Heaphy Track
The Heaphy Track , named after the painter, researcher and explorer Charles Heaphy , is a popular hiking route in the north of the West Coast region on New Zealand's South Island . The route is 78.4 km long and can be hiked in 3 to 7 days, usually 5 days.
The track is one of the New Zealand Great Walks , making it one of the most popular hiking trails in New Zealand. The track created in Kahurangi National Park was named after the discoverer Charles Heaphy .
history
Several Māori tribes settled along the route as early as the 16th century . Findings show that in the area crossed by the track, in the area of the "Gouland Downs", Māori were looking for jade stones (pounamu).
The first named Europeans in this area were the two explorers Charles Heaphy and Thomas Brunner with their Māori guide Kehu in 1846. Other documented expeditions were carried out by the European gold digger Aldrige in 1859 and James MacKay and John Clark in 1860.
In the following years the area was repeatedly scoured by gold prospectors during the gold rush and the "track" was laid out in 1888 by several surveyors and explorers, including JB Saxon.
Since no gold was found in this region even after 30 years, the route was forgotten. After 1900 it was only rarely used by isolated hunters.
The track was only rediscovered when the "North-West Nelson Forest Park" was founded in 1965 and continued to exist as the Kahurangi National Park in 1996. It is now visited by thousands of tourists every year.
landscape
The Heaphy Track is known for its diversity, so that every 20 km you can see a completely new landscape.
The Gouland Downs
A piece of forest west of the MacKay hut
Nicola trees on the side of the Heaphy River
The Tasman Sea at the Heaphy River estuary
