Walking New Zealand September 2024

Te Araroa Trail Pass Te Araroa has teamed up with the Department of Conservation (DOC) to develop The Trail Pass, an accommodation pass offering easy access and discounted rates on conservation land huts and campsites across the trail network. Designed to make it simple and cost-effective for walkers to pay for 71 huts and campsites in one single transaction, The Trail Pass also offers users a 20% discount on a further 10 serviced hut bookings. You'll find the full list of huts here, including those covered by The Trail Pass and those you need to book directly with DOC to receive the 20% off. Before the walking season starts we will also be updating The Trail App to make it nice and easy to see when a booking is required.…

New Zealand Walk The Crown Track in the Karangahake Gorge is a ‘Forever Favourite’ with locals, as well as many visitors to the area. Located between Waihi and Paeroa, this fascinating area is only an hour drive from Tauranga, and a couple of hours from Auckland, making it easily accessible for many people. There are many varied walks in the gorge, some following the Ohine-muri River, past remains of old gold workings. Then there is the railway tunnel to explore, and an old railway station, with trains still running to transport visitors from Waihi to Waikino and return. There are a couple of swing bridges to negotiate, and across the river, you can see Owharoa Falls, a rather picturesque spot. With a large picnic area, with lots of seating, and…

New Zealand Walks The Grampians Walkway is home to a network of tracks that vary in length and difficulty, that go through the hills that form the background to the city of Nelson. The Grampians Nelson are not as well known as the walks of the same name in Victoria, Australia The Grampians walks go through pockets of regenerating native vegetation and exotic trees and is popular with walkers if not for their diversity but also for their central location. A potpourri of vegetation scatters The Grampians landscapes, with regenerating native, grassy scrubs and pine trees complementing mahoe, mamaku and tawa trees. The perfect balance of challenge and reward, the Grampians trails tend to zigzag up the slopes of a hill, emerge at a grassy spur and continue steeply to…

New Zealand Walks If you don't feel like a long walk or tramp, but fancy a country drive and a short walk to stretch your legs I recommend visiting the welcoming Pipinui and Waihi waterfalls. in the Central Hawkes Bay I was fortunate to recently walk up close to these waterfalls whilst they were flowing at near maximum and cascading with somewhat force over the ridge, almost becoming deafened by their thunderous, roaring sound. Departing from our tiny town of Woodville on Sunday 7 July 2024 at 10.30am, I was accompanied by my son Nigel Johnstone and his sister Christine Jelley on an awe inspiring a road trip to view these falls. After arriving in Mangatainoka we turned left off the main highway onto the Pongaroa Road soon arriving at…

The winners of the 2024 Golden Foot Walking Awards were announced on July23 at an event at Parliament hosted by Celia WadeBrown QSO MP. These walking awards are presented every two years by Living Streets Aotearoa to celebrate achievements for walkers. Living Streets Aotearoa president Tim Jones said the awards recognise innovative new facilities, highlight national best practice, and reward ongoing commitment to walking and pedestrians. “We were delighted by the high standard of nominations for this year's awards. It shows there is considerable thought going into projects that will support people walking to their everyday activities. This is very heartening to see,” he said. This year there were 20 finalists with seven category winners. A new special award was also presented, the Andy Smith Award, made in honour of…

New Zealand Guided Walks Even though you are more than halfway between the Equator and the South Pole, the days of summer are generally warmer and drier in the deep south of New Zealand. There is no better time to enjoy the exceptional walking opportunities in fabulous Fiordland. In 1990 Fiordland was listed as a United Nations World Heritage site and given the name Te Wāhipounamu - ‘the place of green-stone’, after the area's most treasured mineral resource. In Fiordland National Park, a 500km network of walking tracks allows visitors to explore the primeval world of majestic snow-capped mountain peaks, looming up dimly like phantoms through the mist; quiet sequestered alpine lakes shimmering like molten emeralds or sapphires; and verdant moss-carpeted valleys redolent with a spacious sense of the amplitude…