Waikakaho to Cullen Creek
Regional Ride
Marlborough, South Island
The walkway is classified as a tramping track. A reasonable level of fitness and strong footwear is recommended. The streams at both road ends and those flowing into Cullen Creek are unbridged and become impassable after heavy rain.
Beyond the saddle the track is a little rougher. It sidles to the left and descends gradually for about 30 minutes to a small grassy clearing. At the clearing is a stone chimney and the collapsed remains of a hut left over from the 1890 quartz era, and the depression of the 1930s.
Part of Cullen Creek Walkway
From the clearing the track follows a spur down through forest to a bracken-covered face planted in pine trees. The track, marked with poles, now zigzags down this face to a private hut on a terrace high above Cullen Creek. This section is quite steep; extra time should be allowed for climbing in the reverse direction.
Near the hut a number of stone chimneys and foundations mark the location of a once-sizeable village.