Goldsborough Tracks
Name |
Goldsborough Tracks |
Location |
Goldsborough |
Co-ordinates |
1446295 5273510 |
Alternative co-ordinates |
1449071 5274503 |
Configuration |
Network |
Distance |
8 km |
Status |
On-leash |
Grade |
Moderate |
Access |
Take Stafford Loop Road off SH73, about 3 km south of Kumara. Walk starts about 2.5 km beyond the end of the sealed road. Alternatively, start from 2 km up Callaghans Road (off Stafford Loop Road). DoC permit required; contact Hokitika DoC office. |
Description |
A winding set of tracks through bush-clad slopes in an old gold-mining area. Lots of traces of the workings to be discovered, including tunnels, dams, tailings, sluices and water races. |
Connecting tracks |
Wilderness Trail cycleway (parts of which are dog-friendly) |
Further information |
The Goldsborough Tracks provide a lovely network of walks though some truly beautiful West Coast bush. Scattered throughout are remnants of the old gold-working sites which give the area its name. But it's the vegetation that catches you: beech, miro, rimu, rata, fern-trees and a host of other species all crowding around you as you walk. In the lower areas, the walks are easy, and often on soft grass (the best of all surfaces to walk on). As you go uphill, however, the tracks become narrower as well as steeper, and due to landslips, stream erosion and tree fall can offer some challenging sections. But it's all hugely worth the effort.
German Gully Pack track provides perhaps the best option for a shortish walk; for the most part it's broad and not too steep. With a connecting 1.2 km walk along a forest gravel road it can be linked up with Goffs Track and Shamrock Creek Track to form a 90 minute loop walk. It's probably better walked in reverse, however, because it's easier to climb up some of the steeper sections on Goffs Track than to slither down. Callaghans Track gives a longer (3-4 hour) one way wall, or for brief strolls there's Pine Ridge Track and Tunnel Trerrace track not far from the campsite at Goldsborough. The campsite itself is also to be commended as a quiet yet well-provisioned DoC site, which welcomes dogs. A good base from which to explore these walks.
German Gully Pack track provides perhaps the best option for a shortish walk; for the most part it's broad and not too steep. With a connecting 1.2 km walk along a forest gravel road it can be linked up with Goffs Track and Shamrock Creek Track to form a 90 minute loop walk. It's probably better walked in reverse, however, because it's easier to climb up some of the steeper sections on Goffs Track than to slither down. Callaghans Track gives a longer (3-4 hour) one way wall, or for brief strolls there's Pine Ridge Track and Tunnel Trerrace track not far from the campsite at Goldsborough. The campsite itself is also to be commended as a quiet yet well-provisioned DoC site, which welcomes dogs. A good base from which to explore these walks.