Wilderness Magazine
Login
Subscribe
Wilderness Magazine
Dec 16, 2025
The past beneath our boots
The past beneath our boots
00:00
19:34
Transcript
0:00
Hi, it's Alistair here from Wilderness.
0:01
I'm joined by writer and tramper Sarah White, whose story, The Past Beneath Our Boots, follows a four-day journey through one of South Westland's most historic backcountry networks, the Haast-Pāranga Cattle Track, the Moeraki Valley, and the Matakitaki Tops.
0:16
Sarah's going to read her story, and afterwards we'll have a brief Q&A about the trip. Kia ora, Sarah, over to you. Kia ora, Alistair. Thank you for that. Yeah, I'll just read through the story now.
0:28
Um, The Past Beneath Our Boots. Every track and hut has its own story, its reason for existence.
0:36
On this trip in South Westland, the routes we followed and the huts we stayed at harked back to a bygone era of New Zealand pioneering, farming, and backcountry history.
0:48
Paul and I followed a hi- historic Māori pounamu route, a track to access the mine, and the cattle drive route used before there was a road.
0:59
The huts we slept in were variously built to shelter deer cullers and roadmen, were purpose-built for tramping, or erected as a memorial.
1:09
It's hard to believe now that the final section of the road from Pāranga to Haast was only completed in 1965.
1:17
Before this, farmers in the Landsborough and Cascade Valleys used the Haast to Pāranga Cattle Track to drive their cattle to the sale yards in Whotaroa, a two-week journey.
1:29
Construction of the cattle track began in 1875 and followed the route of a Māori pounamu trail.
1:37
To avoid the steep cliffs and rugged coastline around Knights Point, it heads inland along the Waiata and Moeraki Rivers, crossing Pāranga Saddle.
1:48
For 90 years, this was the only land access to the settlements of Haast and Jackson Bay. Mail was transported fortnightly by pack horse, and a telephone line was installed along the track in 1910.
2:03
We began our trip at the northern end of the cattle track. The craftsmanship and hard work of those early track builders was immediately apparent. It's two meters wide and metalled with a deep shingle bed.
2:16
The track was suitable for pack mules, horses, and even drays. Dry stone culverts built to divert water off the track are still in place, testament to their effectiveness. The walking was easy.
2:31
We followed the cattle track for half an hour before turning into the lower Moeraki Valley track, which would take us to Horseshoe Flat Hut.
2:40
As we tramped through mixed southern beech and podocarp forest, dappled sunlight played on the track. The Moeraki sparkled beside us, alternating, alternating lively rapids with stretches of tranquil blue.
2:54
We could see why this river was popular for fishing.
2:58
The track emerged into a series of open wetland clearings, and we had views of the mountains at the head of the valley before arriving at Horseshoe Flat Hut, a classic New Zealand Forest Service deer cullers hut built in 1970.
3:13
Although they're a devastating scourge, we do have deer to thank for the extensive collection of New Zealand Forest Service huts built in the mid-20th century to house the cullers employed to control them.
3:26
For North Island trampers like us, used to roaming the forest parks of the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges, arriving at a classic New Zealand Forest Service six bunker is like coming home.
3:37
The rectangular gabled form is lined with a ply. A stainless steel bench stands in one corner. Six bunks arranged along two walls and a fireplace and small porch complete the setup.
3:50
We had lunch here, taking shelter from the bright sun.
3:54
Another couple of hours took us further up the Moeraki, crossing gravel flats before following markers through open beech forest to Middle Head Hut, another New Zealand Forest Service gem.
4:05
It was midsummer, and the hills were ablaze with flowering southern rata.
4:11
Next day, we retraced our steps down the beautiful Moeraki Valley to rejoin the cattle track and make our way to Blowfly Hut, named for the flies that swarmed here, attracted by cattle dung during the annual drives.
4:26
A road man employed to maintain the track lived here until 1960. Over lunch, we studied an impressive large format book on the history of the cattle track.
4:38
From Blowfly Hut to Māori Saddle, the track slides gently uphill southwest through beech and kāmahi forest before following the 600-meter contour line along the western edge of the Matakitaki Range.
4:52
By now it was raining, and we pushed on quickly, grinding out the kilometers on the easy-to-follow track. There were some detours around slips and a couple of deep gullies to negotiate.
5:04
Telephone poles complete with drooping wires and ceramic insulators are still in place. We were glad to arrive at Māori Saddle Hut late in the afternoon to dry off and warm up with a mug of soup.
5:17
This hut was built in 1980 by the Forest Service as a dedicated tramping hut when the cattle track, no longer in use for cattle drives, was upgraded for trampers. It's a frameless hut, much like a Lockwood.
5:30
It's all wood, wood interlocking construction providing solidity and insulation. It features some architectural flourishes reminiscent of its era, including a timber arch between the bunk and living areas.
5:44
From Māori Saddle Hut, you can continue to follow the cattle track to Coppermine Hut and out to the Haast Highway, but we had other plans for the following day.
5:55
Next morning, the southerly was still roaring, but we had ample incentive to be up and moving.
6:00
We'd booked bunks in Matakitaki Hut high on the Matakitaki Range and were keen to get up there quickly and treat ourselves to a rest day. A push factor was the horde of hungry mosquitoes in Maori Saddle Hut.
6:13
We climbed quickly through the bush on the Maori Saddle route and onto the tussocky tops. A blustery southerly buffeting us and the sky clear.
6:23
Emerging from the bush, we immediately spotted dark red Matakitaki Hut on a prominent ridge. It took another 15 minutes to reach it, and we tumbled in out of the wind to find the fire still warm from previous occupants.
6:37
Matakitaki was built in 2021, funded by a bequest, quest from adventurer and conservationist Andy Dennis, who wanted to open a new accessible tops route so an average tramper could appreciate the glory of his beloved South Westland.
6:54
The hut is situated to take full advantage of the r- view, the Haast River delta and the Tasman Sea in one direction, and in the other, a panorama of the Southern Alps, including Mounts Hooker, Pollux, and Deacon, and as far north as Aoraki Mount Cook.
7:10
Purpose-built wooden furniture, extra thick mattresses, and a stylish wood stove, this place felt special. Clever engineering was needed to meet standards for maximum wind loading.
7:21
Securing the hut are 28 anchor piles held in place with 11 tons of concrete, all mixed on site. No steel cable tie-downs for this hut. Our planned rest day was everything we'd dreamed of.
7:35
As a southerly rocked the hut, the wood stove, well-stocked wood shed, and double glazing ensured we were cozy and happy.
7:42
A shelf of books from Dennis' own library, a well-curated section of New Zealand literary fiction and conservation works provided reading material.
7:52
There was even tasty food left by other trampers to supplement our ra- rations, and we had this cozy gem to ourselves.
8:01
Thankfully, the wind had dropped by the time we set off next morning to traverse the tussocky tops on the Mica Mine route.
8:08
Explorer Charlie Douglas had i- identified mica deposits in the area in 1896, and because mica was used in radio condensers and spark plug washers in Allied aircraft during World War II, interest in extracting it was rekindled.
8:25
Mica was mined here from 1942 to 1945. The way is dotted with appealing alpine tarns, and mountain daisies and spear grasses were in flower.
8:35
The track is well-polled and easy to follow, so we could devote most of our attention to the magnificent alpine and ocean views.
8:43
After four kilometers of fun tops travel, it's time to descend the historic mine track built so that horses could pack supplies to and from the mine.
8:52
Another historic track built to high specifications, making a tramper's life easy. The zigzags allowed a leisurely descent to rejoin the, the cattle track on the valley floor.
9:04
From there, it was a couple of hours through to Blowfly Hut and another hour back to the car. These amazing four days in the mountains were made possible by backcountry infrastructure created for many different purposes.
9:17
I love tramping in places where history and stories of the area add a cultural dimension to the experience. Thanks so much, Sarah. To start with, what led you to choose this particular trip?
9:29
Well, um, every summer, Paul and I spend, uh, two and a half to three and a half weeks in the South Island, and we, um, are particularly fond of the West Coast area.
9:43
And this year we were in South Westland, and we'd done a really big trip, um, over the Gladiator in the Karangaro and Douglas Valleys, and we'd just come out of there.
9:55
It felt we wanted to further explore South Westland, so we chose this one.
10:01
Got to say, we were inspired by Wilderness Magazine, um, both for the, the big, um, Gladiator trip, but also for this, um, there'd been a couple of articles in the Wilderness Magazine about Matakitaki Hut,
10:15
and also Brian Dommey had written, um, a little trip report about going up the Moeraki River. So those were inspirations. Um, and we also wanted a bit more of a cruisy trip after our big epic.
10:29
Um, yeah, so those were all the reasons we, we wanted to go into that area.
10:35
I did wonder about why you went up the Moeraki Valley, because you went all the way to, to the head of the valley, and then you retraced your steps the next day.
10:43
Was it just to see the huts, was it, or to explore that valley as, as Brian had maybe described it as being quite a nice walk? Yeah. Yeah, a mixture of things.
10:52
Um, we are hut baggers, so we try to collect as many huts as we can.
10:58
But also, yeah, the Moeraki seemed really appealing 'cause the, most of the rivers on the West Coast are these massive torrents, ferocious rivers, huge, um, huge boulders, really difficult to negotiate.
11:13
And the Moeraki is just a complete contrast to that, just this gentle, beautiful, um, soft flowing river with easy tracks to walk alongside and beautiful, um, meadowy, meadowy sections alternating with bush. Yeah.
11:29
So we were really attracted to that, and it was a beautiful day, so it was, yeah, it was a good addition to the trip. You were looking for something slightly easier after that Gladiator trip.
11:41
Were you surprised at the condition of these tracks? Yeah.
11:45
The cattle track has had some slips over it, and there are some, some gulches and gullies that you have to climb in and out, but generally the tracks were in really good nick.
11:57
Um, and you know, we sort of do a little bit more off track and harder to negotiate country often, so this was a really nice change from that. And yeah, navigation wasn't really an issue. It was very evident where to go.
12:13
Well signposted, well-polled on the tops, and tracks easy to follow. Beautiful, beautiful infrastructure.
12:20
And so varied, you know, it was really varied route, not just, I mean, I've gone into detail about the, the huts and the different huts, but yeah, the terrain was really varied.
12:32
So you stayed in a real cross-section of huts from classic NZPS six bunkers to the new Matakitaki Hut. Can you tell us how those huts, um, shaped the experience of this trip? Yeah.
12:45
Being in the, in the different huts from different eras, it really made me think about the people who had used those huts in the past and their purpose for being in that landscape, which were all really different from the, um, deer cullers in the '60s, '70s and '80s, who, who actually lived in the bush for, um, months at a time.
13:07
You know, they, they came in with big sacks of flour and potatoes and, and basically ate venison and drank tea and cooked damper and ate potatoes for, for months on end and didn't come out to civilization.
13:21
You know, it makes you really think about their lives and their experience of the country that we were experiencing.
13:28
Um, and then the road men who were based on the Haast-Pāranga Track, and that was their job to live in the bush and, and mend the track, you know, hewing
13:41
stone out of the surrounding hillsides to mend the culverts and metal the track. And the beautifully beautiful newly constructed Matakitaki Hut on the tops, and just the, the craftsmanship.
13:52
It was almost, uh, it, it was designed by an architect as just th- this beautiful s- thoughtful space. Yeah, it was really nice to reflect on the different reasons that people go into the bush and their lives.
14:09
That m- uh, Matakitaki Hut looks incredible. The photos that Paul took are really great. It's some fantastic setting, and the hut itself is, as you say, it's, uh, really neat. How does it compare to
14:24
other huts you've stayed in on that South Island trip you were just on, but also maybe what you're used to in the North Island? Matakitaki Hut is the pinnacle of huts, I would say.
14:35
And because it's such a special place, I think people who stay there appreciate it.
14:40
So, you know, it was very clean and it w- you know, it, um, when a space is beautiful, I think people do look after it, um, are more incentivized to, to be kind to it.
14:52
But it was just, yeah, it's a gener- the generosity of the spaces, uh, the thickness of the mattresses, the beautiful wooden joinery, the thoughtfulness that's gone into the way they've put the library shelves tucked in by one of the, the bunks and the beautiful stainless steel benches, and of course, positioned so that you can sit on the, um, window seats and just have this incredible vista in front of you.
15:18
I think we did well to, to plan a rest day for that day. And, um, yeah, we, we were pretty knackered from quite a few long days before then. It was just, it was just bliss really.
15:31
And it was cold outside, so we enjoyed the fire, but it was sunny and bright, so we had the views. Yeah, very lucky. I was gonna say, um, you had that rest day. Would you recommend other people take a rest day there too?
15:46
Yes. Well, if you can, I think so. The thing about Matakitaki Hut is that it's, you have to book it.
15:54
It's run by a trust or built by a trust or something, but you can book it through DOC on the DOC website, and it's $25 a night, and you do have to book it.
16:05
So yeah, that's, that's some, one of the logistics you'd have to do if you, if you were planning to do this trip.
16:11
But I, I think two nights there would be really nice 'cause you could do day trips from the hut along the tops and just really enjoy being up there. It's very special.
16:22
What can you tell someone who might be replicating the route about how to plan and perhaps prepare for the trip? Well, the booking for the hut would be the main thing that you'd have to do to get ready to do the hut.
16:35
The other thing, I mean, obviously you don't have to go up the Moeraki 'cause that was a there and back addition for us.
16:42
So if you wanted to do a shorter trip, you could just do that section on the Haast-Pāranga up onto the tops and back, loop back round.
16:50
The other thing that you could do is carry on from Maori Saddle Hut along the Haast-Pāranga Track that will take you out further down the Haast Highway. But if you did that, you wouldn't get back to your car.
17:04
Uh, it wouldn't be a round trip, so you'd either have to hitch back to your car, which would be no problem, I wouldn't think, or arrange some other transport. Yeah, not too many logistics to, to think about really.
17:17
What's the rest of the Haast Pāranga Cattle Track like as it continues to the coast? Is it of a similar standard, do you know?
17:25
When we did it, um, there was a warning on the DOC website that there was a slip across a portion of the track,
17:34
and I think there was advice not, not to follow that, but I, I recently looked on the website, and I don't think that warning's there anymore. So yeah, I think it's absolutely fine. Yeah, and similar sort of,
17:46
sort of condition to what we were on until we got to Maori Saddle Hut. Just on the Matakitaki Tops and the mica mine route, how does that tops travel compare with the North Island tops you're used to?
18:01
It is much easier [laughs] um, the Matakitaki Tops. Um, it's rolling, it's tussocky. There's not very much up and down. It's, you can just romp across. It's really, really, really fun.
18:15
Um, and of course you have those incredible views of the high Southern Alps. Um, I am very loyal to my Tararua and Ruahine trips. Tararua is it's just constant up and downs. You have to be fit to enjoy the Tararua.
18:29
You know, you can do 200 meter vertical little pinnacles within a very short distance, and then there's another 200 meters to go up and down, and it's rocky. You know, there's clambering.
18:41
And the weather's generally pretty bad on the Tararua tops. The Ruahines can be pretty rugged as well, and um, they have got some, some sort of flatter sort of tops. I've had some really lovely top days in the Ruahines.
18:54
But some of the tops travel you, sort of leatherwood and other scrub has grown up over the, over the tracks or the roots. So, um, that can be difficult to push through.
19:05
Yeah, and the thing that you get in, in those lovely southern North Island ranges if the weather's good is views to the distant volcanoes, Taranaki, Mount Ruapehu and Tararua, which that's pretty special.
19:18
But the Matakitaki Tops is easy tops and really fun tops and really beautiful tops. Sarah, thanks so much for joining us and sharing such a rich and layered journey. My pleasure.
19:32
Yeah, really nice to talk to you about this trip.
The Wild Podcast
Recent episodes
A fascination with feathers
Feb 11, 2026
The Tararua's forgotten traverse
Feb 4, 2026
High Country Gold
Nov 13, 2025
