Jacksons Bay to Martins Bay

Hi, There is info in some guide books about this walk. I've walked Martins Bay to the Cascade roadend and done other trips to Stafford Bay, Spoon River & Barn Bay. Some general info; make sure you have good sturdy comfortable boots & socks as there is a lot of walking on rounded beach stones that can be tough on the feet, take plenty of insect repellent & be prepared to wait for rivers to drop if they are flooded or the tide is wrong! Our walking times including all stops were: Martins Bay - Big Bay is a half day walk (4hrs) Big Bay - Gorge River is a day (8hrs) Gorge to Hope River hut or Barn bay house is 6hrs or less Barn Bay - Martyr homestead/Cascade roadend is half a day. Martyr homestead - Stafford Bay hut via plateaus is one day+ Stafford Bay - Jackson Bay is less than half a day.

Thanks for that - its a great start and useful info. I'd seen your pics come up when I searched 'Gorge River' so its great to have your local knowledge. Your neck of the woods look like a great stamping ground! I imagine Moirs would be a useful start for guide books, any other useful publications that you know of (have read Life at Gorge River)? At normal flow how high do the rivers run roughly - thigh? waist? I'd heard/read quite a few years back there were dingys to help cross the river - did you encounter that at all? Thanks again.

The Awarua & Gorge rivers are fine if you hit them about low tide & they are not up with rainfall. The Awarua has a bridge a fair way upstream as an alternative crossing. Robert Long (Beansprout) offered use of a dingy he has at Gorge river but we didn't need it as we timed the low tide with starting off at day break. The Hacket & Spoon rivers are fine to ford if not up with rainfall. The Hope River can be deep especially if the tide is in. Expect to get wet to the waist at least on this one. There is no way you would ford this one soon after heavy rain but it does fall quickly. The Cascade is a big river but you can still ford it safely when it is waist or chest deep if it is not in flood. The fords are wide & the bottom good. You will get stopped here though if it is in flood. Like the Hope the water levels rise and fall quite quickly.

Awesome! Thanks !

Snibley & Brandy(our late cat & Dachshound)highly recommend the Martyr-Gorge River section.The Cascade looks forbidding where you first strike it but 500m downstream it`s fine;especially if you`re riding in a frontpack!Brandy swam on a lead.We had 12 days in the area & suggest you either overdose on Marmite or do the B1 tabs.The critters still bite but you wont swell or itch.If you`re doing 2 weeks or more & want resupply,there`s an airstrip at Gorge River. Mark Pickerings` guide book has a good description of this route,including a quote from Charlie Douglas,a done-the-hard-yards early explorer.Loosely,he said,`the beach lies at an alarming angle,with 60lb boulders that move underfoot but which would make excellent amunition for an ancient catapault`.Hardly sounds like palm-trees & sand & it wasn`t when we actually saw it,but fabulous.June was cold but fine.Saw no-one but had the company of a fishingboat on two days.If you`re parking your vehicle inside Maurice Nolans` locked steel gate at the Martyr,make sure he doesn`t go to a Lions game in Dunedin;we finished our 12 days but had an extra 3 days waiting for him to return,as he had forgotten about us!The fingernails grew back.There`s a private hut just before you strike the Hope River,which is open & available,albeit damp.Our best night was in the tent on the beach between the Spoon & Gorge R.Flat-arse calm & Kaka serenaded us each end of the day.

Thanks for that info. I'll factor rugby games, cattle sales and A&P shows into the trip planning! June would have been the perfect month to be in that area - settled weather patterns. Did you have frost on the beach boulders? (I lived in Dunedin and got a good white frost on our beach!). I've looked through your photos but can't see any of this trip - have you got some up? Thanks again :)

Yes,we have some pics but I can`t seem to post photos on this site;I get an error message.We didn`t strike frost on the beaches,just cool before sun-up.There`s a hut well up the Spoon River,if you have the time.There`s two landowners to consult for access at the Martyr.Maurice Nolan is one & he`ll give you the phone number of the Wanaka-based syndicate who have land on this route.There`s a track as far as the Hope River,& an airstrip at Barn Bay. too.Sandrock Bluff has an old dozer track up & over it-the only low level option involves swimming.Two dozers went down the beach to the Pyke back in the 70s,one with a whare & one with a sledge full of fuel.One of those dozers was flown out in bits & now belongs to Maurice. If you want to impress Beansprout & his wife,they love chocolate & a recent newspaper.Because we missed them,we ate the choc & left a 2nd hand paper at his door.This is a great wee corner of NZ;you`ll enjoy it,I`m sure.We will get back & do a bit more.One current plan is to fixed wing it into Big Bay from the Hollyford & tramp back via Lake Wilmot.

Hi Sniff and others, I don't mean to push in and self-promote but we have recently launched www.fiordlandcoastwalks.co.nz covering exactly this coastline. Our website has some information which may be useful, or alternatively feel free to contact us to have a chat. I can talk all day about it! This area is very special. All the best, Grant

Hi there... You might have seen my article in Wilderness magazine last year, (2011) entitled 'No Man's Land'. I walked the Hollyford to Big Bay, then alone, circled back down the Pyke to Lake Alabaster. Stayed in a rock biv by Lake Wilmot, then in Olivine Hut - marvellous country, but tough to navigate underfoot. Cheers...