Make your own way to Greymouth on the west coast and check-in to your trip accommodation any time after 2:00pm. You should allow enough time to purchase your lunch and snack supplies for the next three days. There are conveniently located supermarkets that are usually open until about 8:00pm daily. Your meal pack with breakfasts and dinners for the walk, plus cooking pot and accessories, should be waiting for you at the accommodation. Please ask reception upon check-in.

Meals:  Nil

Shuttle pick up is at approximately 7.30am at your trip accommodation. Board your shuttle vehicle and transfer to Smoke-ho trail-head, at the southern end of the Paparoa Track. Pass through the quirky village of Blackball on the way, once a thriving settlement based on coal mining with a colourful history of unions and radicalism. It was also the terminus for a railway line from 1910 to 1966. The first and steepest section of the track climbs from about 400m above sea level to around 1100m above sea level and will challenge your legs. It initially follows the historic Croesus Track, with evidence of gold mining activities from the early 1900's, through beech and podocarp forest. Pass historic Croesus Top Hut and DOC Great Walks Ces Clark Hut before emerging from the forest into alpine scrub and tussock. From the open escarpment it is possible on a clear day to see Aoraki Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain, to the south and the Tasman Sea to the west. Overnight at Moonlight Tops Hut, with panoramic views across Paparoa National Park. NOTE: For anyone wanting a slower pace, an additional day can be added to the trip, staying tonight at Ces Clark Hut and continuing to Moonlight Tops Hut the following day. Several side trips are possible when adding an extra day.

Meals:  D

Wake to the feeling you are on top of the world this morning. Enjoy this sublime location before setting off on the track once again. Walking along the escarpment of the Paparoa Range with expansive views of steep limestone cliffs and impenetrable wilderness, with the ocean far beyond, is truly breathtaking. Admire the skills of those who built this incredible track as you hug the ridgeline. Take a moment also to admire the tenacity of those who worked the coal mines in such a rugged environment, remembering the men who lost their lives in the Pike River Mine tragedy. Further along the track, descend from the escarpment through podocarp forest to reach Pororari Hut, the destination for today. NOTE: The Pike 29 Memorial Track, has been named in honour of the twenty nine men killed in 2010 when a tunnel in the Pike River Mine collapsed. At the families' wishes, the mine site and surrounding area has become part of Paparoa National Park.

Meals:  B,D

The track today is all downhill, following the Pororari River Valley and Gorge. Initially following an old track from an attempt at early settlement in the valley, descend through beech forest and sidle along a magnificent gorge sculpted from limestone. Pass an impressive suspension bridge, worthy of a photo, leading off to the Inland Pack Track - an historic trail from the gold mining era. Continue through the stunning lower Pororari River Gorge, following the river as it ebbs and flows into deep pools and around enormous rocks. Beautiful rainforest and nikau palms give a sense of the almost tropical as you finish the walk. Meet your shuttle transfer here at 3pm for the return trip to Greymouth.

Meals:  B