horses, and she needed something to replace them. Tramping became that thing, and it still is.

Jacq hates the cold, so she saves her leave for summer. This summer she's been off work for a full week at least once a month, generally for tramping, and she's hardly ever at work in January, February and March.

Getting to and from the Heaphy Track

The Heaphy Track is a Great Walk at the top of the South Island, in Kahurangi National Park. It runs 80 kilometres from Kohaihai, just north of Karamea, through to the Brown Hut end, up towards Collingwood. The two ends are a long way apart by road, and Jacq calls it a logistical nightmare.

Most people walk from the Tākaka end and finish at the Karamea end. Jacq went the opposite way, mainly to take advantage of the backfill specials on the transport:

• Wednesday. She left Christchurch in the morning, drove to Tākaka, took a small plane to Karamea, then a shuttle.
• Thursday to Sunday. Four days of walking.
• Sunday. A shuttle from the Brown Hut end back to Tākaka. She was back at work the next day.

She flew with Golden Bay Air, and with the backfill specials, the scenic flight and the shuttles came to under $180.

The other options Jacq talks about:

• Car relocation. A really good option if you've got a group of four or five.
• A key swap. Pair up with somebody walking in the opposite direction, swap keys on the track and hope you don't miss each other.

There also used to be a man who would drop a car off, then run the 80 kilometres back to the other end, relocating cars that way. Walkers would cross paths with him more than once.

The Heaphy Track day by day

Jacq says the scenery is really different pretty much every day.

Day one: Kohaihai to Heaphy Hut

The first day walks down the coastline, with massive ferns, snail shells and waves crashing in, and the beach never far away. Sunset at Heaphy Hut is a classic West Coast sunset, and Jacq calls it iconic.

I've done the Karamea end of the trail, right on the coast, with nīkau palms and ferns. It feels almost prehistoric. I had no idea there was an alpine section further in.

Day two: Heaphy Hut to Mackay Hut

Day two is rainforest-esque. The first stretch runs beside the river, nice and flat. Then you cross on two very new bridges, built after the old ones were washed out in floods, and start a slow grind uphill to Mackay Hut.

From Mackay Hut a side track takes you up for more elevation and the view from the top. There are kiwi around the hut too. Other walkers had seen them not long before Jacq came through, so she kept an eye out. No luck.

Day three: Mackay Hut to Perry Saddle Hut

Day three was Jacq's favourite. You cross what they call the Downs, past Saxon Hut and Gouland Downs Hut, on an alpine meadow-y type of walk where the river crossings are all bridged. It's a different alpine to the Kepler, Routeburn and Milford, she says. Takahē have been released up the valley too, towards Gouland Downs Hut.

It's a big day, and a lot of people split it in two with a night at Saxon Hut. Jacq likes that there are options to suit your fitness or what you want to do.

From Perry Saddle Hut there's a side track up to Mount Perry, though the track is pretty rough. Jacq missed it, because the rain came in that day, and spent a lovely afternoon by the fire.

Day four: Perry Saddle Hut to the Brown Hut end

The last day is a gradual, very rainforest-y downhill. Jacq had an early start to meet her shuttle, which put her at Flanagan's Corner, the highest point on the track, for sunrise. Then it was a gentle downhill all the way to the car park.

In her direction, the last day is pretty cruisy. A lot of people walk the other way, and they're happy to get all that uphill out of the way on the first day.

Heaphy huts, packing and bookings

For my first solo hike, I tossed up between the Heaphy and the Old Ghost Road, which are similar lengths. I couldn't make the Heaphy hut bookings work, because I'm one of those last-minute people. And the Old Ghost Road huts have fully stocked kitchens, with cookers, pots and pans, which means less weight, which ultimately tipped the scales on my choice to do Old Ghost Road.

Pots in the Heaphy huts

So Jacq's bonus information is a good one. When she walked it, the Heaphy huts all had a variety of pots and fry pans. She can't guarantee they'll always be there, so do the right thing and take your own gear.

Jacq is not a cold soaker. She doesn't know how people survive like that on multi-day hikes.

I'll happily do a cold curry any time of day. My husband can't do it either.

What Jacq packs

Bring food you actually like eating, Jacq says. She always overpacks on food, because she will not be going hungry. These days she's all about dehydrated meals, because all she takes is a kettle to boil water. But knowing the Heaphy huts had pots, she took Wattie's tortellini. They're heavy, but every day your pack gets lighter.

She's a big sweet treat person, so there's chocolate, lollies and dried fruit. And Pringles are her secret weapon, because they come in a can and don't get all crushed up. In her words, the elite chip.

The rest is a standard overnight hiking bag: not too many clothes, wet weather gear just in case, a headlamp for early starts in the dark, a camera, a phone and a sleeping bag. Her luxuries:

• An inflatable pillow. Jacq likes a pillow, and an inflatable one is key.
• Headphones when she's solo, for the points on the track where you're grinding away and need something to distract you.
• More food.

Booking Heaphy huts last minute

You book the Heaphy through the DOC website, like all the Great Walks. Jacq booked hers last minute, and that's the bonus of going solo: you can often squeeze into the huts as a single person. She did the same on the Routeburn recently, sharing huts with people who'd booked nine months in advance, when she'd booked the day before.

The Heaphy huts are quite big, and you can be flexible about where you stay each night, with an extra night at Saxon Hut or pushing right through. Her advice is to keep an eye out, and be open-minded about how you want to do it.

When I did the Milford Track, I tagged along with a group after someone pulled out, and a bunch of other people had last-minute tickets too, over Easter weekend.

Camping on the Heaphy

There are campsites at the huts too:

• Heaphy Hut. A completely separate campsite on a massive grass area, with its own shelter and picnic tables. There are a lot of weka, so be aware of them if you're camping.
• Mackay Hut. Wooden platforms out the back. It's higher up and rockier, so there's no nice grass space.
• Perry Saddle Hut. A bit of grass space out the back.

Jacq's South Island Great Walks

Jacq has done all the South Island Great Walks. The second to last was the Hump Ridge, in 2021, and it took her three and a half years to get to the final one, the Heaphy. She reckons the Great Walks are called Great Walks because they're that good, and comparing them is a hard question:

"They're all so different. They are so, so different. … it's literally an impossible comparison, but they're all great walks for a reason."

In her words, the Fiordland Great Walks have a true alpine element, the Abel Tasman has beaches and golden sand, and the Paparoa takes you up into the mountains again. Stewart Island was her second ever overnight hiking trip.

On the Great Walks and other huts you book on the DOC website, Jacq is absolutely happy to go solo, because she knows how many people will be in the huts, and she'll walk by herself for as many hours as she needs to. For anything else, she usually goes with one or two friends.

I think knowing what you enjoy is so important. You're out there in nature to have fun, and when it stops being fun, you're doing something wrong.

Next season, Jacq would love to get up to the North Island for the Tongariro Northern Circuit and Lake Waikaremoana. The Gillespie Crucible Lake circuit, down in Wānaka, is pretty high on the list, and she wants to keep ticking off sections of Te Araroa. Just a wee bit to do.

Karamea and Golden Bay, either end of the track

At the Karamea end, Jacq's pick is the Oparara Arches: amazing, and a really cool side trip. Whatever you do, don't get out of the car without sandfly repellent. Her pro tip is to have your bag ready to go when you reach the car park, so you can get out, get your bag on and get moving.

"They are relentless on the West Coast. … It's like they don't see enough people and they're just like, new blood, let's go."

When I finished the Old Ghost Road, Isaac, my husband, was meant to pick me up and got stuck in roadworks (totally not his fault). So I sat in the car park, really grumpy, with a mesh bag over my head. It's a little net bag with a drawstring at the bottom, and it's my top tip. You look so goofy, but it keeps the sandflies off.

At the Golden Bay end, the beaches are absolutely beautiful. When Jacq reached the car park, some people were heading straight off to do the Abel Tasman, with a quick resupply in Tākaka, then walking from Wainui through to Mārahau. There's so much to do up there, she says, you'd never run out of things.

I second that. If you like rock climbing, there's so much to do in Tākaka, and you can go sea kayaking too.

Mountain biking the Heaphy Track

A listener asked for the best direction and number of days for mountain biking the Heaphy. Jacq is definitely not a mountain biker, and she didn't see anyone biking on her trip. What she does know: the planes and helicopters have attachments for bikes, so if you're flying end to end, you can get your bike back to your car. Other than that, her advice for mountain bikers is good on you.

Jacq's advice for the Heaphy Track

Her final word on the Heaphy:

"Just do it. The logistics are not as bad as what they seem. If you're going solo, jump on the Golden Bay Air website and they list all the backfill flights and shuttles."

If you can line those backfill flights up with your hut bookings, she says it's definitely worth it, and so much cheaper. In a group of friends, divvy up the car relocation between four or five people. Be flexible, commit to it, and you'll love it.

I've had a lot of guests who booked Great Walks last minute, and I'm like, this is really bad, we should be telling people to book in advance.

Booking ahead means you can plan extra hikes around it, Jacq says, though it's really hard to book in May for a walk in February or March, with no idea about the weather. When we recorded, there was a cancellation system that Jacq calls really reasonable for getting most of your money back, and you could transfer to other dates through the website.

If you're solo, or there are two of you, last minute definitely works. And I know I'll be coming back to this episode when I've booked my tickets.

Places from this episode

• Heaphy Track
• Kahurangi National Park
• Karamea
• Kohaihai
• Heaphy Hut
• Mackay Hut
• Saxon Hut
• Gouland Downs Hut
• Perry Saddle Hut
• Mount Perry
• Flanagan's Corner
• Brown Hut
• Collingwood
• Tākaka
• Golden Bay
• Oparara Arches
• Abel Tasman (Wainui to Mārahau)
• Old Ghost Road
• Milford Track
• Routeburn Track
• Kepler Track
• Hump Ridge
• Paparoa Track
• Stewart Island
• Tongariro Northern Circuit
• Lake Waikaremoana
• Gillespie Crucible Lake circuit, Wānaka
• Te Araroa

Follow Jacq

• Instagram: @feet.first.nz

More like this

• Turning New Zealand Work Trips into Solo Great Walk Adventures with Nick Thompson
• The 10 Great Walks in 10 Days Challenge with Jordan Pratt
• Hitchhiking and New Zealand's Great Walks with Howie McFadyen

Until then, keep adventuring :)