Maori Saddle Hut

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.