The Kaikōura Coast Track, one of the country’s longest-running private walks, is celebrating its 30th year. The track has survived a major quake and the tourism slump of the pandemic. Sally Handyside describes running the operation with husband David and neighbouring friends Heather and Bruce Macfarlane. It’s been, she says, ‘a wonderful lifestyle’, with the added bonus of learning about people and conservation.

Let’s hear a little about yourself and how you came to live where you do.

I met David at a wedding and we were married six months later.   He brought me out to the farm, which is right at the end of the road, miles from anywhere, and I fell in love with it. We had our  50th wedding anniversary not so long ago and have had a wonderfully charmed life.

How did the idea for the Coast Trail come about?

Our children were off at boarding school, so there we were – empty nesters. Heather and I walked the Banks Peninsula Track, and when we got home we thought, “Well, why can’t we do this?” So by the time the boys had finished their evening whisky, we had a track planned on our farms.

What sort of challenges did you face in setting up the operation?

The work I suppose, but from way back we’d always had young Wwoofers from overseas helping. We had huge fun building the tracks. Anyone who came to stay was handed a pickaxe and lunch and off we’d go.

How long did it take to establish the track?

We started planning in March 1993 and opened in October the following year. The basic track has been improved since then, of course.

Has the 2016 quake altered the nature of your landscape?

It’s affected our coast dramatically in that the cliffs were always vertical, and now they’ve slumped. But the tracks all survived. We were surprised that we didn’t have more problems. Heavy rain can be more damaging.

What are some of the highlights of this track and the overall experience?

When we first started we were blasé about the beauty of it all, but there are not many places in the world where you can go to the beach and look up at snowy mountains. And it didn’t take us long to realise that the trees on our properties are magnificent and must be preserved. So we’ve become ardent conservationists and pest controllers. And I think that’s what we’ve got to pass on to our youth.

What kind of people walk the trail?

Families, couples, groups who have been tramping together for 40 years; they’ve all got stories to tell. Up to 29 per cent of our guests were from overseas before that wretched Covid and we were back up to 25 per cent last year. Bruce and Heather, and David and I take it in turns to drive the walkers to the start of the walk and we feel badly done by if we don’t get the chance to meet our guests. 

Did you ever imagine you’d be celebrating 30 years of this venture?

We had no idea how successful it was going to be. In our first year we hoped for 60 people through to cover our costs and we had around 140. Now our son and Bruce and Heather’s daughter want to continue with the Coastal Track, so we know it will be left in good hands.