Hump Track Fiordland NP

Te WaeWae Bay, Hump Ridge Track.

We did the Hump Track on Labour Weekend, at the end of October in 2006. This is in the New Zealand spring which is typically cool and windy - not a good time for tramping! This was the start of the new season on the track and a few other hardy souls took a chance on the spring weather as well. In the event it was not too bad, light snow overnight on Saturday night at Okaka, but Sunday although cool was a fine day. The tramline along to Port Craig was muddy but in general the track was in good condition. 

Okaka hut, Hump Ridge Track, 2006.

Boardwalk, Hump Ridge Track, 2006. The forest is silver beech with an understorey of shrubby podocarps and beautiful Dracophyllum shrubs. Boardwalks covered in light snow are VERY slippery!

Percy Burn viaduct, Hump Ridge Track, Fiordland National Park. 2006.

Fiordland coastline between Percy Burn and Port Craig, Hump Ridge Track.

Port Craig Village - very up-market tramping accommodation!

Port Craig DoC hut - one of the best around! It is the old schoolhouse, we stayed here a few years after doing the Hump Track in mid-winter, very very cold but great little woodstove and ample firewood kept us cosy, with a fabulous winyter night sky as a bonus.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Hump Track experience and were lucky with the weather. We used track transport (Landrover) to get to start of the track proper near Track Burn, this saved us about 90 minutes along the beach each way. From the drop-off point it was 5 hours to Okaka, the track along the ridge to Edwin Burn and on to Port Craig was an easy 7 hours. The last day back to the transport pick-up was about 4 hours with an early lunch sheltering from passing showers on the veranda of the NZDA hut at Track Burn. On our subsequent visit to Port Craig in 2012 it took us 5hr30' from Port Craig hut to the Hump Track carpark. The track along the coastline here is very attractive and well worth a visit.