The Paparoa track is a beautiful and rewarding hike situated on the West Coast of New Zealand. The track opened in 2019 as a way to remember the 29 miners lost in the Pike River Mine disaster in 2010 and became the 10th Great Walk in New Zealand. This track is personally one of my favourites and really surprised me. There are sections of refreshing bush walk, rivers & waterfalls, some challenging inclines and of course, absolutely stunning views along the top. Even in terrible weather, this hike is really special. In this post, I talk about my experience with tips for your hike.
Getting to the track
The track is a one-way/non-loop track, so travel will be involved when completing the Paparoa. I was travelling from the North Island, so there were a few options. Originally, my group had looked at flying into Hokitika (the closest airport); however, it’s a small airport, so the flights in and out would have cost us a lot more than the extra transport cost if we flew to and from Nelson, which is further away. There’s also the option to catch the ferry across from the North Island. In terms of return travel, some companies can relocate your car to the end of the track. You just need to drop off a spare key in their lockbox which will be in a location on the way to the start of the track (this is what we did). There are also shuttles available to and from Greymouth as an alternative option.
The Paparoa track begins in Blackball and finishes in Punakaiki. Greymouth is the most popular place to stay on either side of the trip and is where you can catch shuttles. Hokitika is the closest airport, but also very small, so flights can be expensive. Nelson is the next closest airport with usually cheaper flights.
Day one hiking | Carpark – Moonlight Tops hut
It was early spring (late September) during this trip. We did get a fair bit of rain, but the sun came out for periods. The paths have been designed to clear water, so mud wasn’t a problem. The first day was a little foggy with light rain, which cleared up by the time we reached the Ces Clark hut. We had originally planned to stay at Ces Clark hut, but because of the storm, the track was closed the day we were meant to start. It is common for hikers to skip this hut though, and it’s definitely doable to skip it. We started from the car park at 8am and reached Ces Clark at 11am. This first part is the longest uphill section though so it could easily take longer with regular breaks.
Between Ces Clark and Moonlight Tops is across the top with stunning landscape views the entire way. The tradeoff here is that it’s very exposed with harsh sun and strong winds, so make sure you have layers on for this section. There was even some snow left from the storm.
Day two hiking | Moonlight Tops hut – Pororai hut
There was a lot of fog on this day, so we missed most of the views across the top, but I imagine they were similar to day one’s views. As we declined, we walked further into tree cover with a combo of rock and forest. This day featured a few swing bridges, streams, and a waterfall.
Day three hiking | Pororai hut – Punakaiki carpark
Most of this day’s weather was torrential rain, so there weren’t many opportunities for photos. The track felt like a very different vibe from the previous days though. Large palms, wide rivers, rocky cliffs, and dense bush made it feel like we were walking through Jurassic Park. If it wasn’t for the soggy boots, I would have taken my time in this section for sure!
The Paparoa track was an awesome experience and definitely one to put on the list if you’re completing hikes around New Zealand. The Pikes Memorial Track was still under construction during my trip, but I’d love to venture back to complete this side track too. Let me know in the comments if you’ve completed this newer track and what your favourite parts were!
Check out my posts on other Great Walks in New Zealand!
