Hiking adventures in New Zealand
Hiking adventures in New Zealand
New Zealand – Kahuangi National Park
This hike comes with a warning!! Before you attempt Mount Arthur, make sure your car is in good shape :-)
Mount Arthur, in the Kahurangi National Park stands at 1975m, and forms part of the mountainous horizon you see as you look West from Nelson. The wider Tablelands area has some fascinating landscapes - karst rock slabs, huge rock outcrops, caves and sinkholes. These special ecosystems are quite rare, and are home to some threatened...
Located across the Kahurangi National Park in New Zealand's upper South island, the Heaphy Track spans the Nelson/Tasman and West Coast districts. It is one of New Zealand's 10 'great walks', which DoC describe as their 'premier' tracks. Generally these tracks are easy to follow and well graded, and take you through some of the most spectacular wilderness scenery New Zealand has to offer.
Note that on the great walks you must pre-book your accommodation, and...
I had a great night's sleep despite an initial night time chorus of weka, and I woke before my alarm to a magnificent sunrise at 6am. Despite the altitude and breeze I still had condensation on the tent so I set to work doing the wipedown, then had breakfast overlooking the amazing view. I was joined by the mountain bike guys, and we warmed ourselves up in the sun.
I left at 7.15am and was soon up at the highest point on the track at 1450m on the Lyell range. The views all around from the...
Mr mouse and his entire family kept me awake for much of last night, nibbling the rubbish that other people had left in the firelace, and generally scrabbling around the rest of the hut. When I got up, they were undeterred, and flitted here and there as I ate my breakfast. My food and belongings thankfully remained untouched!
I got on the trail at 7.30am. It was a 30kms uphill kind of a day. The first section was easy enough through nice beech forest with a couple of bridged rivers. This...
I got on the bus at 7.30am this morning, and enjoyed a beautiful and informative Westward journey through the Buller gorge to Westport, then Seddonville. Along the way I passed places I'd been before... notably the place where my family and I did the flying fox in 'superman pants' 12 years ago and Lyell campsite (my end destination on this walk), where I'd parked up in my van overnight one night many years ago.
I started the trail at 12.30pm. The Old Ghost Road is hailed as the best...