• Easy walking on Blowholes Beach.
    Easy walking on Blowholes Beach.
  • Boardwalk loop track at the summit.
    Boardwalk loop track at the summit.
  • Sunrise over TeWaeWae Bay – from the summit loop track.
    Sunrise over TeWaeWae Bay – from the summit loop track.
  • On the summit loop track.
    On the summit loop track.
  • Sunrise on the summit loop track.
    Sunrise on the summit loop track.
  • The Old Port Craig Schoolhouse – now a trampers hut.
    The Old Port Craig Schoolhouse – now a trampers hut.
  • The old tramline to Port Craig.
    The old tramline to Port Craig.
  • Gnarled beech trees create a tunnel on the descent.
    Gnarled beech trees create a tunnel on the descent.
  • The exposed Fjordland coast.
    The exposed Fjordland coast.
  • Incredible views from the undulating Hump Ridge.
    Incredible views from the undulating Hump Ridge.
  • Mighty granite rocks at the summit face the rising sun.
    Mighty granite rocks at the summit face the rising sun.
  • Tarns and tors on the summit loop track.
    Tarns and tors on the summit loop track.
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Hump Ridge on track to be NZ’s next Great Walk

23 July 2019
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Southland’s 61km Hump Ridge Track is set to be New Zealand’s next Great Walk the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced in Tuatapere, Southland.

“This will be a fantastic addition to New Zealand’s Great Walks network. The Track provides access to a spectacular southern coastline and forests, dramatic alpine tops and historic viaducts. Hump Ridge offers the walker remote and unforgettable beauty and history,” says Eugenie Sage

“This is a significant investment in Southland tourism and the Tuatapere community. Great Walk status can draw more visitors to this beautiful part of the country.”

“Great Walks showcase some of the best parts of our country and are a great way to enable more people to enjoy and be inspired by nature to help protect it.

“The Department of Conservation will now work with the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Trust to bring the walk up to Great Walk standard and change it from a current two night walk to a three night experience. Approximately $5 million of funding is dedicated to the upgrade.”

The Minister signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Trust to progress this work. The new Great Walk will be set to open in late 2022 after the track upgrades are complete.

Hump Ridge Track is one of three finalist walks (the other two being Te Paki Coastal Track and Queen Charlotte Track) identified through DOC’s search for potential Great Walks, which began in 2017 with a call for public nominations.

Photos_Laura Waters. (Laura wrote about her experience on the Hump Ridge Track in Great Walks, Issue 68: June-July 2017)

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