My Latest Heaphy Hike (and a flight back over the Dragons Teeth)

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The two ends of the Heaphy Track, one of New Zealand’s ten Great Walks. are far apart. But flying back over the top is just as amazing!

I’ve done the Heaphy a couple of times from the eastern end. So, this time (March 2021) I decided to go from the west, for a change, and also because I was on the West Coast already. I hastily booked a flight with a firm called Golden Bay Air, which also does scenic flights, to take me back to Karamea when I’d finished. And then I started walking from the Kōhaihai Shelter and Campsite, where the track terminates in the west.‍

One thing about the Heaphy Track is that the two ends are a lot further apart by way of the rest of the road network than on foot. The 78 km length of the track becomes 463 km by road, a seven-hour drive.

It can cost as much as NZ $370 to $500 to have your car relocated by a driver, unless you manage to strike a lucky deal with someone going back anyway. The alternatives are to take one of the local bus services back to where you have left your car, or to fly. A full list of all passenger transport services in the region, both by road and by air, is provided on heaphytrack.com/transport-services.

I decided to fly back in order to save time and, also, to view some of the amazing terrain of Kahurangi National Park from the air.

Original blog post: a-maverick.com/blog/latest-heaphy-hike-flight-back-over-dragons-teeth