Hump Ridge track to be next "Great Walk"

60km of track, $5 million

Too lazy to do the research but is the Te Paki Coastal track also part of Te Araroa?

Te Paki starts/finishes at Kapowairua (Spirits Bay) DOC campground then heads W to Cape Reinga. Both Te Paki and the TA then head S to Te Paki stream. TA obviously then continues S along Ninety Mile beach. You could consider the first part of Te Paki as a prelude of sorts to the TA.

@nzbazza: thanks for that info. Be nice to check it out some day. I hear beach walking can be pretty tiring for the TA people.

I visited beaches/coves along on Te Paki after cycling up to Cape Rienga last winter - strongly recommend a visit to the area. It's certainly not tramping south-island style, but is a stunning coastline and looks as if it would make a great trip. The road-accessible campsites had a handful of people in them late July - and the one walk-in one I visited had just me. Hope to get back there to walk it as a mid-winter trip whilst it's quiet but still warm enough to camp & swim ... a good break from the Central Otago inversion-layers! But better get my boots on before they turn it into another 'great highway'. == Regarding Hump Ridge, for any trampers wanting to see that area but do so in a bit more tranquility I'd strongly recommend the longer loop via the South Coast, Waitutu, Lake Poteriteri, Teal Bay and back over The Hump. http://www.routeguides.co.nz/routes/xrv-1590xrv1591xrv1592xrv1593xrv1594xrv1595xrv1586xrv1587xrv1588xrv1589 Requires route-finding skills for the untracked section from Slaughterburn to Poteriteri but takes you to some wonderful, little visited spots along the way. Thankfully the development of the Hump Ridge track will little-affect that trip as the track along the South Coast is already close to great walk standard. Just make the leg to Port Craig a little busier and that hut a little fuller ...

Te Paki has issues with enough water in summer, you can get droughts. there could be issues maintaining water to a big hut, its bad enough at the campsites. same issues with the queen charlotte walk, they'd have to have at least one hut on top of the ridgeline and it would have water issues, they run out most summers at the shelters along the ridgeline..

Were they considering huts for Te Paki? Thought I read it was going to be camping only - but can't recall where I read that, so may be wrong. But whichever - agree with you on water.

I assumed being a great walk it would have huts.. all the others do....

My understanding was that huts are an expected part of the "Great Walk" package. Good point about the water supplies @waynowski. @honora, walking on sand always takes a toll in some way. Either you walk in the soft stuff which is harder physically and the fine sand always gets in your shoes to cause problems with your feet, or you walk on the wet sand which is like walking on concrete all day. Beaches are sloped, so 90km of traversing a slope causes a few issues with joints/feet. I walked the track about 5 years ago over New Years. The campgrounds and Cape Reinga were heaving with masses of people (basically anywhere with drive-up access) but within 1km either side of these I pretty much had the track to myself. The busiest section of track for me was between Cape Reinga and Tapotupotu bay campground, and at the time parts were being upgraded using a Bobcat digger to provide a consistent graded metalled surface ala Great Walk standard. On the other hand, on the beaches south of the Cape, I was making the first visible footprints in the sand (winds/tide do a good number on erasing them). After walking up the hill to Cape Reinga on the track and then stepping onto the sealed footpath with the unbroken strings of tourists heading to and from the lighthouse to cross to the track on the other side was utterly surreal.