Nikau Palm Walk, Kōhaihai, West Coast NZ

If you want a very short walk at the West Coast end of the Heaphy Track then consider this short loop through native forest – the Nikau Palm Walk. The forest is very attractive, and as the name suggests, there are many nikau palms, New Zealand’s only native palm. You cross the Kōhaihai River at the start and views up and down this are also very nice.

Track notes at the end. You can continue along the Heaphy Track for more coastal and forest scenery – we walked as far as Big Rock Beach.

Nikau Palm Walk: The Scenery

Heaphy Track to Big Rock Beach & Swan Burn — Crossing the suspension bridge near the start of the Heaphy Track. The Nikau Walk loop starts near here.

Nikau Walk, Kohaihai — The Kōhaihai River. We left the track and headed through a few metres of bush to visit this spot.

Track Notes

Heaphy Track Coastal Day Walks — The Nikau Palm Walk is the small loop near the Kōhaihai River. We did it as part of a half day-walk along the Heaphy Track, as shown in the map.

We did this walk as a short side trip off a longer half-day section of the multiday Heaphy Track. It starts just over the suspension bridge and will take roughly 20 minutes in total. The track is constructed the whole way. There’s more information on shorter walks in the area on the Heaphy Track website.