Historic Haast to Paringa Cattle Track

Walking the Haast to Paringa Cattle Track is a three-day journey and you will need to be prepared to stay in huts along the route. There are active slips in the area. Greater care and route-finding is required around steep-banked stream crossings.

SH6 to Blowfly Hut

Time: 1 hr 30 min

The initial section of the track to Blowfly Hut detours from the original route to avoid a lowland swampy area around Windbag Creek. Once past the swampy area, it soon picks up the original line. The flat well-benched track then follows the Moeraki River to a junction about 1 hour’s walk away. Blowfly Hut is a further 15 minutes’ walk from this junction, across the swing bridge to your left. There's a turn-off to your right just before Blowfly Hut that you need to take to continue the Historic Haast to Paringa Cattle Track.

Blowfly Hut to Māori Saddle Hut

Time: 4 hr 30 min

The track to Māori Saddle winds its way steadily uphill through mixed beech, rimu and kāmahi forest, typical of southern Westland. Along the way, you'll pass some good examples of stone culverts built by the mica miners. There's also a historic miner’s campsite near the helipad, 5 minutes before the Mica Mine Tops Route junction. Continuing towards Māori Saddle, sections of the track are quite rough – in heavy rain, access becomes more difficult due to the numerous stream crossings. Crossings are marked, but the rocks are very slippery, so take care. There are some diversions where slips have destroyed the original track, however, these are well marked and should not be difficult to follow. There are some very large specimens of beech trees along this section. There are also some relics of the historic ‘telegraph line’ that ran beside the track. There is a known active slip about 2 hours after Blowfly Hut, at Thompson Creek (N1301968, E5142768). This creates steep access into a fast-flowing river, so needs extreme caution to cross safely and can become impassible during heavy rain.

Mataketake Hut turnoffs

Mataketake Hut can be started from two points on the Historic Haast to Paringa Cattle Track:

Coppermine Creek Hut

Time: 7 - 9 hr

This longest section of the track is downhill most of the way. Follow the markers on the other side of diversions where vegetation is overgrown and at windfalls and slips especially at Slippery Face near Robinson Creek where the track crosses the alpine fault line. Eventually the track swings to the north and follows a fence-line towards Coppermine Creek where the DOC hut is on the “true right” of the creek and the furthest of the three huts. It is another two-hour walk to the highway.