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Junctions
DOC Land
Altitude: 155m to 641m. Gain: 644m. Loss: 1126m . Gradient: 7 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Streams (2/6)
DOC warns that the Teal Bay-Hauroko Track has not recently been maintained. The overgrown track littered with treefall is very slow going, indeed barely faster than bush-bashing, and it is easy to lose the track. Water sources are scarce, with none guaranteed until a small stream at the northern end of Second Bay.
The track follows a forested ridgeline north along the eastern shore of the south branch of Lake Hauroko. The ridge undulates, climbing and descending through thick bush from knob to rocky knob. A few of the knobs are tall enough to give superb views of the lake in fine weather, but most of the track is under forest cover.
In a pinch, it is possible to (dry) camp in a few small clearings close to the track in this section, especially between Pt. 560 and Pt. 589.
After passing near Pt. 489, the track descends a steep 300m through the bush to Second Bay, before passing the aforementioned stream. Camping would be very possible here. Second Bay is followed by a short 100m climb and descent over the headland that separates it from First Bay. As I reached the curve of First Bay, I lost the track in the dense bush and could not find it again; walking on the shore was possible, but with high lake levels it is narrow, so this necessitated frequently crawling among low overhanging tree branches and scrambling up and down undercut banks into the dense bush where the lake shore was impassable.
After rounding the bottom of First Bay, the lake shore widened into something of a beach, and the walk became pleasant and easy until the Lake Hauroko shelter. Along with the small, open-air shelter there are tent sites, a boat launch, a carpark, a pit toilet, and a dense cloud of very hungry sandflies. There is no cell phone reception at the carpark.