the top. There is a side branch of the track reached after about 90 minutes climbing. This leads down to Shakespeare Flat on the Aorere River. After 3–4 hours climb, the Aorere shelter and campsite at about elevation provides a place to rest. The highest point on the Heaphy Track, at , is reached after another hour. There is a lookout point nearby. From here, it is another 30 minutes walk to Perry Saddle Hut. The hut has 28 bunks. Perry Saddle Hut to Gouland Downs Hut From the Perry Saddle Hut, the track passes over the saddle and follows the true left of the Perry Creek. There is a side-trip route up to the peak of Mount Perry, at elevation that in suitable conditions provides panoramic views over the Aorere Valley and Golden Bay towards the North Island, and inland over the Gouland Downs and the rest of the Kahurangi National Park. The main track re-enters forest for about an hour until reaching the edge of the Gouland Downs. The route then descends gradually to the Cave Brook and then reaches the historic Gouland Downs Hut. The existing hut was built by the Collingwood County Council in 1936. There are many limestone arches, caves and small waterfalls that can be accessed near the hut. Geology of the Gouland Downs This area is a peneplain, a low-relief plain formed from prolonged erosion. Beneath the tussock in the Gouland Downs are sandstone and mudstone sedimentary rocks that were formed in the Lower Palaeozoic era around 400 to 500 million years ago. They are some of the oldest rocks in New Zealand. These rocks were worn down by erosion to form the peneplain around 100 million years ago. They were then submerged beneath a shallow sea, and limestone was deposited on top of the older sedimentary rocks. The land was subsequently uplifted, and erosion removed most of the limestone, leaving isolated outcrops that now appear like tree-covered islands in the tussock landscape. The remaining areas of the Gouland Downs have shallow and infertile soil where the only plants that thrive are tussocks and rushes. Introduction of takahē In 2018, the Department of Conservation translocated 30 endangered takahē to the Gouland Downs, from the breeding facility at Burwood Takahē Centre in Southland. This release is part of a programme to ensure the survival of the species. The Gouland Downs area was chosen for