Parks, Gardens and Zoos • History • Nature
Hump Ridge Great Walk
Story Inc was awarded the contract by Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai in March 2023 to design, fabricate, and deliver interpretation for the upcoming Hump Ridge Great Walk visitor experience.
Client
Location
Completed
Department of Conservation
Rowallen, Tuatapere, Aotearoa New Zealand
Opened in October 2024
Waitutu Forest panel, part of the Nature and Conservation story. Photo: Andy Shaw
A pillar style sign to introduce the Tram Line Junction. Photo: Andy Shaw
See what the beach used to be like back when Port Craig was a running sawmill. Photo: Andy Shaw
Blacksmiths were a very important part of life at Port Craig. Photo: Andy Shaw
See how far you have climbed at the lookout! Photo: Andy Shaw
Learn about the importance of Raukiokio to Ngāi Tahu Māori during Māhika Kai. Photo: Andy Shaw
Touch panels are spread throughout the walk for important fauna. Photo: Andy Shaw
The Project
The Hump Ridge track is located in the town of Tuatapere in New Zealand’s southernmost region of Southland. It is a site of great historic, cultural, and environmental importance.
This environment down at the edge of the world is largely inaccessible and covered in dense native bush, home to many native flora and fauna species. Before the Port Craig Mill was opened in 1928, the area was traversed by Māori during māhika kai due to the abundance of kai moana and birdlife.
The track was conceived by the Tuatapere community in the 80s to bring around local jobs and tourists to the area after the timber industry in Southland collapsed and the timber mills were shut down. The Tuatapere Charitable Trust, made up of local volunteers, built the track in 1988, opened it to the public in 2001, and continues to maintain it to this day.
When we were approached by DOC in 2023 we were very excited to be
a part of this new phase to create fun and informative interpretation to
share the stories of Hump Ridge with New Zealand and tourists from
around the world.
3D bronze map with patina at the start of the track.
The Hump Ridge Great Walk incorporates many different stories and themes related to the history of the land and the various conservation efforts being made to protect and preserve it. The overall experience therefore provides insights into the past while also demonstrating actions being taken for the future. The connectedness of people, animals, and the land is therefore a prominent aspect of the experience and the interpretation will encourage visitors to reflect on this throughout their journey.
The aim was for text to be relatively limited and light throughout the experience so that visitors will be encouraged to stop along their journey and take away digestible information. We were aware many visitors would be tired and not wanting to read large amounts of text along the track. However, there are opportunities for visitors to dig deeper and discover more at the Ōkaka Lodge and Port Craig Lodge. Visitors will be able to settle in and read through the lodge books that give more information and expand on stories they have read along the way.
Waiting for the helicopter ride up to Hump Ridge!
The Process
Story Inc worked closely with the clients to identify the key stories and themes of the project. We were also connected with another contractor working on the waharoa, Steve Solomon, and worked together to find a design approach that connected the experience. The result was a wave formation with incorporated motifs relevant to the story theme.
The narrative journey is told through three key themes located across multiple sites throughout the walk and weaves several running themes together. These key themes are Culture and Land Ownership, Nature and Conservation, and Community and Heritage.
Visitors could identify the main theme of each interpretation based on iconography and the colours used, however all stories were unified through the style, typography, and key designs.
Mapping and measuring where signs could go.
The interpretation ranged in approach and consisted of:
X1 Mounted railing panel
X4 Panels mounted to existing shelters
X9 Freestanding panels, 3 panels with tactile plaques
X4 Freestanding pillars, 1 panel with a tactile plaque
X1 Wayfinding Fingerpost
X4 Directional signs
X2 Steel overlay illustration panels (‘Then and Nows’)
X7 Life-size silhouette figures
X1 3D bronze map
X1 Stoat trap interactive display
X2 Lodge Books: x6 books and x2 boxes to hold
Silhouette of a teacher and some students made from corten steel. Photo: Andy Shaw
Welcome to Port Craig! Photo: Andy Shaw
Port Craig Map illustrated by Andy Shaw. Photo: Andy Shaw
The white 'ghost' lines indicate how Port Craig used to look when it was a bustling sawmill. Photo: Andy Shaw
Life size corten steel silhouette of a baker at Port Craig. Photo: Andy Shaw
Another look into the past to see the tramway and the old school. Photo: Andy Shaw
Learn about the tīpuna that used this track as a rest stop on their journeys. Photo: Andy Shaw
Life size silhouette of a sawmill worker. Photo: Andy Shaw
Life size silhouette of a Lidgerwood hauler operator. Photo: Andy Shaw
Another sign with touch panels showing the importance of Te Waewae Bay Marine Mammal Sanctuary. Photo: Andy Shaw
The result is an experience that assists the already naturally beautiful flora and fauna and provides context to the history and future of the people and the place.
Please go see it for yourself!
Before crossing the Percy Burn Viaduct, learn about its history. Photo: Andy Shaw
The Result
Credits
3D maps and tactile plaques
Graphics Printing
DAC Group
Silhouette engineering
and review
Lodge Book fabrication
Illustration
Graphic Design
Writer
Steve Solomon
Consultation
and Wave design
Scale Studios
King and Dawson
Fabrication
The Bookbindery
Anderson Design
Andy Shaw
Jo Duff
Jenny Bornholdt