Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
timber town - there's birdlife aplenty, and the chance to see Hector's dolphins on the
lonely windswept coast on the way back to the start point. En route the path crosses a
number of towering historic wooden viaducts, including NZ's highest.
To hike the track you need to book through the
Tuatapere Humpridge Track Information Centre
(
0800 486 774, 03-226 6739;
www.humpridgetrack.co.nz
;
31 Orawia Rd; 9.30am-5pm, limited hours in
winter)
. Packages include transport to the trailhead (at Rarakau, 19km from Tuatapere) and
comfortable lodge accommodation. The tramp is possible year-round and operates in three
seasonal bands, priced accordingly (from $175), with guided tramps also available. Ad-
vance bookings are essential.
The Humpridge information centre also houses general regionwide tourist information.
If you're interested in taking a spin on NZ's steepest river, ask about the two local jetboat
www.wildernessjet.co.nz
;
from $210)
. Sharing the building is the
Bushman's Museum
(admission by dona-
tion)
, featuring relics and photographic records of the area's timber-milling past.
Tuatapere has a couple of excellent foody stops. Do not, we repeat,
do not
go past
Yesteryears Museum Cafe
(3a Orawia Rd; light meals $5-10; 7.30am-5.30pm)
- unless of course it's
closed, which would be dreadful because you'd miss a chance to put some Johnny Cash
on the stereogram, buy homemade jam, drink a Deep South ice-cream milkshake and
nibble one of Aunt Daisy's sugar buns while perusing the displays of domestic jumble
from a bygone era.
Lucky old Tuatapere has another great cafe at
Last Light Lodge
( 03-226 6667;
www.lastlightlodge.com
;
2 Clifden Hwy; sites from $14, dm $30, s/d $55/70; )
, a capacious accommod-
ation complex offering cabins, dorms and grassy campsites. The lodge owner is a chef of
considerable skill, serving up coffee and fine cake, and sophisticiated meals featuring lots
of home-grown goodness from the on-site gardens. The new deck and garden make dining
(and drinking great craft beer) here a real treat in fine weather.
On SH99, around 10km south of Tuatapere, stop at the spectacular lookout at
McCrack-
en's Rest
. Cast your eye down the arcing sweep of
Te Waewae Bay
- where Hector's dolphins
and southern right whales are occasionally sighted - to the snowy peaks of Fiordland.
Just past Urepuki is the turn-off for
Monkey Island
, a grassy islet just metres off shore and
accessible at low tide. The beach is a great spot at sunset.
Colac Bay
is a popular holiday place and a good surfing spot. Southerlies provide the best
swells here, but it's pretty consistent year-round and never crowded.
Colac Bay Tavern & Holi-
