Hollyford Pyke Packrafting Loop

Fiordland Nationalpark, New Zealand

21. to 25. July 2022

5 Days of perfect weather in the midst of winter. What’s kind of cool about this trip is that no videos or photos really do any justice to how cool this area is.

I have been wanting to do this trip for a long time but because I am ever only in New Zealand in Winter the weather was never ok enough for it. This time though the weather and my schedule aligned magically.

I was pretty sure I would be all alone on this trip but just before I was ready to set out another car rolled up with two new friends that were planning the same trip.

After a couple days of heavy rain the river levels were slightly high to begin with. On the Hollyford that turned out to be advantageous because it left a little more room to get around all the trees in the river.  

The Hollyford was challenging and fun.
Right off the bat you got a good amount of maneuvering to do, to get around all the trees in the river. Some of the big tree strainer sections look almost impassable if you come in at an angle. Once getting closer, each section had a clear couple “key holes” to get through. It requires decent maneuvering skills.

The portage of the little Homer Rapid is on the river right. Keep going till you almost reach the big bolder near the right shore and the exit becomes clear.

There is a class 2 and right after a class 3 rapid, half way between the confluence with the Pyke and McKerrow Island, which that I wasn’t aware of. The class 3 was roaring pretty good with the slightly elevated river level and I sort of bypassed it on the true right. It still required some boating skill to get safely past it.

We had a stiff breeze from the south across the lake. It was giving us a good push in the right direction but the gusts were at times so strong that it required some effort to stay pointing forward.

We were on the lake’s outflow right around low tide so we had the most current towards the ocean. That together with the easing wind made for a most pleasant float.

After a short break and portage we were on the estuary lagoon. The winds had laid off completely and we had a pleasant paddle across a mirror lagoon.

Martins Bay and its Hut were a highlight on this trip. The sunset will be remembered.

The hike to Big Bay was characterized by Penguins, Jellies and Beaches. The high tide track around Long Reef was muddy but not too terrible.

Big Bay to Lake Alabaster Hut is a pretty big day. The daylight hours in July were not enough so I left about an hour before sunrise and got to the hut just before dark. The Pyke Track is straight forward and you can’t really go wrong. Once at the Pyke I switched to packrafting mode quickly to escape the hordes of hungry sandflies.

The upper part of the Pyke really is beautiful. The water is crystal clear and the vegetation along the shore is nice and varied.

There was not a breath of wind when I paddled across lake Wilmot. Below the lake the flow becomes slower and the water becomes more murky.

The sun had already sunk behind the mountains when I reached Lake Alabaster. It was long and tiring at the end of a already long day but even more beautiful and so incredibly peaceful.

The hike out was uneventful and fairly easy. It was interesting to see some of the corners again which I had floated past four days prior.

Neither the video nor the photos do justice to the beauty of this trip. I think that’s kind of cool.

You start on this beautiful river that sets out deep within Fiordland and is surrounded by big snowy peaks. Then you get to a huge lake which takes you all the way to the ocean and to magnificent Martins Bay. After that you walk the beach to the next amazing bay. The character of the Pyke is totally different from the Hollyford and it slowly brings you closer to those big peaks that surrounded you on day 1.