Heaphy Day 1

An easy day of flat to undulating walking. First through kamahi-beech-quintinia forest, then across the rolling tussock grasslands of the Gouland Downs – a peneplain. We stop at the historic Gouland Downs Hut for lunch, then continue through the ‘Enchanted Forest’. This is a limestone remnant with beech forest. On across the Downs, we walk through more magic forest with Dracophyllum traversii and D. townsonii. Our destination, Saxon Hut, is situated in tussock country. (A distance of 13 km – approx. 3 1/2 hours walking time, but we will be taking most of the day observing things along the way).

A chance for the fitter walker to climb Mount Perry first thing in the morning for the spectacular views into the Aorere Valley, across the Gouland Downs and out to Tasman Bay (on a clear day Mount Taranaki in the North Island can be seen). A fossick among the moss dripping beech trees of the Enchanted Forest, checking out some of the cave entrances in this lovely limestone outcrop. Once again at night listening to the great spotted kiwi. The rare endemic Bulbinella talbotii can be found on the Downs, along with the Pseudopanax lineris.