Parking
From Franz Josef, take the Ōkārito turnoff; the signed access is on the right 5.7 km along. Parking capacity, fee, and facilities are not documented.
Overview
About Pakihi Walk
Why go
- Swamp, forest and a wide mountain view in about 30 minutes.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Westland Tai Poutini map
Full mapElevation80–125 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Westland Tai Poutini alert
- CautionActive landslide zones on Copland TrackDo not stop in either of Copland Track’s signposted active landslide zones; take extra care during and after heavy rain.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide
Your drive to Pakihi Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Westland Tai Poutini National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Westland Tai Poutini audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Pakihi Walk: Wetland, Forest and Mountains0:00 / 0:25
“The start of Pakihi Walk is ahead on the road to Ōkārito.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Rowi Keep the Family Together
- Why Pakihi Stays Open
- The Blue Duck's Soft Bill
- Ōkārito Wharf: a Gold-Rush Port
- 49 audio storiesacross Westland Tai Poutini’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Blue Duck, Kererū, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 31 trails, 53 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Pakihi Walk
An easy half-hour walkPakihi Walk is a 1 km return walk on the same track from the Ōkārito turnoff.
Pakihi Walk is a 1 km return walk on the same track from the Ōkārito turnoff. It crosses a pakihi swamp, climbs gently through kāmahi and rimu forest, and finishes at a platform lookout. Allow about 30 minutes. It is a simple way to see the landscape shift from open wetland to forest, then look out over the coast and mountains.
Swamp, then forestThe opening section crosses the pakihi swamp.
The opening section crosses the pakihi swamp. From there the path rises gently through kāmahi and rimu to the platform; retrace the same track to the roadside start. The climb is brief, with the lookout as the clear destination.
A view from the platformThe lookout opens over rainforest and coastal landforms toward the Southern Alps, including…
The lookout opens over rainforest and coastal landforms toward the Southern Alps, including Aoraki/Mount Cook, with a glimpse of Franz Josef Glacier. Give the view a pause rather than expecting a summit hike. For a photo, keep some of the low forest below the peaks so the picture shows both the walk and the range beyond it. Dogs are not allowed.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Westland Tai Poutini
89 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
10 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
80 sightingsKererūMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
38 sightingsTūīMost seen around 5 AMSighting map
10 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
28 sightingsYellow-crowned ParakeetMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Westland Tai Poutini. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
