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...
In the Nelson area we are spoilt for choice on weekend overnight tramps. For a great workout and spectacular views we decided on a quick up and down of Mount Fell and Mount Richmond. It is definitely a weekend that should be on your to-do list if you enjoy a long climb, and views from the tops. There are a couple of hut options - Richmond Saddle and Mount Fell, and you can make a circuit of it or do an in-and-out the same way. We parked at Timms Creek...
We made the most of a lovely sunny Winters' day to take a day trip from Nelson over to Takaka Hill and Harwoods Hole. Quite unknown to me before now, Harwoods Hole is the deepest vertical cave/shaft in New Zealand. The opening is 50m wide, the entire drop is 357m (1,171 feet) and it is spectacular! The track from Canaan Downs car park is 2.9Km one way and took us around 30 minutes. We combined it with a trip up to the viewpoint overlooking Gorge Creek, a quick...
The great thing about living in Nelson, is the accessability to so many great hiking spots on your doorstep. The Dew lakes and Dun Mountain loop starts from the Maitai dam just a 20 minute drive from the city. This awesome day walk is around 23Kms and takes you through a variety of forestry, bush/scrub, beech forest and open tops. Be prepared for a great workout - it's a decent climb up to 1143m over Little Twin and 1129m over Dun Mountain. With...
The Tablelands area of Kahurangi National Park accessible from Graham Valley Road or the Cobb Valley is a great spot for all kinds of weekend and multiday activities - for adventurers and beginner trampers alike. We were making the most of the weather on a quick weekend mission; over the tops of Gordons Pyramid on Saturday to Balloon hut and back along the river valleys of the Salisbury Track and the Flora Track on Sunday....