Hump Ridge: Okaka Hut to Edwin Burn

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Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Views

This section of the Hump Ridge Track is a scenic and steady descent along a ridgeline leading to the impressive Edwin Burn viaduct. Starting from the junction with the spur trail leading to Okaka Hut, the pristine boardwalk continues, following along a ridgeline. The views from this vantage point are expansive with the interior of Fiordland National Park to the west, the Te Waewae Bay to the east, and views of Stewart Island to the south.

The run along the ridge is mostly easygoing with only a few steep or rocky sections to navigate. For the most part, you can enjoy an pleasant run along the well-maintained boardwalk. The trail winds in and out of slightly smaller and more scrubby trees that are still quite mossy, and in some places smell strongly of peat moss. There are several rock outcropping that afford even more expansive views of the area.

About 5 km into the track, you'll reach the Luncheon Rock Shelter, a small dome shelter with benches and a pit toilet that makes a good place for a snack or lunch break. From there, the trail begins to descend more steeply, and you'll no longer be running along the ridge, but rather winding through some more densely green woods reminiscent of the ridge you climbed earlier to reach Stag Point.

As you descend, the forest changes from the high alpine scrub back to the taller trees of the lowland podocarp forest and the dense undergrowth of ferns and moss. Here, you are likely to encounter more of the local bird life with the inquisitive fantails, tomtits, and robins keeping you company and the noisy wood pigeons trying to navigate the dense foliage overhead.

There are a couple rooty descents and a few boggy places that can get a little muddy depending on the season. Near the end, the trail levels out and become a bit wider until you reach the impressive Edwin Burn Viaduct. This wooden structure is 22 m high and 48 m long, and was once part of an logging tramline that operated out of Port Craig in the early 1920s. You'll cross the viaduct to reach the end of this track and the start of the Hump Ridge: Edwin Burn to Port Craig section.

High alpine tussock leading to a lowland podocarp forest. Many birds such as robins, bellbirds, tomtits, fantails, tuī, wood pigeons, and perhaps a passing kea or kaka at the higher elevations.