Kahurangi National Park

Kahurangi is a vast wilderness area of deep river valleys, thick beech forest, and high marble mountains. Helicopters are dwarfed by house-sized rocks perched on the sides of high precipices. Wild white-water rivers tumble through gorges and calm alpine tarns sit high on the ranges.

The wild Kahurangi National Park spans 1.1 million acres of untamed wilderness and is laced with 570 km (353 mi) of hiking tracks of various levels of difficulty; there are also several rafting and kayaking rivers and some serious caving areas. Of the various entry points to the park, one of the most well used is the northern head of the Heaphy Track near Kaituna, 35 km (21 mi) west of Takaka and south of the town of Collingwood. There is also good access from the Flora Carpark on Mt. Arthur, the Wangapeka River further south near Tapawera, from the Matiri Valley near Murchison, the Cobb Valley near Takaka, and at Karamea on the West Coast, which is also the southern entry to the Heaphy Track.

BEST TIME TO GO

Kahurangi can be visited any time of the year, although snow in winter may inhibit access to the higher areas like Mt. Arthur and the Mt. Owen massif. The Heaphy Track is passable all year unless the weather is unusually bad, when flooding may prevent stream crossings.

Fun Fact

Asbestos Cottage, near the Mt. Arthur Tablelands, was once home to a reclusive couple who lived there for 40 years. They backpacked everything they needed into the remote site and would often go months without seeing another person.