Wainui Track

Wainui Track is a 12.4 km (7.7 mi) point-to-point walk from Canaan Downs to Birds Clearing. It climbs on Moa Park Track to Wainui Saddle, drops to Wainui Hut and the river, then climbs the valley’s western side and follows the ridge north. This is the through-walk, not the shorter hut walk that turns back at Wainui Hut. Allow about four to five hours; the published stage estimates add up to 3 hours 45 minutes, before stops and the river fords. The two road ends are about 61 km (1.5 hours) apart by car, so plan a pickup or second vehicle before setting out.

From the car park, Moa Park Track starts as a farm track and climbs along the forest edge. Pages Saddle comes after about 1 km; stay on the Moa Park route as Rameka Track forks left. Wainui Saddle, about 3 km from the car park, is where the route turns down into Wainui Valley. The footing gets rougher and rootier under beech forest, with mossy banks and several small, unbridged creeks beside the Wainui River.

Wainui Hut sits in a grassy clearing beside the river. Its clearing has an aviary used to acclimatise kākā before their release into the park; that work has been going on since 2015. If you stay overnight, the four-bunk hut is first-come, first-served and requires a DOC hut ticket.

The through-route crosses the Wainui River without a bridge just after the hut. About 700 m later, continue straight at the junction toward Birds Clearing; the right-hand branch climbs Evans Ridge toward the Inland Track and Awapoto Hut. The Wainui Track follows the river for about another kilometre, fords back to the true left, then climbs the western side of the valley. Both river crossings can become impassable after heavy rain.

The climb settles onto the ridge crest for about 2 km and reaches an open high point, then crosses scrub and pasture for roughly 1.5 km to Birds Clearing. Wainui Saddle is the best documented viewpoint: look toward Waingaro Valley, with the Kahurangi peaks behind it on a clear day. The direction signs and tussock make a useful foreground if you take a photo there.

Start at Canaan Downs Campsite / Harwoods Hole Track car park and finish at Birds Clearing off Bird Road. Canaan Road is narrow, winding and unsealed. Dogs are prohibited on this route, including in both Canaan Downs Scenic Reserve and Abel Tasman National Park.