THE PATH TO GREATNESS
Storm-scattered seaweed and wave-washed boulders. Ocean lapping the forest edge, which rises in broad terraces, then climbs again to mountaintops – tarn strewn and wind assaulted. Higher still, monumental tors protruding from the tussock almost like the remnants of a Paleolithic culture. Views across Fiordland’s expanses, one of the world’s greatest national parks. Flocks of kākā, acres of feathery ferns and ancient forests stretching to the ends of the horizon. All of these natural features make the Hump Ridge Track a worthy addition to New Zealand’s canon of Great Walks, those greatest of tracks in a land of great tracks.
In July, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced the Hump Ridge Track had beaten out competition from two other shortlisted trails. Over the next three years, the government will work with the Tūātapere Hump Ridge Trust, which – with DoC’s support – established the existing track and two huts in the early 2000s. By injecting $5 million, the government will help the trust upgrade the 61km track and build an additional hut, spacing the tramp over a more manageable three nights and giving visitors more time
