[10] When walked anticlockwise, the first day begins with a section that closely follows the coastline, after which it climbs almost 1000 metres over 12 kilometers before reaching Okaka Lodge.

[citation needed] Most of the coastal track is flat and the surface is made of sand or dirt and is easy to walk on.

However it can get very boggy near the viaducts between Port Craig and Edwin Burn; this area also has many hundreds of railway sleepers left over from the logging.

The hill sections are very delicate and much of it has been laid with boardwalk making walking easier and protecting the ecosystem.

[citation needed] The coastal track was first cut by government workers in 1896 to provide an alternative to the unreliable shipping service to Cromarty and Te Oneroa, gold mining settlements of Preservation Inlet.

[citation needed] By 1930, the Port Craig settlement was abandoned, after both supply of and demand for wood was lower than expected.

Old wharf piles remain, along with old building materials and the Port Craig school, which has been converted into a hut for trampers.

[citation needed] A ban on logging native timber was placed in the mid-1980s, leading to several sawmills in the area closing, and there was also a downturn in the farming industry about the same time.

A charitable trust was created and, in the words of one reporter, the community "spent years battling with red tape and fund-raising".

DOC had run a process, starting in 2017, to choose an existing track to upgrade to join the Great Walk set.

[19][20][21] The aim of the project was "to develop the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track into... a world-class visitor experience that reflects the significant cultural and heritage values of the area and inspires increased conservation advocacy.

At that time, a DOC director said that the final budget could be up to $NZ7 million and that the intent was to break ground on the project work by the end of 2021 and to open the Great Walk for the 2023–2024 summer season.

DOC plans to make the track a little easier by improving the track standard, lowering its gradient in places, putting board walks in place of muddy areas, building staircases, and setting the walk up to be a three-night trip instead of two nights.

[4] The Stump the Hump is an annual event where participants attempt to complete the entire track in under 24 hours.