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Tracks & walks

Southland

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Southland
- Stewart Island/ Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura day tramping tracks

Track category

Description

Fern Gully

Time: 2 hr return

The route follows an old sawmill track, winding along a stream flanked by a variety of beautiful ferns and cutover forest. A clearing and seat at the end of the track provide a pleasant spot to enjoy the birds and forest.

Fern Gully was one of the places local residents planned to hide their children in the event of an invasion during the Second World War.

Kaipipi Bay

Time: 3 hr return

The walk to Kaipipi Bay takes you along an old logging road. The surface is still in reasonable condition considering all the traffic that has travelled along it. At the track end a small grassy clearing looks out over Kaipipi Bay, an enclosed haven on the north shore of Paterson Inlet/ Whaka a Te Wera. The track continues on to North Arm Hut, part of the Rakiura Track Great Walk.

Horseshoe Point

Time: 3-4 hr return

Maintained by Southland District Council, the Horseshoe Point Track meanders along the coast from Bragg Bay, winding above secluded bays and crystal clear water. It descends steeply down to Dead Man Beach, which despite the name, is a pleasant spot to stop for a rest.

Horseshoe Point is about an hour's walk from Bragg Bay and is an ideal place to view Foveaux Strait. At the beginning of the track you can visit the lovely Motorau Moana Native Gardens. You can view Halfmoon Bay from a comfortable Bench on a wooden deck then continue towards Horseshoe Point. From the point, the track passes under huge macrocarpa trees, remnants of a former homestead site, and eventually finishes beside the entrance to the Resource Recovery Centre.

Directions: Follow Horseshoe Bay Road north for about 1½ km, turning into Bragg Bay Road just uphill from Butterfield Beach. The entrance to Moturau Moana is a few minutes along this road to the left.The track starts at the end of the road.

Garden Mound - Little River

Time: 4-5 hr return

For panoramic forest views over the settled areas of Oban, a tramp up Garden Mound cannot be beaten. Garden Mound escaped the early milling activity that was widespread from Port William/Potirepo to the northern coast of Paterson Inlet/Whaka a Te Wera. In the early 1900s, Garden Mound was a popular place for locals to visit, being one of the few areas close to the village with forest still intact and where birds were common.

Huge rimu, rātā, miro and kāmahi, along with ferns and mosses are a feature of the track, which reaches a height of 160m before dropping steadily down towards Little River. A scenic round trip is possible by returning via the Maori Beach/Port William track, through the chain link sculpture which marks the entrance to Rakiura National Park.

Caution - Garden Mound track is steep, slippery and muddy in places and tramping boots need to be worn.

Directions: Walk north past the general store and along Horseshoe Bay Road for about an hour, until you reach the Lee Bay Road turnoff at the far end of Horseshoe Bay. The start of Garden Mound track is signposted on the left, about 10 minutes along the road to Lee Bay.

Maori Beach

Time: 6-7 hr return

For those wanting to venture further afield into Rakiura National Park, Maori Beach is an excellent choice for a day walk, offering stunning scenery and plenty of local history.

Between 1913 and 1935 the Maori Beach area was a busy settlement with a school, along with several houses for workers from the Maori Beach Sawmilling Company. After the mill closed in 1931 (the last operating mill on Stewart Island/Rakiura ), people gradually drifted away. Today the area is peaceful and picturesque, with regenerating forest quickly hiding evidence of those earlier days. However, remains of a boiler and steam engine used by the mill can still be found, along with clumps of montbretia and bluebells - legacies from the sawmillers' cottages.

A campsite for trampers is located at the beach, providing a small shelter, drinking water and a toilet, but not toilet paper. People intending to stay overnight must first purchase a pass from the RNPVC.

Directions: From Halfmoon Bay follow the Horseshoe Bay Road north for about an hour, until reaching Lee Bay Road. Turn left here, following Lee Bay Road until the end, which marks the start of Rakiura National Park and the track to Maori Beach and Port William hut. There are high tide tracks at Little River and Maori Beach (the Maori Beach high tide section can be muddy but the rest of the track beyond is gravelled and in good condition).