Deerford, shorts & knights Track over coal creek

Deerford Track, In the northern Manawatu, east of Apiti, is a beautiful hikes, crossing the Coal Creek & venturing into beautiful beech forest.  Bird song, including fantails, grey warblers, tomtits, waxeyes, chaffinches & whiteheads can be heard. During the summer you may even hear the screech of a long-tailed cuckoo, which lays it's eggs in the nests of whiteheads. The northern rata flower can also be in December- January from the carpark, but unfortunately the trees themselves are way off the track. They seem to flower only every few years. See in photo gallery.  Carrying on fror the inom Deerford Track is another looped track, Knights & Shorts, which continue up onto the tops. (See map below).Tramping experience and fitness are required.
PictureView showing approximate track sites
Directions 
  • A few kms north of Apiti in the northern Manawatu, turn right up Table Flat Road. Be aware that after a few kilometers the road becomes gravel.
  • Continue up the road,  until you come to a Y junction. Take the right turn on Limestone Road. It is a narrow winding gravel road, so please take care and keep to your left.
  • The road will continue on past the entrances to the Limestone Caves and Sixtus Lodge. 
  • Continue until you arrive at the Limestone carpark. It should take about 10 minutes from the start of Limestone Road.
Picture
Click on map photo to enlarge
You will need about 3 hours for the  Deerford circuit. 
  • From the carpark follow the poled route across the farmland to the forest edge and down to cross Makiekie (Coal) Creek for the first time.
  • ​Depending on the amount of rain, you may end up with wet feet at this crossing. The track then climbs steeply for a short time up onto a bush plateau.  Eventually you arrive at sign posts directing to Knight's track to the tussock to the left and Short's track to the tussock to the right & Deerford Track directions.
  • Turn left on Knight's track & after 20 minutes, you arrive at Coal Creek for the second time, but further upstream.
  • This is an ideal spot for a picnic and a swim. Return the same way, or if you want to go further, cross the creek onto Knight's Track or you can take the track just before the creek up a steep climb to join Shorts Track.
  • ​If you return the same way, follow the track back to the main junction. 
  • You can take a 30-minute hike just as you start Knight's track up Coal Creek to a huge, unusual red rock beside a pretty waterfall. However, getting there means negotiating between a hunter's sidle track close to the river and the river itself. This is not advisable for the inexperienced tramper or without an experienced-tramper present. 
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Outdoor Safety Code:
1. Plan your trip
2. Tell someone
3. Be aware of the weather
4. Know your limits
5. Take sufficient supplies
For more information visit Adventure Smart
Take at a look at the photos below taken on the Deerford track & up Coal Creek  January 2020