Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
About 1½ to two hours from the gorge the track reaches a swing bridge over the
Caples
River
, after which you will see a signposted junction. If you started this walk at the Divide,
take the left fork on to the Caples Track to complete the loop.
If you are finishing at the Greenstone car park, take the right fork and follow the track
along the true left bank of the Greenstone River. It will take 30 minutes to reach the trail-
head.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Mavora-Greenstone Walkway
Duration
3 days
Distance
50km (31 miles)
Track Standard
Tramping track
Difficulty
Easy
Start
Mavora Lakes Campsite
End
Greenstone car park
Nearest Towns
Te Anau (
Click here
), Glenorchy (
Click here
)
Transport
Shuttle bus, plane
Summary
Part of the national Te Araroa Walkway (
www.teararoa.org.nz
)
, this tramp fea-
tures alpine scenery of considerable splendour with the bonus of a lot less trampers than the
nearby Greenstone, Caples or Routeburn Tracks.
Mavora Lakes Park, in the Snowdon State Forest, lies within the Te Wahipounamu - South
West New Zealand World Heritage Area. The heart of the park is the sublime Mavora Lakes
camping area, huge golden meadows sitting alongside two lakes - North and South Mavora
- fringed by forest and towered over by the impressive Thomson and Livingstone Moun-
tains with peaks rising to more than 1600m.
The Mavora Lakes Walkway follows the Mararoa River for much of its length before
peeling off to meet the Greenstone. This route was once used to drive cattle from Martins
Bay on the West Coast through to Mossburn, so many segments are the breadth of a road.
The first day, in fact, is along a 4WD track open to mountain bikers and motorists; vehicles
are prohibited beyond Boundary Hut as the track enters privately owned Elfin Bay Station.
