Hiking adventures in New Zealand
Hiking adventures in New Zealand
New Zealand hiking tramping
The Nydia Track in the Marlborough Sounds is a beautiful 27Km tramping and mountain biking track stretching from Duncan Bay at the end of Tennyson inlet to Kaiuma Bay Road, in the Pelorous Sound. We walked 19Km of the track from Duncan Bay to the Nydia Lodge DoC accommodation on a winter weekend, at a very leisurely pace. DoC times recommend 6 hours to the lodge, but we made it in around 5 hours including plenty of stops for...
We used the excuse of snow in the mounatins, to make a weekend trip out to the Kahurangi lighthouse and keepers house. This beautiful West coast walk was a delight! The long drive in to the Anatori River, via the causeways of the Whanganui inlet near Farewell Spit was incredible in itself. The main event - the hike to Kahurangi Point and the lighthouse crosses beautiful farmland to the Turimawiwi river. From there you...
We made an overnighter of this awesome Abel Tasman Northern Loop, but it would make a great day walk too. Starting at Wainui Bay at the Northernmost tip of the Abel Tasman National Park, we headed to Whariwharangi where we camped for the night. The following morning we headed around to Totaranui via Separation Point. The return journey took us up the steep inland track over Gibbs Hill. Checking the DoC distances and times for the Abel...
The Moa Park Track is a beautiful, moderately easy walking track. It skirts Canaan Downs and crosses the Wainui Saddle before climbing to an area called Moa Park; a small sub-alpine basin sitting around 1000m elevation. From Moa Park you can head up a couple of Kms to Porter Rock or around 4Kms further to Castle Rock. On todays adventure we took the Moa Park Track to Porter Rock which is around 5Kms. We enjoyed a leisurely day withy a decent...
Did you know that there is more than one Ben Nevis in New Zealand? I discovered this whilst having a cake break half way up Ben Nevis just outside of Nelson. This wonderful day hike takes you nearly 5Kms with an elevation gain of around 800m up Gibbs Spur to the summit. If you're feeling adventurous and the weather is good, you can continue much further along the (unmarked) ridge route. Experienced trampers could traverse the entire length of the ridge to Mount...
If you're heading to the upper West Coast of New Zealand's South Island it's definitely worth stopping in at the little seaside village of Ngakawau to walk the beautiful Charming Creek Walkway. The full 9.5Km (one way) riverside trail follows an historic railway line to the Charming Creek coal mine near Seddonville. The trail passes through an impressive river gorge, railway tunnels, old railway and mill workings, over bridges and past the spectacular...