This Te Araroa section is being established by a local group whose project, the Link Pathway, is to complete a walk/cycleway from Picton to Havelock with a side trail to Anakiwa. Work is being carried out in stages and is ongoing so this section currently involves a mix of easy tramping track, foot path and road shoulder. Te Araroa signage will come in due course but for now walkers can use these track notes. There are Link Pathway signs at the beginning and end of completed sections.
The track starts in Anakiwa at the southern end of the Queen Charlotte Track. Walk south along Anakiwa Rd for a short distance a foot track then leads off on the left, below the road and above the high tide mark. It is mostly through bush and out of sight of the road apart from the Anakiwa and Tirimoana frontages, where trampers make use of the grassed areas between road and sea. This pleasant section ends on a metalled foot path which continues along a 1 km straight towards the junction with Queen Charlotte Drive.
At the junction turn right and continue on the foot path to Linkwater School some 1.25 km distant.
From the school continue on Queen Charlotte Drive past the Linkwater Service Station. At the end of the Linkwater straight follow the road around the Mahakipawa Arm to the next Link Pathway section – a 1 km stretch of bush track leading off from the right hand side of the road.
Beyond this bush track walkers have another 1 km stretch along Queen Charlotte Drive to a large DOC sign on the left marking the Mahakipawa Hill Scenic Reserve. From here Te Araroa takes a left turn and follows the power line maintenance track for 3.5 km up and over the hill. This track climbs steeply and the lower portions have a bare clay surface. Higher up the track has reasonable grass cover and affords good views. This is the only demanding part of the walk. It provides some variety to an otherwise flat Te Araroa section. From the top of the hill the track descends directly below the power line then zigzags briefly and exits onto Mahakipawa Rd/ Queen Charlotte Drive next to the refuse station entrance.
For the final 1.5 km from the refuse station turn left onto Mahakipawa Rd/Queen Charlotte Drive then right onto the footpath beside SH6 and into the Havelock CBD |
