The Waitutu Tracks are challenging tramping tracks, providing access into the south west coenr of New Zealand. Track begins at Rarakau Farm carpark on Te Waewae Bay and extends west to Big River. Four days are required to reach Big River.
The track gives access to an area rich in human and natural history. The Teal Bay Route links Te Waewae Bay with Lake Hauroko in Fiordland National Park. The three day/two night Hump Ridge Track is managed and operated by the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Trust.
The Waitutu area was visited by early Maori in seach of food from the sea, rivers and forests. Kaika or hunting camps were sited on the banks of the Waiau River near Tuatapere, and the river crossed by mokihi or rafts. The coastal track was first cut by government workers in 1896 to provide an alternative to the unreliable shipping service to Cromarty and Te Oneroa, gold mining settlemnts in Preservation Inlet.
During the 1920's Port Craig was the site of the largest and most modern sawmill in New Zealand. Logs were brought to the emill along a high class tramway from the terrace forests to the west between Port Craig and the Wairaurahiri River. Large viaducts were constructed from Australian hardwood to carry the tramlines over ravines. The largest, the Percy Burn viaduct, is 125 metres long and 36 metres above the creek bed. It was fully repaired in 1994. The other viaducts were refurbished in 1999.
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