Hollyford Road back on the Agenda

Bloody Gerry Browlee !!!! :-(

I read this as well so i found a map of the area and you can see straight away what they are trying to do,fill in the section from TeAnau/Milford Sound to the West Coast to make a complete circuit. The tour operators would love this road a real short cut,im not sure what Wanaka and Queenstown have to say about this and would DOC realy let them build this road Lindsay

This idea has reared its ugly head a few times over the past 50 years and generally seems to fade away again. There are a few stalwarts left in the road construction industry who who would just love to have the job. Actually the Queenstown tourist industry don't want it. At the moment tourists go to Milford as a day trip and return to Queenstown for a second night. The last thing they want is to see them escaping up the west coast. One idea as an alternative that was proposed last time this came up was to have a car ferry from Milford to Haast. This would allow those who want a round trip to do it, be more environmentally friendly, probably cheaper in the long run and would be a world class scenic boat trip just as a bonus.

Is this that route that was suposed to go along the Hollyford then up the Pyke to Big Bay and along the coast? The one that the propsecting contractors back in the 50s or 60s bulldozed down the coast to the Pyke looking for asbestos in the upper Pyke or something like that? It would certainly make a pretty road, but would make for a far better Great Walk if they would throw a million or 2 at the Pyke section.

That's the route. But even better to leave it as it is. The Pyke is a buffer zone for the Olivine Wilderness

Jet Boat and Airplane Transfers will laugh on their way to the bank. Just came back from The Hollyford and I think that there is a need of a couple of 3-wire bridges for The Pyke. The cage/cable used to cross The Olivine River should be replaced.

Dztramping what did you think of the hollyford as i am walking it 17-3-10

Basically, it is a one-way track with orange markers. I used TrackNet ($47) to get to the Hollyford Roadend where there’s a car park, a shelter and a toilet. I started walking in from there and finished at Martins Bay where I got back out to The Pyke via an early morning jet boat ($110 / 40 minutes ride) saving two days of walking Demon Trail again. The section from Roadend to Lake Alabaster Hut is well-maintained. There’re DoC huts on the track. Get a 6-month Backcountry Hut Pass for $60; otherwise, pay $15 per night. Do spend a night on McKerrow Island if you have a chance. I was lucky with the river crossing on both ways. The river was low and calm. Another river crossings I can think of are at Hokuri Creek (about 20-minute walk from Hokuri Hut). I would suggest of using the walkwire about 15 minutes upstream instead of fording to cross near the mouth. Once, on the other side of the creek, keep following the gravel lakeshore (watch carefully for several orange markers along the shore and/or on the trees) for about 2 hours passing Jamestown then to Hollyford Valley. From there, it does not take long to tramp to Martins Bay Hut which is located at the mouth of The Hollyford River. Don’t forget to take a short stroll to Long Reef to look for the seals. In this regard, you might like to fly or take the jetboat in and walk out so that you have more time for viewing the seals and enjoying coastal scenery at the bay. I think late Febuary and March are the best time to tramp in Fiordland. For more information, visit DoC website.

Hi Dz I will be tramping the Hollyford too. Why the 3 wire bridge at Hokiri? When you say to follow the gravel lakeshore, is that the track, or an alternative route? Easy to spot the markers in rain? Thanks, Peter.