This is one of New Zealand's newest National Parks, created in 1996. Protecting much of the North West of South Island it is the second Largest National Park and the area challenges Fiordland in terms of its inaccessibility, but also contains the well know Heaphy Track, which reaches through to the West Coast. The park includes the rugged Tasman Mountains, nearly 1900m high and contains over 650km of tracks offering a range of routes from one day to over a week. Possibly the Leslie Karamea and the Wangapeka Tracks offer the best chance for an extended semi wilderness experience in the park.

Photographs from two visits.

In October and November 2006 we completed The Heaphy Track along with The Leslie Karamea Track as part of a 'big triangle' of tracks (the other track being the Abel Tasman Coastal Track). On the Heaphy Track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks we were joined by French film maker Yann Facchin, who filmed Carolina as part of a documentary on Backpackers. On the much rougher Leslie Karamea Track, we were delayed by poor weather - the New Zealand Spring months being very unsettled in 2006.

In February 2006 after a brief stop over in West Port I headed north up the coast, to Karamea with its end of the world feel. Here I tramped in Kahurangi National Park.

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