New Zealand’s

Best WalkingTrails

Lake Waikaremoana Track

This Great Walk showcases diverse mountains, bluffs and waterfalls that will hold you in a state of awe and wonder. The Lake Waikaremoanawalk is located in the Te Urewera National Park on the eastern side of New Zealand's North Island. It can be walked year round. The distance ofthe walk is about 46km and takes about 3-5 days to complete. It is a 54 km sized lake 80 kilometers west-southwest of Gisborne in the northisland of New Zealand.

This location is home to Nāi Tūhoe, the local Māori people, who are also known as Nā Tamariki o te Kohu--'the children of the mist'. Whenwalking this track you can see how the Maori could easily have conjured up legends of Taniwha's among other mythical creatures in their folkloreas you make your way along the shores of Lake Waikaremoana ("Sea Of Rippling Waters" in Maori).

You can enjoy incredible views from Panekire Bluff, or walk along remote beaches while soaking up the rich spiritual history of the area. Duringtrout fishing season you can drop in a fly line, and catch a tasty meal.

The 4 day walk can be approached from two different directions: State Highway 38 links Wairoa and the East Coast and passes the AniwaniwaVisitor Center is the most popular place to enter the walk.

Best time to visit:You can visit lake Waikaremoana any time of year but locals will tell you that the best time to come is from September through to March, our

spring through summer to fall seasons. This is when the wildlife are most active, and you can enjoy the best weather.

This 'track' is actually more of a canoe or kayak trip rather than a walk. The 145 km WhanganuiRiver runs through rugged national park and offers a unique immersion in stunning nativeforests with an abundance of birdlife.

The walking part of the track takes about 3-5 days but the whole journey covers about 145km.The Whanganui River takes you all the way down from the mountains to the Tasman Sea throughcountless hills and valleys. It is the only Great Walk that you can experience almost completelyby water.

It's a great way to see riverside settlements, lush native bush and verdant farm pastures alongrolling hillsides. Paddle though moss lined gorges here you might spot the odd glowworm asdusk. This journey takes you through isolated virgin bush areas, untouched by the boots ofhikers. It's a very relaxing way to see New Zealand - especially if you have sore knees or hips!

Best Time To Visit:The Whanganui journey can be taken at all times a year, but spring, summer and fall monthsfrom September through to March April offer the best weather and the prettiest scenery asleaves on deciduous trees flourish, and you can enjoy hot summer days.

Whanganui Journey

The Circuit is located in Tongariro National Park in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. The 43 km walk takes about 3-4 days to complete. Itbegins and finishes at Whakapapa Village.It is the closest national park to Auckland and encircles the cone of Mount Ngauruhoe which is the most perfectly-shaped volcanic cone withinthe Tongariro National Park. This walk is dotted with three Department of Conservation (DOC) run huts with nearby campsites.

The Tongariro crossing takes you to the emerald lakes atop the volcanic plateaus. The lakes stand out like an emerald in contrast to thesurrounding red volcanic mars like soil. From the top ridges you'll enjoy panoramic views of the central plateau and desert road. It's a journeythat you'll need a decent level of fitness to complete, but the 'other-worlds' landscapes and magnificent views make it worth every step!

The trip up to the higher altitudes will get your heart pumping and the descent down to emerald lakes from the highest point is relatively steep,through loose scoria. From here you can walk up via a short climb to magnificent blue lake and on to the North Crater. Here you will passplumes of steam and mineral streaked rocks through to Ketetahi Hot Springs for a well earned soak.

Best time to visit:The summer months are hot, so you can take lighter gear and plenty of water, but it's still important to take a warm change of clothes and wind

breaker. As you will be at altitude, the weather can change quickly, so being prepared for a sudden drop in temperature is vital.The winter months can be bitterly cold on the Tongariro crossing, with southerly winds biting any exposed extremities, so most people choose to

hike the walk from September through April in the milder to hotter months.The Kauri trip includes the Tongariro crossing,

read more about the itinerary here: http://newzealandwalkingtours.com/visit/link/kauri-adventure/

Tongariro Northern Circuit

Abel Tasman Coast Track

The Circuit is located in Tongariro National Park in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. The 43 km walk takes about 3-4 days to complete. Itbegins and finishes at Whakapapa Village.It is the closest national park to Auckland and encircles the cone of Mount Ngauruhoe which is the most perfectly-shaped volcanic cone withinthe Tongariro National Park. This walk is dotted with three Department of Conservation (DOC) run huts with nearby campsites.

The Tongariro crossing takes you to the emerald lakes atop the volcanic plateaus. The lakes stand out like an emerald in contrast to thesurrounding red volcanic mars like soil. From the top ridges you'll enjoy panoramic views of the central plateau and desert road. It's a journeythat you'll need a decent level of fitness to complete, but the 'other-worlds' landscapes and magnificent views make it worth every step!

The trip up to the higher altitudes will get your heart pumping and the descent down to emerald lakes from the highest point is relatively steep,through loose scoria. From here you can walk up via a short climb to magnificent blue lake and on to the North Crater. Here you will passplumes of steam and mineral streaked rocks through to Ketetahi Hot Springs for a well earned soak.

Best time to visit:The summer months are hot, so you can take lighter gear and plenty of water, but it's still important to take a warm change of clothes and wind

breaker. As you will be at altitude, the weather can change quickly, so being prepared for a sudden drop in temperature is vital.The winter months can be bitterly cold on the Tongariro crossing, with southerly winds biting any exposed extremities, so most people choose to

hike the walk from September through April in the milder to hotter months.The Kauri trip includes the Tongariro crossing,

read more about the itinerary here: http://newzealandwalkingtours.com/visit/link/kauri-adventure/

The Hollyford Track is one of New Zealand's more dramatic walks representing the country's truly untouched and stunning regions. The walktakes hikers on an immersive experience from the mountains to the sea. When I say dramatic - I don't mean physically challenging, but rather -offering a sensory feast of different environments to absorb. You'll see a wide range of scenes from waterfalls to 1000 year old trees. Walkthrough the ancient Podocarp forest (New Zealand native pines) with huge rimu, totara and kahikatea trees wrapped in massive Rata vines toarrive on the shoreline at Martin's bay.

The track is one of only two places where rainforest meets glacial waters, the track takes between 3-5 days to be completed at the beautifulcoastal Martins Bay, home to the Fiordland crested tawaki, one of New Zealand's native bird species.

There are 6 huts provided along the track owned and maintained by the Department of Conservation. During your walk, you'll find Fiordland'stwo highest peaks, Mount Tutoko - 2746 metres and Mount Madeline - 2537 metres. Listen out for the large and rather chatty forest parrotsknown as Kākā who mostly call at dusk.

Best time to visit:As we say in New Zealand 'There is no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing'. Yes New Zealand is very green for a reason, we

have a wide range of weather conditions, and a lot of rainfall particularly in the winter months. So if you want a fine-ish walk, it's best to walk the track in the Summer months from November to March, however some of the most magical scenery can be enjoyed after a rain shower (which

can and does happen albeit less frequently in the summer months too).The Hollyford track can be walked at any time of the year - if you pack accordingly.

Abel Tasman Coast Track

Milford Track

Huge glaciers have shaped the landscape of Fiordland. They have left behind U-shaped main valleys, ice-gouged ledges and thehanging valleys oftributary streams. These formations are well preserved because of the hardness of the mainly granite, rock.

Silver, red and mountain beech forest dominates the lower Clinton, with colonising species such as fuchsia, wineberry, broadleaf and mountainribbonwood common around slips and avalanche paths. Birdlife is abundant on the Milford track, you'll see bellbirds, tomtits, grey warblers, andrifleman. Brown creepers can be seen near the bush line, while robins prefer beech forest in the lower Clinton.

The journey, a 53.5km walk, usually takes about 4 days starting at Te Anau heading down to the dramatic Mackinnon Pass and meanderingthrough the lush beech rainforests of Fiordland National Park. Camping is not permitted on the track but there are three public lodges on thetrack owned and maintained by the Department of Conversation (DOC) as well as private lodges which are owned and used exclusively by aguided tour company. It can be walked year round, however, it can be more difficult hiking between May to mid-October as most of the DOC runfacilities are closed due to extreme weather conditions.

The best time to visit:The Milford Track does have high rainfall and changeable weather. Unpredictable weather patterns including cold temperatures, snow, strong

winds and heavy rain, may cause temporary surface flooding on the track at any time of the year. You should expect at least one wet day on your walk so taking appropriate clothing to cater to the changeable weather conditions. The winter season (late April to late October) presents snow

and avalanche danger (56 avalanche paths cross the Milford track) making the track impassable. This is why it's good to check your local information or DOC center before departing if traveling without a guided tour party. Whatever time of year you prefer to visit, you can read more

about Milford walking adventures here: Manuka 14 day adventure: http://newzealandwalkingtours.com/visit/link/manuka-trip/

Heaphy Track

This 78.4 kilomter walk will take about 4-6 days. The Heaphy track is one of the greatest walks of New Zealand. It is obviously a very long walk -in fact it is the longest of the 9 great walks! It offers some very unique and diverse landscapes leading you through the mountains to the sea withevery section of the track vastly different to the other 9 walks

Over half of New Zealand's native plant species can be found here, including 80 percent of all alpine species. Beautiful forests of red and silverbeach cover the landscape to the east. Tiny orchids grow on the forest floor, if you visit in summer you can see these flowering. At higher levelsmountain beech appears near Perry Saddle, stunted by the alpine climate.

Below 300 metres altitude in the West, podocarp trees make their appearance. The most common being rimu, but matai, miro, and kahikateaalso share the habitat. Other broad-leaved species in the canopy include rata, mahoe, kamahi, pigeonwood, hinau, pokaka and pukatea with anabundance of undergrowth filling the spaces better the base of the trees at lower altitudes.

Common native bird species include weka, pipit, tui, bellbird, pigeon, and robin. Keep your eyes and ears peeled to see or hear the great spottedkiwi, morepork, rock wren, and blue duck. Long-tailed bats are shy creatures, making their appearance at dusk to feed on insects. This species ofbat and the rarer short-tailed subspecies were New Zealand's only land mammals before the arrival of people.

Best time to visit:The Heaphy track can be walked all year round, just remember like all our tracks to take sensible clothing as our weather in New Zealand can be

very changeable, which is part of the beauty of the New Zealand landscape, but can be fully enjoyed when you remain warm and dry.

A 60 km track featuring best features of Fiordland – forests, more grand mountain scenes exploding from glacier-carved valleys and waterfalls.

A stunning hike through high mountain ridgelines and ancient beech forests beginning on the shores of Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri beforerising through the exposed tussock lands of nearby Mount Luxmore, Kepler track is one of the best tracks in New Zealand and is also one to rivalany other alpine track in the world. You'll walk through alpine meadows and across ridges, amongst volcanic rock formations with spectacularviews of the surrounding plains.

The track is Located in Fiordland National park in the south western part of New Zealand. The walk will take about 3-4 days; and as it is a circulartrack, can be walked in either direction. The track can be walked easily due to its relatively smooth construction with gentle inclines and declines.You'll find three huts and two campsites provided by the Department of conservation.

As you travel back above the Bush line you will find snow tussocks, mountain daisies, native bluebells, gentian and dracophyllum sprinkledacross the landscape. Many birds inhabit these areas from bellbirds, tomtits, grey warblers, fantails and chaffinches. There are also parakeets,robins and yellowheaeds along the Waiau river. Higher up will find the habitats of kea, pipits, skylarks, red polls adn yellowhammers, the latterthree inhabiting areas in the summer months only.

Best time to visit:The Kepler track can be walked at all times of year, however bookings are usually required for huts and campsites from late October to late April, the busiest months. If you are a first time hiker, then huts rather than camp sites are preferable. The Kepler track is spectacular during the winter

months, but you can see a wider range of color and textures if you walk it outside the winter months of June to August.Read more about some trip itineraries that showcase the best of the Kepler track here: http://newzealandwalkingtours.com/visit/link/new-

zealand-trips/ (See Rimu, Tui and Manuka trips).

Kepler Track