A classic West Coast walking track...
On day three of our trip to the West Coast with Karen's daughter we went to the beautiful Hokitika Gorge Walkway. I wasn't expecting much as it looked dark and rainy in the mountains around the gorge but when we got there we had a period of beautiful fine clear weather.
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| Rocky Point Lookout...Hokitika Gorge |
Hokitika Gorge is famous as a featured scene in many postcards from New Zealand. The water running through the gorge has a brilliant aquamarine color to it which makes for spectacular photos. The walkway is short...about 45 minutes return and leads you down to a good vantage point halfway along the track and a couple of swing-bridges over the gorge.
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| Brilliant blue of the Hokitika River |
The latter part of the track follows alongside the Hokitika River before climbing back to the carpark through old growth Podocarp forest. This is the newer section of this loop track only completed in 2021.
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| Viewpoint further up the Hokitika River Valley |
I have been here many times now but I love this track as every visit is different from the last. This time we had brilliant blue skies and fine weather...next time it will probably be pouring with rain.
On the Hokitika Gorge Walk:
The first part of the Hokitika Gorge Walk is along the old track to the first suspension bridge. It is 700 meters to the bridge along a series of gravel tracks, boardwalk and bridge sections. We parked the Silver Surfer in the car park and set off along the walk.
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| Silver Surfer at the Hokitika Gorge carpark |
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| Heading for the start of the Gorge Walk |
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| Lots of parking space at the Hokitika Gorge |
There are a set of toilets at the start of the track (the only ones along the track) and a small information kiosk with some panels dealing with the history, geology and biology of the area. This whole area is glacial in nature and the rocky outcrops along the track are moraine piles and hard rock the ancient glacier was not able to move. This has been eroded by the river over many millennia to form the Hokitika Gorge.
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| Toilet block at start of Hokitika Gorge Walk |
The map at the start of the track shows you how much longer the new extended track is...it is easily 3-4 times longer now and takes in about a full third of the whole Hokitika Gorge.
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Map: the extended Hokitika Gorge Loop Track
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DOC have updated the information in the kiosk but the track sign at the start still shows the old times and distances. From here it is 15-20 minutes to Rocky Point and 1 hour to walk the whole track. You are straight into it with a very mild climb up the track to the first lookout point about 200 meters along...
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| Start of the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Karen and Catherine take the lead...Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| First area of boardwalk...Hokitika Gorge Walk |
You get your first view of the turquoise blue waters of Hokitika Gorge from the first lookout. It is high above the river and you can see down to the first suspension bridge and down to where the Hokitika Gorge emerges into the nearby river flats and farmland.
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| Lower suspension bridge over the Hokitika Gorge |
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| Farmland downstream of the Hokitika Gorge |
From here you drop down a couple of hundred meters to meet up with the first suspension bridge over the Hokitika River. The track is wide gravel and boardwalk but it is perhaps a bit rough for wheelchair access. The hill alongside the track is covered with a variety of ferns, grass, flax, and wort's of various sizes and colours.
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| ...Cornucopia of plants on the tracks side... |
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| Descending down to the lower bridge, Hokitika Gorge Walk |
After 10 minutes walking you will find yourself at the first suspension bridge...it is a proper bridge with a deck and it stretches from one bank to the other about 40 meters above the river.
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| Lower suspension bridge at Hokitika Gorge |
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| Hefty supports for the Hokitika Gorge bridge |
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| It was busy along the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
The beautiful blue water flowing beneath you is made by light refraction in the 'glacial flour' or rock dust the river carries. It was looking gorgeous the day we visited but will be dark and muddy if there has been a rain event recently.
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| Turquoise color in the Hokitika Gorge |
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| Karen and Catherine on the lower Hokitika Gorge bridge |
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| Downstream from the Hokitika Gorge bridge |
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| Looking back over the lower Hokitika Gorge Bridge |
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| ...Hokitika River Gorge has high rock sides... |
Past the lower bridge you walk a couple of hundred meters to the lookout deck above Rocky Point. The forest along here is beautiful Podocarp with a number of small side streams which cross the track on their way to the main river.
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| Descending down towards Rocky Point, Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Turn off for Rocky Point Lookout, Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| New track continues from Rocky Point, Hokitika Gorge |
The track slowly descends another 200 meters and drops you at a rocky prominence in a bend of the Hokitika River. From Rocky Point you are able to see for several hundred meters in both directions along the river and this is the best location to take photos of the Gorge.
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| Hokitika Gorge upstream of Rocky Point |
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| The deep, swift and cold Hokitika River |
There is a small set of stairs which you can use to drop down to the rocks of the point and a small sandy beach on the side of the river.
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| Stairs to beach at Rocky Point, Hokitika Gorge |
You must exercise extreme caution here and keep a tight hold of your kids...several people have drowned after falling off the rocks and into the river. The flow is not that fast BUT it is super deep, icy cold and filled with under water rocks and eddies which will quickly pull you under.
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| Tourist exploring Rocky Point Lookout rocks |
This sign is not an idle warning...it is your responsibility to keep yourself and your family safe so don't go buggering around at Rocky Point. Keep an eye on the rocks, don't go too close to the edge and for Gods sake don't become a needless selfie casualty.
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| Very valid warning at Rocky Point, Hokitika Gorge |
The view from the rocks are just stunning...it is worth a little risk to have a look but just be careful.
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| ...the new suspension bridge is just around the corner... |
From here you can just turn about and head back to the carpark the way you just walked. It is about 15-20 minutes back up the hill and is not too strenuous a climb if you take your time.
On the Hokitika Gorge Track extension...
Over 2020 and the beginning of 2021 the Department of Conservation built a new suspension bridge over the Hokitika River. The new bridge is about 500 meters up stream from the old bridge and it is connected with a new loop track.
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| Continuing along the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
The new track section starts right from the turn off to Rocky Point and heads about 500 meters along the true left of the river to the new suspension bridge. It is a mixture of gravel paths, boardwalk and bridges cantilevered out from the Gorge walls.
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| Karen and Catherine on the new Hokitika Gorge Walk |
The walls of the gorge are right next to you as you walk along and they are covered in small native plants, mosses and ferns. The track builders were obviously told to do minimal disturbance as they have not even scuffed the moss off some of the rocks close to the track.
There are several small cascades falling down to and under the boardwalk this adds to the overall air of permeance of the track even though it is less than one year old.
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| Small waterfall along the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
DOC have done a magnificent job of fitting the new track into the surroundings with a minimum of straight edges. The track and boardwalk gracefully follows the line of the hills and they have removed a minimum of foliage to accommodate it.
Once the bridge work weathers it will fade into the landscape...
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| Glimpses of the Hokitika Gorge through the trees |
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| Looking back towards the old bridge, Hokitika Gorge |
There are a couple of new viewing platforms along the section of track to the new bridge. They are located at good spots to allow you to view the gorge upstream of Rocky Point. DOC have installed benches made from highly varnished native wood so that you can sit and contemplate although the sand-flies will make any rest brief as they are usually veracious at this reserve.
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| A new viewpoint along the extended Hokitika Gorge Walk |
From one of the lookout along the new track section you can see further up the Hokitika Gorge. The new longer suspension bridge is just out of view around a corner...
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| Hokitika Gorge continues towards the new bridge |
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| The Hokitika Gorge is about 100 meters wide here |
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| Rocky Point from further along the track...Hokitika Gorge |
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| Rocky Point juts out into the Hokitika Gorge |
You continue along the track on multiple sections of boardwalk with the occasional window down to the river or forwards towards the new suspension bridge
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| ....the Hokitika Gorge Walk winds through riverside bush... |
There is a small bridge over a pretty side stream along here and there is a beautiful cascade in this stream which you can see but not photograph easily.
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| Bridge over a small side stream...Hokitika Gorge |
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| ...Karen and Catherine photograph the stream... |
The stream is a good 20 meters beneath you as you cross the bridge and it flows across some slabs of smooth rock into the river below...
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| Side stream some distance under the bridge...Hokitika Gorge |
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| ...the Hokitika Gorge Walk has lengths of boardwalk... |
About 200 meters from the new bridge is a gap in the forest canopy which allows you to see just how big it is and how far above the water. In the distance are the foothills and ridges of the Southern Alps and there is little sign of humans for most of the way.
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| Upper suspension bridge over the Hokitika Gorge |
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| Floods scour the sides of the Hokitika Gorge |
The new bridge keeps appearing through the foliage as you walk the last steps to the start of it...
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| Distant Knobby Ridge from the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Close up of new bridge and Knobby Ridge, Hokitika Gorge |
You drop down to the approaches to the second bridge through ferns and native trees along high quality gravel track so the walking is very easy.
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| Massive supports for second bridge....Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Hokitika Gorge Suspension Bridge II (2020) |
Hokitika Gorge Suspension Bridge II (2020) is now the second longest backcountry suspension bridge in New Zealand. The only longer ones are on one of the cycle trails down in Otago and it just pushes the Kohaihai Bridge in Kahurangi NP out of second place. There are longer swingbridges on the Buller River, Tararuas and along the Timber Trail in the North Island.
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| Karen and Catherine head across the bridge |
The view from the bridge is magic...upstream you can see the river flats above the Hokitika Gorge, Knobbly Ridge and Miserable Ridge. Downstream you can see right down to where the river rounds a point and heads towards Rocky Point and the lowerbridge.
You are so high that the ends of the bridge are passing the topmost foliage of some big Kahikatea, Rimu, Matai and Totara Trees along the river.
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| Eastern end of Hokitika Gorge from suspension bridge |
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| ...Downstream from Hokitika Gorge Bridge II... |
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| River bottom visible above the Hokitika Gorge Bridge II |
From the side of the river you can see just how long the bridge is and the size of the massive support towers is very evident. The bridge is anchored to massive boulders and huge concrete piers so it was rock solid even in the freshening breeze blowing down the Gorge.
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| Crossing to the northern bank of Hokitika Gorge |
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| The bridge is about 60 meters above the Hokitika Gorge |
At the true right side of the bridge you pass high above a small side stream which is feeding into the main Hokitika River...the water is a rich brown color due to all the tannins in the groundwater.
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| Side stream of the Hokitika Gorge from bridge |
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| On the new track on north side of Hokitika Gorge |
From the end of the bridge it would be one kilometre back to the carpark at the entrance of the Reserve. This is all new track and it has been beautifully constructed to slowly ascend about 200 meters over its length so it is a nice easy walk back up to the track end. The forest in the first section was pristine with massive Rimu, Matai, Totara and Kahikatea Trees.
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| Heading back to carpark on the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Sizable Kahikatea Tree along the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
There is a nice window through the dense forest about 200 meters past the second suspension bridge. It has a view of the river flats above the Hokitika Gorge and through to the distant Southern Alps. There is a nice bench seat here where you can sit, contemplate the world and listen to the birdsong from the forest.
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| River flats above the upper bridge...Hokitika Gorge |
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| Nice bush setting for a bench...Hokitika Gorge Walk |
The later parts of this walk are beautiful but they seem to me like the forest might have been milled at some point in the past. There are still big Podocarps through here but they are not as massive as the ones closer to the river. There is also a lot of mature Tree Ferns and Manuka trees which are often the first trees to recolonise a milled area.
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| Sun dappled walking along the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Artfully designed drain...Hokitika Gorge Walk |
Sections of the track close to the carpark look like old bullock tracks...they are wider than the rest and you can see really old benching along the side of the tracks. I think there might have been a road through here at one time but it must have been a long time ago as the bush is dense. It might have been a forestry road or access to the big river flats above Hokitika Gorge which were once farmed.
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| Climbing back to the carpark...Hokitika Gorge Walk |
About 200 meters from the end of the track is an old ancient pile of rocks that look like glacial erratic's to me. A retreating glacier will drop massive hanks of rock off its face when it can no longer support them. You see them in old glacial areas like the Cobb Valley, Mt Cook, Mt Aspiring, Arthurs Pass and Nelson Lakes NP all the time. Some of these are as big as a three bedroom house...
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Ancient glacial erratics on the Hokitika Gorge Walk
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| Bush covers old glacial debris...Hokitika Gorge Walk |
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| Approaching the end of the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
Eventually you walk off the Hokitika Gorge Walk into the carpark at the beginning of the reserve. It was very quiet the day we were there and I think we saw possibly six of eight other people the whole time we were there.
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| Back at the Hokitika Gorge Walk carpark |
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Looking back at the end of the Hokitika Gorge Walk
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There is a huge car-park here as it is normally heaving with people over the summer, school holidays and weekends. I recommend you visit outside those times if possible so you can have a more natural experience. It was tranquil walking from the new bridge to the carpark with only bird call and wind blowing through the trees...few people this early in the summer.
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| Carpark for the Hokitika Gorge Walk |
So that is the Hokitika Gorge Walk...it is well worth a visit as the new track really enhances an already awesome walk. I think I might be inclined to walk the new sections of track first next time (clockwise fashion) as it would make for a new experience if you have already visited the reserve in the past.
That is what I will do if I ever find myself at the reserve in the future.
Access: The route to Hokitika Gorge Reserve is extremely convoluted so it is worth mapping it out before you start. From Hokitika head east out of town towards Kaniere, take the road to Kokatahi and hence to Kowhitirangi. From here follow Johnston Road to Neilson Road then Whitcombe Valley Road to the car-park at the start of the track. As I said...convoluted!!!!
Track Times: It takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to walk the new full loop track.
Miscellaneous: The track is built to a superior standard as this is a very popular track. The track is suitable for just about everyone. There are a set of toilets at the start of the track but none down nearer the Gorge. The track was extended in early 2021 with new track and a new suspension bridge up river from the old one. It is now just short of three kilometer's to walk the full loop track.
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