Tramping in NZ and Oz

[Joel Waddell]

Afternoon all,

I'll be heading down to New Zealand and Oz to do some of the tracks in Oct (I know it’s a ways out still, but I like to look ahead) through Jan. I was hoping to find out if anyone around here has 'tramped' down under and what kind of foot wear did you use.

Most main stream websites that cater to inexperienced hikers preach about hiking boots being a requirement.

My base weight will be 13 pounds, and I'll be tramping in all kinds of terrain.

Ideally I would like to be able to use the same pair of inov8's for both town and trail.

Your thoughts

[Barry Cuthbert]

What tracks are you thinking of doing while you are in NZ? All the Great Walks tracks and some others would be perfectly fine wearing lightweight footwear. I don't know about the conditions in Oz.

[Jeremy Platt]

Trail Runners are fine for everything I do (outside of the snowies) in Oz.

They often recommend hiking boots for snakes in high season which is a fair concern, especially in Tas. I believe gaiters also do a reasonable job of snake protection though.

[Jason Elsworth]

I have been using Flyroc 310s down here for the past few years. I have found them great for what I do. You need a trail runner with a decent lugged sole on them as it will often be wet and muddy under foot. There is a great range of tramping in New Zealand from well groomed tracks to very tough off trail going.

[Ryan Teale]

I have done quite a bit of tramping on two trips to NZ. The last trip I took light leather boots as I was doing a mild Mountaineering course. I also did the Dusky Track which is a bit more rugged. I think my feet would have taken some damage from roots had I worn trail runners. My boots went in the trash at the end of that slog :)

As said above, The Great Walks and most other tracks will be fine with trail runners with good traction.

Give some extra consideration to your waterproof jacket as you may be wearing it A LOT!! Also, I don't normally carry fleece out here in the western U.S. but it is nice to have under a shell in cold rain.

[Jason Elsworth]

Tracks like the Dusky and the Stewart Island Northern Circuit (both of
which I hope to do soon)are tracks where I might consider boots. The primary reason being that you are often putting your feet where you can't see, as they are under several feet of mud/muddy water. Trail runners could also potentially be sucked off your feet.

[Andrew Lush]

Hi Joel,

Well first off, just so you sound like a local, it's called tramping in New Zealand and bushwalking in Australia :-)

In Australia at least you don't need to worry about boots. Your Inov8s will serve you well.

Have fun!

[Roger Caffin]

OK, I can reply for Australia.

> Most main stream websites that cater to inexperienced hikers preach about hiking
> boots being a requirement.

Which is about typical of the retail market, and total BS.

Bushwalking is a fairly popular activity in Australia. Hard line walkers here in NSW tend to wear either Volleys or KTs. For an explanation of that see
http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Footwear.htm#Light

Basically, DVs and KTs are lighter than most Inov-8s. Only novices and amateurs wear leather boots. There are some old-timers in Tasmania who keep preaching boots, but the rest of us ignore them. Low cut joggers are also popular – eg NB.

Someone mentioned the alpine region. Yep, we wear the same things up there too. Sure, you get the odd bit of bad weather up there. So?

The BIG difference which should be mentioned is that the weather here in Oz (and in NZ) is a LOT LESS STABLE than in America. Bright sun can turn into snow or hail within an hour, in the middle of summer. Light tarps are not that popular here in the mountains, for very good reason.

Oh yes – NZ has lots of tracks, but Australian bushwalking tends often to be off-track.

Cheers

[Nick Lagos]

my salamon xt wings have served me well for bushwalks in tasmania and south australia for the last couple of years

for lots of off track walking have found tough high gaiters invaluable when in the very wet/muddy and desert envirnments (very prickly spinifex in my parts)

shoes that dry a bit overnight are useful – nothing worse than swinging two water logged boots at the end of your lower limbs for 9 hours

[Joel Waddell]

Thanks for all the replies!

I'll try to get a gear list together soon for your opinions. I'm hoping on using my Tarp Tent Contrail or Sublite for what its worth.

The 'plan' is to wonder both islands from Oct 5 to the end of Nov, then head over to Oz in Dec until my money runs low.

In NZ, the great walks look to populated for me, I might be able to knock one or two out before the summer crowd drives me to more rugged tracks. The Dusky looks like one hell of a track, and is on my list.
I don’t want to carry around a pair of boots plus a pair of trail runners. Plus I don’t have a pair of well broken in boots. So in the end if trail runners won’t suffice then I'll have to adjust on the fly.

This might be my only chance to spend months wondering down under so I want to get as much of it as I can. Ancient forests, volcanoes, alpine crossings, disappointment sound, rain forests, beaches and everything in between.

If it helps I'll be solo for most of this journey, base weight should be around 13 pounds, I'll purchase a hut pass, and if a great walk is in order I'll buy hut passes as needed.

FWIT I was on trip advisor and asked the same question, needless to say once again BPL IS THE PLACE TO COME FOR ANSWERS!

Thanks, Joel

[Joel Waddell]

Thanks again for all the replies!

Does anyone know of some good sites or blogs of light weight tramping in Oz and NZ?

Joel

[Wild Exped]

There are a few old timers on there (it was started in Tasmania) but there are some lightweights lol…

[Ty Reidenbaugh]

Take a look at the Overland Track in Tasmania. Magnificent! By far the wettest trail that I have ever hiked. A significant proportion of the trail is boardwalked and I was told at the time (1996) that there were areas that could never be permanently boardwalked because the ground is so boggy–all construction would eventually sink below the surface. I remember walking on boardwalk where each plank was wired together instead of being supported by a frame and anchored in the ground…it was just floating on 6-8 inches of water. Got some great pics of the boardwalk disappearing beneath pond-sized "puddles".

I'd be interested in hearing from some of you down-under about what the current trail conditions are and what the maintainers have come up with to protect those fragile alpine meadows. . .sure hated to see the many ruts plowed from hikers trying to avoid getting there feet wet.

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