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Backpacking in New Zealand


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Home Forums Campfire Trip Planning Backpacking in New Zealand

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  • #3555364
    Whilly Jo
    BPL Member

    @whillyjo

    I got a working holiday visa and will be traveling in New Zealand for at least a couple of months this November.  I plan on a doing a few backpacking trips on both the north and south islands.  The Great Walks look like amazing hikes: chance to meet people from all over the world and see beautiful scenery. However, I would also like to hike in areas less developed and crowded.  I’m interested in overnight to week long trips with daily mileages in the 15-30 range whether it be a traverse or on trail.

    Any good sections of the Te Araroa to hike?

    Any special or crucial gear need for NZ?

    Appreciate any suggestions.

    #3555387
    Link .
    BPL Member

    @annapurna

    I have done some hiking in New Zealand but it has been about 20 years now, there are some members here who live in New Zealand and I am sure they will give you some great advice, but in the meantime

    WALKING WITH WIRED About the Te Araroa: November 5-March 4 .

    WALKING WITH WIRED Advice To Future Te Araroa Walkers .

    #3555395
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    While the “Great Walks” are aptly named, they are also VERY popular.  We were online, at 0800 NZ time the proper day, typed quickly, and got the dates we wanted for Milford Sound and in Abel Tasman NP.  We met other people who were also on at the appointed time but didn’t type fast enough and got their second or third choice of route or date.  Admittedly, we went over Christmas which has to be one of their busiest times.

    On those Great Walks, the huts allow you to know that you have a roof over your head, a sleeping pad under you and (check, but for many of them) pots, pans, stoves and fuel.  That not only reduces your pack weight, but also the amount of gear you have to schlep overseas.

    Some other, less popular trails also offer huts, but without wardens on staff and are primitive and smaller (many we were at slept 40 or more, had wood stoves, drying rooms for wet clothes, showers, etc).

    And, yes, you do meet interesting people from all over the world.  Several of the Great Walks have a preferred or required direction, so you see the same people for several nights in a row.  Mostly, we hiked by ourselves, but one could easily agree to hike for awhile with someone else since most people are heading to the same hut for the next night.

    I wish more countries offered a similar hut system that NZ and Europe have in place.  I wish we did here in Alaska.  There are some fabulous routes that would be doable by a lot of people if you were assured  a roof over your head 6 – 10 miles away.  As it is, we have some appropriately spaced Forest Service cabins that can be reserved by a single group (of up to 8) but communal option until you get to some hostels in a few trailhead towns.  Of course you can bring a tent, stove, etc and be fully independent and we do that as a family now, but when the kids were in grade school, we worked hard to keep the backpacking fun and Alaskan cabins, NZ and Italian Alps huts were part of that.

    #3555399
    Barry Cuthbert
    BPL Member

    @nzbazza

    Locale: New Zealand

    The Great Walks are pretty easy tramping and pretty spectacular but you need to book your accommodation (either tent or hut) online first.

    Here’s some other threads where I posted some of my favourite multi-day tramps outside of the “Great Walks”.

    http://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/77390/#660543

    http://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/94880/#805918

    David is right about the hut network and I view it as one of the unique and best parts of the tramping culture in NZ.

    While I haven’t walked the entire length of Te Araroa (roads and farms just don’t it for me), I would recommend the Tararua section, Tongariro crossing and Te Paki in the North Island, and in the South Island take your pick! The Queen Charlotte to Richmond Range to Nelson Lakes to Lewis Pass section was my first long (>2wks) section hike.

    #3555436
    rmeurant
    BPL Member

    @rmeurant

    Locale: Laniakea

    Changeable weather, sandflies, mosquitoes… I agree the Tongariro Crossing, you could do worse than stay in that general area (Tongariro National Park) for some time and do some of the other hikes there or generally climb and ramble on Ruapehu, using the ski field chairlifts (Whakapapa or Turoa) which ought to be running in December (?), and January for sure (for tourism, not skiing, though I have enjoyed skiing there in January many years ago), to start high, but you must be prepared for savage sudden changes in weather. Coastal walks, Coromandel peninsula is fine scenery (eastern side facing the Pacific).

    #3555469
    Whilly Jo
    BPL Member

    @whillyjo

    Thanks for all the leads, I will definitely be looking into them.

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