The original Whakanui route is believed to have followed an older Māori trail, although the exact early history of the track is not well documented.
Original Whakanui Track can be seen in this late 1950s photo.
According to a long-standing local resident, the earliest alignment of the Whakanui Track climbed the hillside east of Nikau Creek Gully. When that route became choked with gorse, the entrance and lower section of the track was shifted into Nikau Creek Gully. Later, that alignment was abandoned and the track was relocated behind Sunny Grove, with its entrance near Sinclair Cemetery. This may have been a strategy to keep people away from the nearby water catchment area.
In time, the entrance to the Whakanui Track was moved again, this time to Skerretts Gully, above Sunny Grove, where it remains today. The former entrance near Sinclair Cemetery is now known as the Sunny Grove Track and connects with the Whakanui Track, but it is somewhat overgrown.
In contrast to the current Whakanui Track, this earlier alignment in Nikau Creek Valley is narrower, steeper and largely unmaintained. It is also not signposted and is partially concealed. A small cairn marks the entrance from Nikau Creek Track. The entrance lies 547 metres along Nikau Creek Track from the signpost at the Gums Loop Track junction. From there you cross Nikau Creek and then scale the eastern flank of the gully, where the track eventually connects with the East Whakanui Track then onto the current Whakanui Track.
Together, the Old Whakanui, East Whakanui, and Whakanui tracks can be combined into a five hour loop walk. However, only the Whakanui Track is signposted and well maintained. The Old Whakanui and East Whakanui routes are marked mainly by bait station tags, which are not always easy to spot. As a result, it is easy to lose the route or wander off track.
By adding the Sunny Grove Track, the loop can start and finish at the Hine Road Recreation Area car park. By adding this final section in a loop walk, you can say you have walked not just the Whakanui Track, but several chapters of its changing history.
Special thanks to Lance Stewart for sharing the track’s location and its distance from the entrance to Nikau Creek Track.
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