Routes
Huts / campsites
Roadends
Summits
Passes / crossings
Scenic features
Junctions
DOC Land
Altitude: 34m to 996m. Gain: 1276m. Loss: 314m . Gradient: 5 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7)
From Port Craig Schoolhouse Hut, the track (which is shared between the South Coast Track and the Hump Ridge Great Walk) follows an old logging tramline through regenerating native forest. The historic Sand Hill and Percy Burn viaducts are reached within 2 hours walk from Port Craig. The track continues and crosses the Edwin Burn viaduct where the South Coast and Hump Ridge tracks diverge. To continue to the Hump tops, turn right and follow the largely boardwalked and stepped Great Walk track up through the bush while the South Coast Track continues along the coast towards Francis Burn.
The Hump Ridge Track climbs over 900m up an undulating spur through the forest, breaking above the bushline at Tītahi (Luncheon Rock), which on a fine day offers sweeping views of Te Waewae Bay, the Longwoods, Bluff, and Rakiura/Stewart Island. There is a toilet and lunch shelter and water here.
After Tītahi (Luncheon Rock), the track continues to climb the ridge, alternating bush and exposed sections. The junction with the other branch of the Hump Ridge Track is passed just after Pt. 928, shortly before the turnoff to Okaka Lodge (the private Great Walk hut). Although the climb from Percy Burn is significant, the track is of excellent quality, and climbing the Hump in this direction is significantly easier than the steeper climb up Pipi Tuariki Stream that the Great Walkers do.
After the turnoff to Okaka Lodge, which is located in a basin some distance below, follow the the boardwalked track to where it terminates in a short scenic loop walk through the limestone tors and tarns at the southern end of the Hump ridge. At the top of the loop, you can leave the track to follow a trap line along the main ridge.
Travel off-track along the Hump ridge is straightforward in good weather. It is a wide, easy, tussock-covered ridge, and there are boot paths in many sections. In early summer, I encountered frequent small tarns (marked and unmarked, though beware some of these sources may be dry in later summer conditions). There are two tarns and some tors south of Pt. 1003 that offer good, semi-sheltered camping.