“On a Mish” #307 James Craig’s Dream (Part Three). Wairaurahiri River to Lake Hauroko. Fiordland National Park. 23.4.2015. When I moved south to Tuatapere to start working on the Humpridge Track I started a new life with lots of new opportunities. Along with a life working in the lodges on the track, I also got a chance to try out the ‘other way’ to finish the hike. Some people finish their Humpridge Track via the Wairaurahiri River and Lake Hauroko, and it is an adventurous alternative as you tackle the rivers rapids at speed in a jetboat…
The Southwest corner of Aotearoa is the least populated part of the country, but that wasn’t always the case. Captain Cook was the first ‘tourist’ back in 1773, and his words of praise for the beauty of the area (and hatred of sandflies!) are words that can still be used today. During the next couple hundred years small settlements appeared and then disappeared as valuable minerals like gold were discovered. Tough living in paradise was what most experienced, and that was the way of life when Port Craig was in full swing.
There isn’t much life when it comes to the sawmill. It is amazing how an entire village and mill was abandoned, and then Fiordland slowly reclaimed the land and swallowed most of the buildings and equipment. Three very special and vital parts of the operation that are still used today are the huge viaducts. These bridges are crossed when hiking from Okaka Lodge to Port Craig and can be recrossed if you finish your mish via the Wairaurahiri.
A trip down the river as well as up the river is also an option and one, I took only a couple of days after arriving in Tuatapere. Zooming over Lake Hauroko in a jetboat is a wild way to see Fiordland. You also get to see the near endless forest that James Craig looked at and almost altered forever while enroute to the South Coast and a BBQ lunch at Waitutu Lodge (Private). Whether it be the trip on its own, or as part of your Humpridge Track experience, the Wairaurahiri River is an awesome way to see a very remote place.
In a way it is lucky that timber mill (James Craig’s dream) failed. Nowadays most of the mighty podocarps still stand tall, with some believed to be around 800 years old. Seeing the odd stump is the only sign of the milling and thanks to the area being part of Fiordland National Park it will remain that way forever. James Craig’s dream was bold, and it was so sad that he never got to see what he envisioned due to his accident in the waves of Te Waewae Bay. It is now up to you to see what he saw but please don’t think about getting a saw and cutting down all of the trees like he did in his dreams!
