The Hump Ridge Track is a three-day, 61 km loop that starts and finishes at Rarakau Lodge, south of Tuatapere. You spend one night at Okaka Lodge on the tops and one at Port Craig Lodge on the coast.
It is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. Expect 5 to 9 hours of walking each day, a climb of more than 900 metres on day one, and a route that goes from beach to sub-alpine tops and back along a historic logging tramline.
The day-by-day plan below includes a night at Rarakau Lodge before you start and another when you finish.
Day by day
Arrive and stay at the start of the track
Drive in or get transport to the lodge the afternoon before, then check in to your room (from 2pm) and sort your pack. If you drive, your car stays in our car park for the three days, free for guests, with 24-hour cameras.
Have dinner here, and use the Starlink WiFi to check the forecast and message home before you lose coverage.
Optional: book a spa before your walk. Spas are free with the Deluxe Suite.
In the morning there is no drive. Start the track early, or sleep in and start whenever you want: the track begins at the lodge door.
Rarakau Lodge to Okaka Lodge
The track starts through coastal bush and along cliff tops, then drops down steps to the shore. You cross the Waikoau swingbridge, walk Bluecliffs Beach past Stoney Creek to Track Burn, and follow the coast for about an hour to Flat Creek.
From the junction just past Flat Creek the track turns inland and starts to climb. Water Bridge has a shelter, a toilet and the last place to fill your bottles before the 3 to 4 hour climb. Stag Point gives the first big view over Te Waewae Bay to Stewart Island, about an hour below the lodge.
If you have the legs, the boardwalked loop around the tors and tarns above Okaka Lodge takes about 45 minutes.
Okaka Lodge to Port Craig Lodge
The morning follows the Hump Ridge through stunted beech forest for 2 to 3 hours to Luncheon Rock, which has a shelter, toilet and water. Parts of the ridge are exposed, so take care in high wind.
The track then drops steeply through tall rimu, rata and totara to the coast. About 2 to 3 hours after Luncheon Rock you reach the Edwin Burn Viaduct and the old tramline that served the Port Craig sawmill, then the Percy Burn Viaduct. From there it is about 2 hours along the tramline to the lodge.
Port Craig has a short heritage walk, the old school hut and a 10 minute track down to Mussel Beach, where Hector’s dolphins are often seen.
Port Craig Lodge to Rarakau Lodge
The coastal day. After about 2½ hours the track comes out on the shore at Breakneck Creek, then climbs over headlands between beaches, including Blowholes Beach.
At Flat Creek you rejoin the day one route and walk back to Track Burn and along the beach. Allow about 2 hours from Track Burn to Rarakau Lodge.
Finish at the door and stay the night
Day 3 ends at Rarakau Lodge. If it is hot, there is an ice-cold drink or an ice cream waiting. If it is cold, have a hot chocolate by the fireplace.
Have a shower straight after your walk, then jump in the hot tub to regenerate. A meal and a bed are a few steps away.
Staying the night means you drive home rested the next morning, not straight after 61 km on your feet.
Daily distances and walking times are the Department of Conservation’s figures for the track.
How hard is it?
You need a moderate to high level of fitness. The days are long, and day one gains more than 900 metres with a full pack unless you book a heli-pack.
The surface is good: formed gravel track, stairs and a lot of boardwalk. If you do not walk regularly, start training early. Build up distance, add a weighted pack, and practise on hills and stairs.
When to walk it
The lodges on the track run to a set season, so start with the operator’s dates. Summer brings the longest days and the most settled weather, and books out first.
Whatever the month, plan for wind, rain and cold on the tops. The ridge is exposed to weather coming off the Southern Ocean, and snow can fall at any time of year.
Step by step
- 1. Choose how you want to walk it. The track operator sells freedom, prime and guided packages. Freedom walking and carrying your own pack, without a heli-pack, is the most flexible way to do the track: you carry and cook your own food and set your own pace. A heli-pack depends on the weather. If it is cloudy the helicopter does not go up, and your pack is not at the lodge when you arrive. Prices and dates change each season.
- 2. Book the track, then your nights either side. Book the two lodges on the track with the operator first. Then book a room at Rarakau Lodge for the night before, the night after, or both.
- 3. Sort out how you are getting here. Most walkers drive. Our transport page covers shuttles and rental cars if you are not bringing a car.
- 4. Pack. Use our Hump Ridge Track packing list. The lodges supply cookers and pots, so you carry less than on most multi-day walks.
- 5. Walk. Drive the 17 km from Tuatapere to Rarakau Lodge and start from there. If you stay with us the night before, you start from the lodge door in the morning.