Adventure Run · Paparoa NP, West Coast NZ

Paparoa Track — 2-Day Adventure Run

New Zealand's newest Great Walk — a flowy, machine-graded ribbon along a 1,200 m limestone escarpment, ending in a Jurassic river gorge at Pancake Rocks.

~55 km
Distance
~2,100 m
Elevation Gain
2 Days
Running
1,200 m
Escarpment

Route Map

Northeast → southwest, Blackball to Punakaiki. Numbered markers = overnight stops · triangles = huts / landmarks.

Start (Smoke-ho)
Overnight stop
Finish (Punakaiki)
▲ Hut / landmark

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Click any day to expand · Pick a start date above

Day0
Arrival — Christchurch → TranzAlpine → Greymouth → Blackball
Travel Day 🇳🇿 West Coast
▾

✈️ Getting There

From Christchurch, take the TranzAlpine train across Arthur's Pass to Greymouth — one of the world's great rail journeys, ~4.5 hr through the Southern Alps. Then a ~30 min shuttle up the Grey Valley to Blackball, the old coal-mining town at the trailhead.
💡 Notes: Blackball is a character stop — "Formerly the Blackball Hilton" historic pub is the local legend, and the town is the birthplace of NZ's labour movement. Sort food here or in Greymouth — nothing on track.
TypeArrival day
Transfer~5 hr total
Overnight
Blackball or Greymouth
Booking.com →
Day1
Smoke-ho car park → Ces Clark Hut → Moonlight Tops Hut
Hard Escarpment sunset ~20 km · 5–6 hr
▾

Highlights

Pike29 Memorial Track junction Miners' history Limestone escarpment edge Moonlight Tops sunset
💡 Notes: A steady climb from Smoke-ho past old gold-mining relics to Ces Clark Hut, then out along the limestone escarpment edge to Moonlight Tops Hut. You'll pass the Pike29 Memorial Track junction — the track was built to honor the 29 Pike River miners. Short day on purpose: the escarpment sunset (and sunrise) above the cloud sea from Moonlight Tops is the whole point. The purpose-built, machine-graded trail is the smoothest running surface of any hut track anywhere.
Distance~20 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,150 m
Elev Loss↓ ~350 m
Moving Time5–6 hr
DifficultyHard
Overnight
Moonlight Tops Hut
DOC Bookings →
Day2
Moonlight Tops → Pororari gorge → Punakaiki — Finish!
Hard Pancake Rocks ~35 km · 6–7 hr
▾

Highlights

Escarpment rim Pororari Hut Pororari River gorge Pancake Rocks & blowholes
🎉 Notes: Sunrise above the cloud sea, then run the escarpment rim — the signature kilometres of the track — before the long flowing descent past Pororari Hut into the Pororari River gorge: a Jurassic limestone canyon of nikau palms and rata, walls dripping green. Pop out at Punakaiki on the coast.

🏁 Finish: Pancake Rocks and the blowholes at Dolomite Point are 10 minutes from the trail end — time it for a West Coast sunset. Shuttle or bus back to Greymouth.
Distance~35 km
Elev Gain↑ ~950 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,750 m
Moving Time6–7 hr
DifficultyHard
Overnight
Punakaiki (celebration!)
Booking.com →

Route Highlights

Escarpment rim running from cloud sea to pancake stone.

Day 0
TranzAlpine approach
One of the world's great rail journeys — across the Southern Alps from Christchurch to Greymouth.
Day 1
Pike29 Memorial
The track was built to honor the 29 Pike River miners — their memorial track joins the route here.
Day 1
Escarpment rim running
Machine-graded singletrack along the edge of a 1,200 m limestone wall — the flowiest hut track anywhere.
Day 1
Moonlight Tops sunset
The whole reason Day 1 is short — sun dropping into the Tasman from the escarpment edge.
Day 2
Cloud sea sunrise
Wake above an ocean of West Coast cloud with the tops floating like islands.
Day 2
Pororari gorge
A Jurassic limestone canyon — sheer walls, hanging gardens, the river green-blue below.
Day 2
Nikau palms
Subtropical palms and rata crowd the lower gorge — rainforest running to the ocean.
Day 2
Pancake Rocks finish
Layered limestone stacks and surging blowholes at Dolomite Point, 10 minutes from the trail end.

Trip Planning

Everything needed to make it happen.

Total Distance

~55 km
~34 mi · Smoke-ho → Punakaiki

Elevation Gain

~2,100 m
~6,900 ft over 2 days

Character

Newest
Great Walk opened 2019 · dual-use MTB/tramping = flowy grade the whole way

Direction

NE → SW
Point-to-point, Blackball → Punakaiki

Best Season

Year-round
West Coast rain is the variable — 6 m/year!

Lodging

DOC huts
Gas cookers, no meals — carry food

Bookings

~June
Less contested than Fiordland tracks

Base

Greymouth
Works for both ends of the track

Official track info at doc.govt.nz · hut bookings at bookings.doc.govt.nz. Pairs perfectly with the Heaphy run just up the West Coast.

✈️ Access

In: Christchurch → TranzAlpine train to Greymouth (~4.5 hr) → shuttle to Blackball / Smoke-ho car park (~30 min).

Out: Punakaiki → shuttle or coastal bus back to Greymouth (~45 min). Greymouth works as a base for both ends — leave a bag there.

⚠️ Route notes

🌧 Rain: Rain gear is life on the West Coast — this side of the island gets ~6 metres a year. Full shell, dry bags, spare warm layer, always.

🌬 Exposure: The escarpment is exposed in storms — in a big front, wait it out at the hut rather than run the rim.

🍽 Food: Huts have gas cookers and water but no meals — carry everything from Greymouth or Blackball.

📅 Bookings: Hut bookings open ~June for the season, but the Paparoa is less contested than the Fiordland Great Walks — Moonlight Tops is the night to grab.

💶 Money

Prices in NZD. Great Walk hut bunks ~NZ$40–45/night (booked online — no cash on track). Town lodging NZ$120–200, TranzAlpine from ~NZ$120 one way. Budget NZ$150–250/day including shuttles.
📅 Booking Timeline
DOC hut bookings open ~June for the season at bookings.doc.govt.nz — Moonlight Tops is the sunset hut and the most contested night. Book it first, then the TranzAlpine and shuttles.
Day0
Greymouth / Blackball
Grey Valley 🇳🇿
Booking.com →
Base town — leave a bag here
Day1
Moonlight Tops Hut
Paparoa NP 🇳🇿
DOC Bookings →
Sunset hut — most contested nightBunks · gas · no meals
Day2
Punakaiki
Pancake Rocks coast 🇳🇿
Booking.com →
Tiny settlement — book ahead
Also🚂
TranzAlpine train + trailhead shuttles
Christchurch ↔ Greymouth 🇳🇿
Maps →
Book seats + both shuttles together