On my first visit to New Zealand in 1974, I purchased a wonderful book entitled "Exploration New Zealand" by John Pascoe, a well known New Zealand climber, explorer and writer. This was the first well illustrated such history. In its pages was a description of the travels and travails of Charles Heaphy, and an aerial picture of the "Gouland Downs", which was all that could be found of the Maori legendary plains of the northwest South Island, in the early years of European settlement in the mid-nineteenth century. In this book it says "It is likely that the Gouland Downs' first (European) physical examination was made in late 1856 by James McKay and John Clark. A Mr Gouland had later applied for this area of "rushes and mosses" which accounts for the name being given to the area which lies between the Heaphy and the Aorere rivers. McKay eventually pioneered the route from Karamea to Collingwood now known as the Heaphy Track, though Charles Heaphy never actually traversed inland on that route. The photograph of the Gouland Downs for some reason made a great impression on me, a moor-like area in a basin surrounded by mountains upto 1500 metres high (4500 ft). Ever since reading this book and seeing this picture, it has been an ambition to see the Gouland Downs for myself, and just a few days ago, on a beautiful, sunny, hot and clear day, I did just that.

This is what the DoC (Department of Conservation) brochure says about this history of the Heaphy Track - "For many generations, Golden Bay Maori travelled to central Westland, where they sought pounamu (greenstone) for tools, weapons and ornaments. They followed a trail over Gouland Downs from the Aorere to the Whakapoai (Heaphy River) and also travelled the treacherous coast north of the Heaphy River mouth, risking wave-swept beaches and rounding huge bluffs using flax ladders. The track is named after Charles Heaphy. In 1846, while a draughtsmanwith the New Zealand Company, he and Thomas Brunner, a surveyor with the company, were the first Europeans to traverse the coastal portion of the modern track. At the time, they were on an exploratory trip along the west coast with a Maori guide, Kehu. The inland portion of the route remained uncrossed by Europeans for more than a decade after Heaphy's coastal trek. A gold miner named Aldridge is believed to have traversed it first, in 1859, followed in 1860 by James Mackay, a warden on the Collingwood goldfields. Over the ensuring years the route was developed to a pack-track standard by prospectors, but by 1900 it was overgrown and infrequently used. With the 1965 establishment of the former North-west Nelson Forest Park, the track was cleared again for use by the public. Controversy arose in the early 1970s over a proposed road from Collingwood to the West Coast. The former New Zeland Forest Service improved the track facilities and now a route with a long tradition of use for commerce has a new life as a premier tourist attraction".

This Wikipedia article will provide biographical details of Charles Heaphy.

The Heaphy Track is one of New Zealand's great walks, and this page gives a map, with locations of these walks. They are the most popular walks and tramps in New Zealand, and are maintained to a high standard. There is a booking system for huts and camping so that the pressure on these walks is controlled. On this map you will see that the Heaphy Track is tucked up in the north-west corner of the South Island, in what is now called the Kahurangi National Park. Though the Heaphy Track will be high in anyone's esteem as a walking experience in New Zealand, it is somewhat less busy and popular than the others. I think the main reason for this must be its relative isolation, for it is not a circular walk and whilst the start and end of the track are just 82 walking kilometres, they are 463 kilometres apart by road! This entails some time, and expense, in getting to and from the walk. However, now I have done this walk, I would say don't let this put you off, it is a truly superb walk for anyone with ordinary fitness. However, some preparation for the walk, such as doing some hill walks with a pack on one's back, would make the experience more pleasurable, and less an obvious effort. I trained for the walk by walking my dog, Pippa, up and down Mt Victoria in Wellington, I live on its slopes. Mt Victoria is 200 metres high, and an hour's walk is sufficient to accomplish this, and I have usually had a 10 kg pack on my back. I have been doing this every couple of days for a few months, and I found the walk very straightforward - no blisters, aches or cramps or injuries.

I took a morning ferry from Wellington to Picton, in time to catch the K-Bus to the Collingwood track end, via Nelson. It made a long day, but I was dropped at the start of the track, where I could stay in Brown's hut overnight, to start my walk proper the next morning. I think I would advise anyone from out of the immediate area to do it this way, but if you are staying in or near Nelson, in in the Takaka or Collingwood area (and why not, they are worth visiting) then an early morning pick up from that town, will drop you off at the start of the track in the morning, and there is no need to stay at Brown's hut. It is worth considering what will fit your circumstances best, because the DoC were not particularly helpful in advising on this. You will be picked up at the finish by bus at 1pm or 2 pm, if using the K-Bus service, though see what happened to me in the following pages, but you can get a taxi if you miss the bus. Many folk will stay overnight at Karamea before either proceeding with their holiday or returning home, but it is possible to get to Westport the same day. Whilst you can book the huts directly on the internet, I would advise e-mailing or phoning the private tour operators in the Heaphy Track brochure, to finalise your particular arrangements.

During my walk, which I did unaccompanied, though of course I had the accompaniment of others on the track, I kept a diary and also made some sketches. I also took along my little little Olympus Digital Mu camera, with four megapixels, and tried to get some semi-decent photos. I hope you enjoy reading of my experiences, and the pictures and photos, and that if you haven't yet done this tramp, it engenders a wish to do so, or if you have, that it brings back some fond memories. I have posted my pictures separately as a slide show, which you can see here, but if you wish to follow my diary, I have put picture thumbnails on the page. Click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized picture, and click the return button in your browser to return to the diary.