For the Hump Ridge Track you need full wet-weather gear, warm layers, three days of food, a 1 to 2 litre water bottle and a sleeping bag if you are in a bunk room. You do not need a cooker, pots or plates: Okaka and Port Craig lodges supply those.
The track climbs more than 900 metres on the first day and crosses exposed tops, so pack for cold, wind and rain at any time of year, and keep the pack as light as you can.
Rarakau Lodge is at the start of the track. If you stay with us the night before, you can repack in your room, leave the extras in your car in our car park or in our storage room at Rarakau Lodge, and walk from the door.
Gear checklist
Tick items off as you pack. 30 items, including four optional ones. Print the checklist (PDF)
Pack and waterproofing
Clothing
Footwear
Sleeping
Food and water
Safety
Small essentials
Optional
What to leave behind
- Cotton and jeansCotton holds sweat and rain, so you end up damp and cold even under a good raincoat. Wear wool or synthetics.
- Cooker, gas and potsThe lodge kitchens have gas cookers, pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, tea towels and dishwashing liquid.
- AlcoholThe lodges are licensed, so you cannot bring your own. Each has a shop selling drinks, snacks and meals you cook yourself, and takes cash or card.
- Anything that needs a wall plugThe lodges run on solar power and have no plugs. Port Craig Lodge has a USB charging station; Okaka Lodge has none.
Packing for the weather
The Hump Ridge takes weather straight off the Southern Ocean. Strong wind, heavy rain and snow can arrive in any month, though less often in summer.
Put clothing and electronics in dry bags inside your pack liner, and keep one set of clothes dry for the evening. The lodges have no drying rooms. There are covered clothes lines outside, and gear cannot be dried around the fire.
Check the forecast for Okaka Lodge on NIWA’s parks weather service before you leave.
If you book a heli-pack
A helicopter can carry your main pack to Okaka Lodge on day one. The limit is 10 kg per pack. Drop it at the track office at 31 Orawia Road, Tuatapere, the day before you start. If you are staying at Rarakau Lodge the night before, do it on your way through. The latest drop-off is 8 am on the day you start.
Carry a day pack with your medication, wet-weather gear, spare thermals, food and water. The helicopter cannot fly in fog or high wind. If it does not fly, your pack goes to the next lodge instead, so your day pack has to get you through the first night.
What the lodges provide
- Gas heating and gas cookers
- Pots, pans, crockery and cutlery
- Solar lighting, flush toilets and hot showers
- Drinking water (treating it is recommended)
- Porridge breakfast for freedom walkers (not gluten free)
- A shop with snacks, drinks and self-cook meals