The route up The Haystack weaves through steep mudstone bluffs covered in scree. It’s not for the fainthearted. Photo: Sam Harrison

Kahurangi calling

Features, Off the Beaten Track

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Sam Harrison

Sam Harrison is a chocolate addict who tramps on the side and works for the Department of Conservation.

By Sam Harrison

A trip through the Matiri Valley and onto the Thousand Acres Plateau includes some of the best wilderness in Kahurangi National Park.

Features on a map can catch the eye, such as where time has challenged the land and taken artistic liberties with unusual contours. The southern Matiri Range’s twin plateaus – the Thousand Acres and 100 Acre – are striking examples: prehistoric limestone remnants of the seafloor thrust high above the waves. Four of us – […]

About the author

Sam Harrison

Sam Harrison is a chocolate addict who tramps on the side. When he’s not in the bush he can be found pushing paper for the Department of Conservation in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Sam graduated from the University of Otago in 2021 with a Bachelor of Law, a Bachelor of Arts, a large student loan and a love of all things tramping. He is easily identified in the hills by his oversized camera and his distinctive knack for finding type 2 fun.