Hiking adventures in New Zealand
Hiking adventures in New Zealand
You have to make the most of the 'good weather weekends' during a New Zealand Winter. Even though the days are short, we are spoilt for mountain tramping adventures near Nelson. We made the trip up to the Buckland Peaks, at the Northern tip of the Paparoa Range (behind Westport) over the 'shortest day' weekend. We camped on the tops and spent a few hours on the second day exploring the peaks; a grassy undulating wonderland of rockfalls, giant boulders, and tarns. It...
... "it might be a bit muddy" my partner said casually, a few nights before we ambled up to the 1000 Acre Plateau for a Winter Queens Birthday-weekend trip. We discovered a few days later that our interpretation of "a bit muddy" is quite different. I'm a bit of a princess when it comes to tramping, and the horrors of Ratea Forest, Pirongia and Longwood Forest on Te Araroa Trail are long gone. Give me a nice dry path along a tussocked ridge with epic views on a...
We made the most of great weather over the New Year, and headed into the Cobb to traverse the Lockett Range and Mt Cobb tops of the Peel Range. As usual, the Kahurangi National Park didn't disappoint, and we enjoyed a superb few days exploring the glaciated lansdscape. It was one of those trips that makes you realise how many other many other possibilities there are up there, and makes you want to go back again and again.
We began with a...
Mount Owen is the highest point in the Kahurangi National Park, standing at 1875m and overlooking a beautiful, glaciated, limestone karst landscape. There are several ways to walk to Mount Owen. Yesterday I took the easiest and most popular track from the Courthouse Flat DoC campsite up to Granity Pass hut, to the tarns past Sentinel Hill. DoC reccommend 6 hours to walk the 8.3Kms to Granity Pass hut, and I made it in nearly 4 hours. It took another leisurely...
The spectacular rocky mass of Mount Owen is the highest point in the Kahurangi National Park, standing at 1875m. It looms over a beautiful glaciated limestone karst landscape, famous for it's incredible rock formations and huge underground cave networks. There are several ways to walk to Mount Owen, and I took the easiest and most popular track from the Courthouse Flat DoC campsite. DoC reccommend 6 hours to walk the 8.3Kms to Granity Pass hut, and I...
The Lake Peel track, followed by a hike up to Mount Peel summit (1654m) in the Kahurangi National Park makes for a great day out. It boasts a great track, some lovely forest, a nice climb, two bodies of water and beautiful walking across the tops. Then of course, it has incredible mountain views as far as you can see in every direction. The Lake Peel track is part of a network of hikes you can access from the far end of the Cobb resevoir in the...