Thousand Acres Plateau

The Thousand Acres Plateau is an ancient peneplain situated between the Mokihinui and Matiri Rivers near Murchison. The Late Creataceous Peneplain formed 70 million years ago as the result of erosion of the land mass down to a sea-level plain. The plain was later raised, and remnants of it exist on the Heaphy Track, near Murchison, and in Central Otago. The Thousand Acres and nearby Hundred Acres Plateaus are rolling tussock landscapes dotted with sinkholes and crossed by limestone creeks.

Planning and access

It would be wise to allow a day to explore the area around Larrikin's Creek Hut. DOC are focussing their resources on the Lake Matiri and Larrikin's Creek Huts, while Poor Pete's is sliding into disrepair, and relies on the community to maintain it. A suggested itinerary is as follows:

• Day 1: Walk into Lake Matiri Hut (half day).
• Day 2: Climb onto the plateau, pass Poor Pete's Hut, and continue on to Larrikin's Creek Hut.
• Day 3: Visit the Needle and Hundred Acres Plateau, and walk back to Poor Pete's Hut, where camping is pleasant.
• Day 4: Descend off the plateau down to Lake Matiri Hut and out.

From Murchison, take SH6 east, and turn left onto Matiri Valley Road where the highway crosses the Buller River. Follow the road alongside the Matiri River and watch for a turn, crossing the river to the true right. Continue on up to the car park. Some vehicles continue on up the road a little further.

Car park - Lake Matiri Hut, 2 hr

Follow a rough four-wheel drive track to a wide granite river fan, and cross the West Branch of the Matiri River here. This river can become uncrossable during rain. Remnants of an old hut lie in scrub on the north bank. The cableway nearby has been decommissioned, and cannot be used. A foot track continue on past old farm flats and into riverside beech forest. A gate marks the boundary of Matiri Forest, and the point where the track becomes distinctly more interesting (1 hr 15 min). The track sidles high above a bend in the river and passes a small lime-rich waterfall. The fall has formed a mossy balcony out of lime deposit, with some basic travertine terracing beginning to form. Some pretty beech forest and a gentle climb along a wide old track leads to the Lake Matiri Hut and a limited view over the lake itself.

Lake Matiri Hut - Poor Pete's Hut, 4 hours

Dropping down to the lake, the track crosses a shingle flat at the mouth of Bay Creek. At the forest edge on the opposite bank, two tracks continue onward. One heads upriver to McConchies Hut (this route leads north to the Wangapeka Saddle and Wangapeka Track). Our trail climb directly up the hillside, heading for the plateau.