Hiking adventures in New Zealand
Hiking adventures in New Zealand
... "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...
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 Hooker Valley Track is a stunning shorter walk in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in Canterbury, and you'll get some of the best views in New Zealand for very little effort. Don't miss the chance to see the spectacular alpine scenery including glaciers, mountain rivers and glacial lakes. On a good weather day you are treated to uninterrupted views of New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki/Mount Cook (3,724m). Be warned though, this is one of the most...
The Kepler track in Fiordland National Park in Southland, is one of New Zealand's most accessible 'Great Walks'. It begins near the small town of Te Anau, and boasts beautiful forests, unique wetlands, waterfalls and alpine mountain scenery. It is a 60Km loop track (although we found out the mileage varies depending upon which brochure you read) and you'll climb to 1400m at the highest point.
DoC classify it as a 'moderate/easy' 3-4 day tramping track. We walked...
I started today thinking I would do a quick jaunt up Mount Robert in the Nelson Lakes National Park. Nothing too strenuous, just a quick up and down. As it turned out it was such a glorious day that I just carried on walking, with a bit of running thrown in. It ended up being the most incredible return to Angelus hut along the Robert Ridge route, which took around 6 hours in total .
Note that DoC rate the Robert Ridge Route as...