Pyke–Big Bay Route

The point-to-point core runs 36 km (22.4 miles) one way from Olivine Hut to Big Bay Hut. DOC divides it into a 21 km, 6–9 hour section to the Pyke Crossing and a further 15 km, 3–5 hour section to Big Bay Hut. The stored line follows the mapped corridor once in the customary Olivine-to-Big Bay direction; it is not a round trip. Expect an overgrown, sometimes poorly defined old stock route, difficult travel around Lake Wilmot, and route-finding near the Pyke airstrip and river crossing.

The route moves through tall beech forest, open flax and tussock country and the remote Lake Wilmot basin. Olivine Hut and Big Bay Hut are DOC backcountry huts; Big Bay Hut has nine bunks, heating, mattresses, non-flush toilets and untreated tap water that must be boiled. Big Bay lies beside a wild, exposed coast, and private dwellings near the hut must be respected.

This is an expert route, not a maintained day walk. The Olivine River is crossed by cableway, while Diorite Stream, the Barrier River and the Pyke River are unbridged and can become impassable after rain. Flooding, boggy lake margins, dense vegetation and damaged markers can make progress or retreat difficult. Carry a current topographic map, navigation equipment, extra food, and a personal locator beacon or mountain radio; never cross when a river is unsafe.

Reach Olivine Hut through the Lake Alabaster/Hollyford-Pyke approach; there is no road-end car park at this segment. The route finishes at Big Bay Hut, where onward travel requires a planned connection by foot or air. Check current DOC information, weather, river levels and the cableway instructions before setting out. Summer into early autumn generally offers more stable conditions, but flooding remains a serious risk.