The Greenstone and Caples Tracks form a tramping (hiking) circuit which is located in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. Each track can be completed by itself and are linked by the McKellar Saddle while the loop also links to several other tracks including the New Zealand Great Walk of the Routeburn Track as well as the Mavora Lakes Conservation Park tracks. All of these areas are part of the Te Wāhipounamu/South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area. In 2023, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

released 18

takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a Flightless bird, flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the Rail (bird), rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, whic ...

in the Greenstone Valley.

Ownership and access

The Caples Track follows the Caples River up the privately owned Caples Valley while the Greenstone Track follows the Greenstone River in the Greenstone Valley which is also privately owned. Much of the area is owned by the local tribe of the Ngāi Tahu while most of the tracks are in the Greenstone and Caples Conservation Areas with some also being a part of the

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te W� ...

around Lake McKellar. The whole track is open to public access as long as

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

is not disturbed.

Huts

Image:Greenstone-Hut-in-the-morning.jpg, Greenstone Hut Image:McKellar Hut 4.jpg, McKellar Hut Image:Upper Caples Hut 2.jpg, Upper Caples Hut (private) There are three public huts on the tracks, the ''Greenstone Hut'', the ''McKellar Hut'' and the ''Mid Caples Hut''. There are also several private huts as well as some hunters huts: The ''Mid Greenstone Hut'' and the ''Upper Caples Hut''. Access to the Mavora Lakes Conservation Park is from the ''Greenstone Hut''. Access to the Routeburn Track is near ''McKellar Hut''.

References

External links

Department of Conservation
Hiking and tramping tracks in Fiordland Protected areas of the Southland Region {{Fiordland-geo-stub