Your Questions Answered
Feel free to email or call us with any queries not answered here: +64 (0)3 525 9576 (anytime, evenings up to 9.30pm best). Leave a message with your number if the answerphone is on and we will return your call promptly.
What details do you need when we book?
Your name, location, and a contact phone number in New Zealand (mobile or landline). The dates, how many nights you are taking and in which direction you are going, if on the Heaphy Track. The number of walkers in your group. The type of vehicle you have, whether it takes petrol (regular or premium) or diesel. If you are staying in Golden Bay before you start, where you expect to be staying.
Are the car parks safe for vehicles?
The Kohaihai carpark is exceptionally safe. No reports of damage or breakins have been known to us there. The Brown Hut carpark is also considered safe. Before relocation your vehicle is stored at our home in Ligar Bay near Takaka.
What happens about fuel?
We ask you to have plenty in the tank when you hand your vehicle over to us, and to provide extra cash so that your tank has sufficient when you get back to it. The distance from Golden Bay to Kohaihai is about 400Km (250 miles) and takes six hours to drive. For the Golden Bay to West Coast direction we normally refuel for you in Westport (115Km from the Track start) on the way through. If the relocation is from the West Coast to Golden Bay we fill up at Murchison or Motueka. A fuel receipt will be provided for you.
How can we be sure of meeting you on the Heaphy Track?
Derry has a vast experience of the Heaphy and will be able to estimate where you will have reached at the time he (or his deputy) comes through. The Track has very few side-tracks so it is most unlikely that your group will go off the Track on the meeting day. If you do, we would ask you to leave an identified pack on the Track and he will wait there for you. If it is mutually suitable we may arrange to meet you at one of the huts.
Sometimes we have a vehicle to drive in the other direction so that we do not meet your group on the Track itself. That's why we always ask you to provide a spare key, which will be locked in your vehicle once we have taken it to its destination.
What about a hired car?
Most New Zealand hire car companies are happy with our arrangements but require notice of the designated driver's licence details in advance. Therefore you should provide them with these details, which we will make sure you have when you book with us. We also like to know the name of your hire company well before the date of your trip.
Do you provide transport for those without a vehicle?
As we are located in Golden Bay we do not provide transport for those without a vehicle at the West Coast end of the Heaphy or Wangapeka Tracks. There is a good shuttle service based in Karamea to/from Kohaihai (see the Dept of Conservation website www.doc.govt.nz) and onward connecting services. Our services to/from the Collingwood end of the Heaphy Track and elsewhere around Golden Bay and Motueka are listed on our home page. We can pick up groups from Nelson if required. Our charges are per trip, not per passenger.
How long does it take to drive from Picton or Nelson to Takaka and on to the Brown Hut?
We suggest that you allow 2 hours Nelson - Takaka. It may look short on the map, but there is a large mountain to drive over. Allow 4 hours Picton - Takaka. It takes just over an hour to drive from Takaka to the Brown Hut carpark.
How rough is the road to the Heaphy Track start?
The last part of the road to Brown Hut at the Collingwood end of the Heaphy is not tar sealed but is passable for a standard vehicle. There are three fords close to the Brown Hut. These can be impassable at times of heavy rain (the Aorere Valley being a high rainfall area at any time of year). Therefore your start or finish may be delayed, depending on which way you are walking. Details are in the Dept of Conservation's Heaphy Track booklet or on their website www.doc.govt.nz "Getting There" in the section on the Heaphy Track. There is a telephone at Brown Hut.
What is mobile phone coverage like?
Golden Bay's mobile phone coverage is patchy so we prefer to use our landline (+64(0)3 525 9576 which has a regularly checked answerphone if we are unable to respond to your call. There is almost no mobile phone coverage at Karamea. There are only two places with mobile phone coverage on the Heaphy Track itself: the first three hours from the Brown Hut up to the Aorere Shelter, and at the Heaphy River mouth near the Heaphy Hut
Can I get supplies in Takaka of what I will need for walking the Heaphy?
There is a well-stocked supermarket just opposite the Takaka Information Centre.