Truman Track
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| Truman Track | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Length | 600 m (2,000 ft) |
| Location | Te Miko, Punakaiki, New Zealand |
| Trailheads | State Highway 6, Punakaiki |
| Use | Tramping |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Sights | lowland forest, Tasman Sea |
| Surface | gravel path |
| Website | Department of Conservation |
The Truman Track is a short, easy walking track located north of Punakaiki, in the coastal Paparoa National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. Although only 600 m (2,000 ft) long, it has been described as "one of the most delightful and interesting short walks on the West Coast". The track passes through lowland coastal forest of podocarps, rātā trees and nīkau palms, with dense understorey vegetation. It finishes at the coastline, where there is a viewing platform providing views along the coast, with surrounding cliffs, rock overhangs, and a waterfall that cascades directly onto the beach.[1]
Geography
The Truman Track begins at Te Miko, 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the Department of Conservation visitor centre in Punakaiki and 45 km north of Greymouth.[3] The track entrance is on State Highway 6, with a small car park on the other side of the highway.[4] The easy, level pathway passes through lush temperate rain forest typical of the West Coast and emerges in coastal flax vegetation, finishing at a clifftop viewing platform with views of Dolomite Point to the south and Perpendicular Point to the north. The track is only 600 m (2,000 ft) long and takes just 15 minutes to complete. A stairway leads from the platform to the beach, which has scenic mudstone overhangs and a rocky platform at low tide, but is not safe for swimming; rogue waves have swept away at least two tourists.[1][5]
Natural history
The Truman track begins in West Coast coastal rainforest, and ends in salt meadows. The forest at its beginning is dominated by rātā (Metrosideros) and rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum), with an understory of kāmahi (Weinmannia racemosa), toro (Myrsine salicina), miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea), mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus), and pigeonwood (Hedycarya arborea). The tree ferns wheki (Dicksonia squarrosa) and mamaku (Sphaeropteris medullaris) are also present. A short way along the track an information board highlights a mature mataī (Prumnopitys taxifolia) tree, the host of a northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta), which has grown in the crown and sent down roots to surround and strangle the mataī trunk.[1]
Forest
Coastal turf
- Common forest species on Truman Track
Northern rātā embracing mataī
Towards the coast the forest canopy, now exposed to salt and sea wind, lowers and the dominant trees become toro, kāmahi, and tree ferns.[1] The open clifftops are dominated by harakeke (Phormium tenax), but where the cliffs are most exposed to salt spray they are covered in a coastal turf, comprising mostly sea primrose (Samolus repens) and Selliera radicans.[1]
Tourism
The Truman Track is a popular tourist stop for visitors to the Buller region and the Pancake Rocks, with 37,000 visitors a year (even attracting 19,000 visitors in summer 2020–2021, when New Zealand's international borders were closed).[3]
