Hokitika, II of V: West Coast Treetop Walkway: 23rd September 2021

A return visit to a West Coast icon...

We spent our first full day in Hokitika visiting the Hokitika Gorge Walk and the West Coast Treetop Walk. The Treetop Walk is an elevated forest walk near Lake Mahinapua about 10-12 kilometers south of Hokitika along SH6. I have been to the Walkway four times now but you always find something new to experience when you are here. 

Entrance to the West Coast Treetop Walk and Café

There are currently 2-3 treetop walkways here in New Zealand...one in the North Island and two in the South Island. 

Nice manicured grounds at the West Coast Treetop Walk

You start the walk from the office & café at the entrance to the Walkway complex...there is an excellent café here and attached gift shop. Karen and I had some lunch before our walk and the Caesar Salad and open Chicken Sandwich were both tasty. The entrance fee is $32 dollars which seems like a lot but it has not increased since the last time I was here with Karen back in October of  2019. 

Some information about the West Coast Treetop Walk

The structures of the walkway are from twenty meters to nearly fifty meters above ground and are at the level of the top foliage of the mature trees in the reserve. The top of the largest tower is very high for height adverse Jon but the enclosed nature of the platforms mean I am ok to climb to the top without breaking down into a quivering heap. I am not so happy on the cantilever but more about that later...

Looking out over the West Coast Treetop Walk

The Walkway is right next to Lake Mahinapua and you can see a goodly portion of the total area of the lake especially along the northern shoreline. There are fantastic views of the surrounding forest, the lake itself and right out to the distant Southern Alps if you are here on a clear sunny day. 

Lake Mahinapua from the West Coast Treetop Walk

It is an awesome spot to visit on the West Coast so let us have a closer look at the Walkway and what you can see from it...

The Westcoast Treetop Walkway:

The West Coast Treetop Walkway is made up of a series of gantries, towers, platforms and stairs which take you around an area of mature wetland forest on the southern shore of Lake Mahinapua. You start from the cafe/gift shop/office adjacent to the car park and the whole walk will take you from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how long you stand admiring the trees...

The office and cafe at the West Coast Treetop Walk

There was a bird feeding platform near the start of the walk where native birds were eating cut fruit, sugar water and grain set out for them by the cafe staff. There were a number of Bellbirds, Silver Eye, Tui and Pukeko eating here. 

Feeding platform for native birds, West Coast Treetop Walk

Interesting sculpture at the West Coast Treetop Walk

The first part of the Walkway is a 500 meter stroll along a gravel access road...you climb about 40 meters onto a small ridge near the start of the gantries. Along the way there are a number of seats you can sit on to take in the surrounding dense native bush. During the summertime there is a small shuttle which can run people to the start of the gantries but it really isn't necessary. 

The West Coast Treetop Walk starts with a small hill climb...

...Treetop Walkway...there are several benches you can rest at..

West Coast Treetop Walk: you are climbing to the start of the gantries

First view of the West Coast Treetop Walk

There are a series of panels on this Walkway explaining the fauna of the area including the standard DOC species signs, historical information and panels like the one below explaining a particular aspect of the local forest. I like this sign about Epiphytes...it is the most straight forward explanation I have ever seen of these plant species. 

Epiphytes live in most of these Podocarps trees...

The walkway covers an area of Kahikatea wetlands and the gantries sit at a standard height of 20 meters above the ground. They are not enclosed but they do have very high barriers on both sides of the walkway. It is safe in almost all conditions but they do move around a bit in high wind so be forewarned. 

Start of the walkways at West Coast Treetop Walk

There is an extensive set of raised gantries, platforms, stairs and a tower...

West Coast Treetop Walk: the walkway is at tree top level

You walk around the walkway at the height of the forest canopy so you get a unique glimpse of a world that is normally out of sight to most people. There are all kinds of plants growing in the top of these trees as they use their height to gain access to more of the sunlight on offer. Most of the plants are propagated from wind blown seed but some of them are deposited by bird droppings or through vines climbing from tree to tree...

Mature Totora trees flank the West Coast Treetop Walk

West Coast Treetop Walk: closer look at the top of the foliage

You are heading towards the large tower at the end of the first couple of hundred meters of the walkway. It is significantly higher that the rest at 47 meters (154 feet...) and has a staircase winding around it to a platform near the top. From experience this tower will move a lot in even the gentlest wind so don't climb up if heights are not your thing...

First view of the tower...West Coast Treetop Walk

You will see all manner of native birds as you walk along the gantries...I have seen Kingfisher, Tui, Kaka, Keruru, Bellbirds, Fantails and Tomtits flying around. Tui are especially common as they inhabit the top of Podocarp trees and at certain times of the year you will se a lot of them flying about and singing...

Many native birds live in the area...

The main species of tree in the area is Kahikatea as they love the wet soggy soils along the side of big lakes. You will also see Rimu. Matai, Miro and Totora trees along the walk and the understory down at ground level is thick and varied. 

West Coast Treetop Walk: looking at a mature Rimu Tree

It would be virtually impossible to fall off the West Coast Treetop Walk

 Lake Mahinapua from the base of the tower...West Coast Treetop Walk

 

Karen and I walked up to the top of the tower to have a look about the surrounding countryside...you can see for many kilometers in all directions. To the north is the lake itself...west are a low range of hills between the Walkway and the Coast.

View east to Lake Mahinapua from the West Coast Treetop Walk

To the east is the forest along this side of Lake Mahinapua and also the distant foothills of the Southern Alps. On a clear day you can see their white snow capped peaks in the far distance...on the day they looked dark and moody covered in what looked like thunder cloud. 

View to the east of the West Coast Treetop Walk

 South is the bulk of Mt Greenland near Ross and the long line of high mountains stretching down to Fiordland. The view out over the forest and bush is beautiful and reminds me a bit of visiting Te Urewera NP back in the 1990's. There is almost no sign of humanity save the walkway itself...

Distant outliers of the Southern Alps from the West Coast Treetop Walk

The platform at the top of the tower...West Coast Treetop Walk

The platform at the top of the tower is quite big and I suppose you could get 8-10 people up there and still have a bit of Covid spacing between groups. It is a bit chilly in the wind so make sure you have a jacket or warm top in case you get cold. Don't drop you phone...there is no way to retrieve it as there are no tracks under the structure... 

West Coast Treetop Walk: view of the walkways from above...

Karen and I atop the West Coast Treetop Walk tower

...the tower is the same height as the Kahikatea Trees...

After the tower you head along the gantries to a walkway that is cantilevered out from the main structure with a great view of Lake Mahinapua. You are now on the western part of the structure and you can see the end of the walkway very clearly from here. There is a great view of the tower back along the gantries...

West Coast Treetop Walk: heading for the cantilever walk

The West Coast Treetop Walk tower is 47 meters high...

The cantilever walk heads towards Lake Mahinapua

The ground under the Treetop Walkway is covered with thick native bush and features a number of small creeks and swamps. This whole area is a Kahikatea wetland...they like these shallow, damp soils. Eventually as the ground dries out the Kahikatea are replaced by other podocarps with Rimu, Totora and Miro being the main replacements. 

Looking down to the ground under the West Coast Treetop Walk

I am not so good at walking out onto the cantilever section of the Walkway...it sways around a bit in the wind and though I know I am unlikely to fall it is all a bit hair raising for me. Karen has no problem with heights so she charged out to the end like a trooper...

Karen walking out to the end of the cantilever

West Coast Treetop Walk: information panel about Lake Mahinapua

The end of the West Coast Treetop Walk...

I managed to walk right out to the end of the cantilever this time but the grimace I have on my face really tells you all you need to know about how I view this. The view of Lake Mahinapua from the end is worth it though...this is the closest place along the Walkway to the lake so you can see some detail of the shoreline from here. 

Karen at the end of the cantilever...West Coast Treetop Walk

Jon at the West Coast Treetop Walk

Karen's panoramic view of Lake Mahinapua...

Lake Mahinapua is close to the West Coast Treetop Walk

You can really see how much higher the tower is from the rest of the structure...it is nearly 30 meters higher than the rest. The staircase winds up around the outside of the main pillar and the platform is covered so people can walk up there in the rain. 

The tower at the West Coast Treetop Walk

...heading back off the cantilever...West Coast Treetop Walk

From the cantilever there is just the last section of the walkway before you are back on the access road to the start/finish of the Walkway. There are great views from the end around the rest of the walkway including the lake, tower and the cantilever gantry...

The forest contains wetland species...Kahikatea, Matai, Miro, Totora and Rimu

West Coast Treetop Walk: the last section of walkway...

...side view of the West Coast Treetop Walk cantilever...

Looking to the first section of the West Coast Treetop Walk

We eventually walked off the Walkway structure and back onto Terra Firma after about 35 minutes....we have been here before so you might spend more time if it is your first visit.

Exit from the West Coast Treetop Walk

...looking back along the exit of the West Coast Treetop Walk...

From the end of the gantries you walk back along the access road to the café and shop at the entrance to the Walkway. During the summer they have a small shuttle which can transport you back to the start but it isn't needed. It is about 800 meters or 10 minutes walk back along the track and it is either flat or downhill the whole way. 

...you walk back to the Walkway Café along this road...

...typical Kahikatea tree at the West Coast Treetop Walk...

The native bush along the access road is nice especially down by the exit from the Walkway and there are some stonking big trees along here include Kahikatea, Rimu and Totora. You can look out over the surrounding forest and the walkway from a number of spots along the road....

West Coast Treetop Walk: highlighting a large Rimu Tree...

Walking back along the West Coast Treetop Walk access road

...then dropping down to the café

We passed this native jasmine along the way back to the café...they normally inhabit the top of Beech and some Podocarp trees. I'm not sure why it is growing so close to the ground but it wont last long as possums love eating them. Very pretty though....

Native tree Jasmine along the access road...

I like these native plants, West Coast Treetop Walk

We were at the Westcoast Treetop Walkway later in the afternoon so it was getting on for 4 pm by the time we got back to the camper van. There were only a couple of cars still in the car park and one other camper van with a family we saw at several different places over the time we were in Hokitika. 

The café and carpark at the West Coast Treetop Walk

It is interesting to compare this with the O'Reillys Treetop Walkway I did in Australia back in the 1990's. The two are separated by nearly 25 years and it is obvious how much people learnt about building this type of walk in the intervening years. Similar concept but so very different in execution...

...it was very quiet at the West Coast Treetop Walk...

The West Coast Treetop Walkway is good value and interesting so I would encourage you to go and visit if you are ever over on the Coast. It is a good accompaniment to a visit to Lake Mahinapua which is close by so make a day of it and drive south from Hokitika and have a look around. 

Access: Both the West Coast Treetop Walkway and nearby Lake Mahinapua are located off SH 6 approximately 10-12 km's south of Hokitika. The West Coast Treetop Walkway is on Woodstock Road...follow the signs from SH 6. 
Track Times: The West Coast Treetop Walkway takes 30-40 minutes to walk, with a five minute walk to the start and finish from the nearby café. 
Miscellaneous: The Treetop Walkway costs $32 per adult, $16 per child but there are other payment options. There is a very fine café located at the walkway with a la carte and cabinet food and a gift shop. The walkway can be done in running style shoes no boots required.