Hollyford Track

Hey Lindsay, The Hollyford is a great track, Im sure you'll have a blast. Its very different to most tracks as it is completely at low level, you dont leave the bushline. Im assuming that you are starting at the road end and walking all the way to Martins Bay? Lots of people jetboat down Lake McKerrow but they are missing the best part IMO. Ok, the first part from the carpark to Lake Alabaster is dead easy. The track is at Great Walk standard... wide, well drained, virtually everything foot bridged (theres a couple of swing bridges but no 3 wire bridges). From memory you can walk the whole way without getting your feet wet. Takes about 6-7 hours to reach Alabaster, 8 hours at a dawdle. Theres a hut halfway at Hidden Falls (well worth looking at... you can hear the falls along time before you come across them) but as its only about 3 hours from the carpark I never bothered staying here. Lake Alabaster hut is big and new and the lake is very pretty. From Alabaster things get rougher. From the bridge over the Pyke the track is much rockier and undulating. On the way to Demon Trail hut you have to ford several small streams. When I did it it had been raining cats and dogs for 12 hours so they were all in flood... I got across so I'm guessing when they arent in flood they are pretty tiny. But yeah, expect to get wet feet. Pretty much every bridge from after you cross the Pyke swingbridge to Martins Bay is a 3 wire. Theres about 8 or 9 of them although about half of those are flood routes so if the particular stream/river isnt in flood you can splash across in the stream if you dont fancy the 3 wire. I dont know if you are planning on visiting McKerrow Island hut but I couldnt get there even if I had wanted to as the Hollyford was in flood and the ford looked impassible without a boat. Demon trail hut is small but nice and very welcome after a wet day. Not much in the way of a view though and no acsess to the lake. Takes about 5 hours to reach here from Alabaster. Demon Trail hut to Hokuri hut looks along way on the map but is pretty straight forward. Its just more of the same from the day before: undulating, rocky, 3 wire bridges. You get down to the lake shore at a couple of points which make great places for breaks. Takes about 4-5 hours to reach Hokuri. I got there about 1pm, had lunch, then pressed on to Martins Bay. Hokuri is a new hut and quite flash though I didnt stay long to have a look around. You dont have easy acess to the lake from here though it looks it on the topo map. Just past Hokuri the track reaches the lake and from here onwards you can leave the track and walk along the lake shore to the foot of the lake. Thats what I did. The one obsticle is Hokuri Creek, but I waded across in about mid thigh deep water at the mouth and was fine. Its an easy crossing if its not in flood, great swimming spot there too. The rest of the way to the foot of the lake I did on the beach so missed out on seeing Jamestown. Theres a couple of what looks like holiday houses there and some boats but not much else. When you reach the foot of the lake the track is right there so you cant miss rejoining it. Theres an old early settlers canoe mounted under a coragated iron roof (a DoC display) which is interesting to look at. You go across a dead flat stretch of bush and come to the Martins Bay airstrip. I droped my pack off here and went down to the Martins Bay guided walks lodge and asked about a wheather forcast and enquired about getting a jetboat back (just in case I couldnt press on to Big Bay and go down the Pyke). Cant remember exactly what the lady said but non-guided walkers can catch the jetboat back up McKerrow a couple of days a week for about $80. I then carried on to Martins Bay, the final bit walking along some giant scrubby sand dunes above the Hollyford river. Martins bay is a nice hut with a beutiful view over the Hollyford mouth. So yeah, from Hokuri hut to Martins Bay its basically dead flat the whole way with teh exception of the sand dunes along the final stretch. I got there about 7pm so its about 5 hours from Hukuri hut, or 10 hours from Demon Trail. I had a gorgeous sunny summer day in early December to do it in though so I'm not sure what it will be like in March. About 20 minutes past the hut is Long Reef and it well worth visiting for the seal colony there, apparently Fiorldand Crested penguins as well though I didnt see any of those. Plenty of seals though. Ive heared some people say bad things about how hard the Demon Trail is why its great to skip it by taking the jetboat, but frankly thats a load of baloney. Yes its not a Great Walks level of track, but theres nothing particuly difficuly about it either. The bush is lovely as are the lakes and the river, and Martins bay makes the whole thing worthwhile. Ive got a bunch of photos from that trip, plus the rest of it as after Martins Bay I carried on to Big Bay then came down the Pyke back to Alabaster. Ive uploaded most of the good ones here though I could put a few more up if you like. Where are you going from Martins Bay? Do you fly out, or walk/jetboat back to the road end? Or are you going to do the Pyke as well?

Thanks yarmoss for that,it sounds as if i am going to have a great time.the way i am going to do it is. OPTION 1:Stay in TeAnau and get Tracknet to the start,walk to Martins Bay and turn around and walk back the whole way or get a jet boat[how do you book the boat]. Option 2 stay at Gunns camp and walk from there. i dont mind long walks at all longer the better as i just take my time. I have walked the tracks as follows Milford Kepler routeburn Mt Aspiring Hut Liverpool track french Ridge track greenstone caples Mt roy [Wanaka] Rob Roy Glacier track Is it true there is a 3 wire bridge over the hokuri creek 20 mins up stream Lindsay

Hi Linsay, I stayed in Te Anau and Tracknet-ed to the start of the Hollyford. From memory they dropped me off about 11am at the carpark so leaving plenty of time to get up to Alabaster hut on the first day. The Hollyford guided walks website probably has details about booking in advance a jetboat ride. When I popped into their Martins Bay lodge and asked about jetboats, the lady said which day they run (cant remember exactly, sorry) and said you just have to let them know in the morning that you want a ride back up the lake to the jetboat landing at the Hollyford/Pyke confulence. I think the jetboat leaves the Lodge late morning and picks trampers up from a spot on the final strech of the Hollyford not far from the DoC hut, so if you left the DoC hut first thing to tell them you would have time to catch it. It would deffinetly pay to enquire on times/dates when you are walking down from Hokuri hut though as the jetboat only runs from the Martins Bay end when theres a load of Guided Walkers to pick up from the confluence. Yes there is a 3 Wire up stream over the Hokuri. I never saw it though as I forded at the mouth.

Yamoss, You went on to Pyke - Big Bay. Did you use the cage to cross the Olivine River? How was it? Thanks in advance.

You only really want to use the cableway when it really is in flood then again you probably can't cross the other rivers. The hardest part is getting on it on a 5 metre high platform be even harder by yourself. Then when you get to the middle you got to crank it uphill!

Hi Dztramping, yes I used the cableway across the Olivine. The rivers were pretty low when I did it, but the Olivine was flowing pretty swiftly so wasnt too keen to try it, plus I had never used a cableway before so wanted to try it. The crossing was a good armwork out, takes alot of effort to crank the thing across, and as www.freewebs.com/hellmission/ says the cable sags in the middle slightly so you end up cranking uphill to reach the otherside! Nice view out in the middle though.

It is a few years since I have been there but the river was low when I was there and had no trouble crossing it on my own. Then I had to sit and wait for ages while the rest of the group buggered around with the cage. They just wanted to try it but it took them ages.