3-4 hrs return | 12km | West Coast
The West Coast of New Zealand is one of my favourite areas, especially when the sun shines. The coastline is spectacular, and the bush is so varied that it invites you to explore whatever the weather. This is a walk that I heard of through a friend and so when I found myself headed out to the coast with a night for which I hadn't planned accommodation, I decided to hike out to the Ballroom Overhang to camp and it turned out to be a great decision.
The description on the DOC website probably underplays the number of river crossings required on this trip, though at the time I went (April) the river level was reasonably low and so not too challenging. However, I seemed to spend a long time in the river which I wasn't really expecting from the little bit of research I had done, so be warned!
You start out on the Inland Pack Track which leads you into the forest where the trail starts to get a little more rugged as it follows the Fox River along the true right. I was doing this in late April and was particularly fortunate with the weather, having had a solid week of sunshine ahead of my trip. As I wound my way through the forest track, I spotted some blue mushrooms which I had only seen once before over here. The colour still amazes me and really sticks out amongst the fallen brown fern leaves and shadows cast through the surrounding canopy.
After around 15-20 minutes you are set for the first and widest river crossing. I had to look for quite a while to see the arrow on the other side of the river. You can just make it out in this picture if you look closely (far left of river on the screen). If the river is too high to cross safely here then there is no point in continuing as later on there are deeper crossings. There is good information available around river crossings on the Mountain Safety Council website if you are unsure of how to check conditions.
From here you make your way through bush for around 30 minutes before the track splits away from the Inland Pack Track and you head back down to the river on the left hand-side. Now you have to navigate your way around 500m up the river, crossing a few times and searching for sometimes hard to spot triangles and poles. I retraced my steps a few times just to make sure I was going the right way and hadn't missed a marker.
The surroundings are stunning with towering cliffs and crystal-clear water as you wind your way upstream along the stony riverbank through the gorge. The final crossing back across to the true left of the river was the deepest crossing (up to the top of my legs) but there were good places to cross safely, and it wasn't flowing that fast. I remember thinking this would be a good wakeup call on the return journey the next morning to have freezing cold water getting the blood flowing and I wasn't wrong! No sooner had I crossed the river and climbed up the riverbank than I caught sight of the Ballroom Overhang for the first time, and it is every bit as spectacular as you imagine.
The limestone outcrop forms a perfect sheltered spot for camping and it is clearly a popular place (probably more so in the summer months than when I was there). There is a long drop toilet and people have built up some fire pits with plenty of areas to set up a tent all around the area. The only negative was that the trees and rock blocked out most of the sunlight, so it was very cold through the night and well into the morning as I was packing up, but this wouldn't be an issue in the warmer months.
The next day I travelled out the way I came in and arrived back at the start of the track in time to enjoy a very welcome hot coffee from the coffee cart that had conveniently turned up to coincide with a market that was set up in the car park. This is a great place for an easy overnight option or if you are looking for a day walk that is a bit different then this is also a good taste of the beautiful West Coast.
Parking: There is a car Park just off the main road for the Inland Pack Track which is easy to get to and has toilets available.
Overnight Options: Camping at the Ballroom Overhang.
