Parking
Start at the Ōkārito walks car park beside the Ōkārito School House on The Strand. It is the shared starting point for the local walks.
Overview
About Three Mile Pack Track - Ōkārito Coastal Walk
Why go
- A varied approach from wetland walk into wind-shaped coastal forest.
- The bridge gives the long walk a clear destination beside a bird-rich estuary.
Heads up
- The full return takes most of a half-day.
- The bluff climb makes this more than a flat lagoon stroll.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Westland Tai Poutini map
Full mapElevation0–100 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 Three Mile Pack Track - Ōkārito Coastal 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
Ōkārito Walks: the Trig or the Wetland0:00 / 0:24
“Up ahead is the start of the Ōkārito walks, beside the old schoolhouse.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Ōkārito Wharf: a Gold-Rush Port
- Rowi Keep the Family Together
- Pakihi Walk: Wetland, Forest and Mountains
- Why Pakihi Stays Open
- 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 Three Mile Pack Track - Ōkārito Coastal Walk
A return walk to Three Mile LagoonThree Mile Pack Track - Ōkārito Coastal Walk is a 9.
Three Mile Pack Track - Ōkārito Coastal Walk is a 9.8 km out-and-back from the Ōkārito School House car park to the Three Mile Lagoon bridge and back. Allow about 3 hr 30 min; the track is easy to intermediate, with a climb over Kohuamarua Bluff. The bridge is the standard walk’s turnaround, and there is no track beyond it. Dogs are not allowed; other pets must follow conservation-land rules. This is a half-day walk for a stretch of coastal forest and a sheltered estuary, rather than a short lagoon stop.
Choose the return before you set outThe mapped walk follows the pack track both ways.
The mapped walk follows the pack track both ways. A coastal beach return to Ōkārito is a separate alternative, not part of the 9.8 km track distance. It takes about 1 hr 20 min from the lagoon to town and is only recommended within an hour either side of low tide; tide height and storm surge can change conditions. If you use the pack track, turn around at the bridge.
Over Kohuamarua BluffFrom the shared car park, the route first follows Ōkārito Wetland Walk, then enters coastal…
From the shared car park, the route first follows Ōkārito Wetland Walk, then enters coastal forest and climbs over Kohuamarua Bluff. The pack track winds through wind-shorn rimu, rātā and silver pine before dropping to the lagoon. The bluff climb is the main effort; the route then winds through the coastal forest before descending to the lagoon.
At the lagoonThree Mile Lagoon is a sheltered estuary edged by rimu forest.
Three Mile Lagoon is a sheltered estuary edged by rimu forest. More than 76 native bird species use the lagoon, including kōtuku (white heron) and royal spoonbills. New Zealand fur seals sometimes appear along the coast; keep at least 20 m away and do not disturb, touch or feed them. At the bridge, include the water and forested shore in a photo to show how enclosed the lagoon is.
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.
