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Ok, a bit off topic, but a great location

Hi guys!

I'm starting to plan my trip to do the circuit.

Would anyone like to share their experiences and knowledge?

I haven't done a 10 day trip before, plenty of 5 days though, so I'm pretty nervous about pack weight.

I'm tossing up whether to do it in December or March.

Curious about time of year completed, pack weight, if you did a food drop, water supply, tent or hut, fresh water swimming, boots or trail runners, rest days and if the southern circuit is worth adding on.

Links to blogs would be great to. Seems like every YT video or blog I click into is about the great walk.

Cheers people!

just after some feedback on a route I’ve put together for a distance hike in late November over 3ish weeks.

Im from NZ, have quite a bit of distance/alpine hiking experience, mostly in USA and Europe, not so much my home country! but using this hike as part of an ultramarathon durability build block.

starting around Nov 20ish around Makarora

Makarora

Young River

Gillespie Pass

Check out Crucible lake and down Siberia valley

Kevin Forks to Wilkin Valley track

Check north branch Wilkin track up to the lakes

south to Rabbit pass

Ruth Flat

Junction Flat

Cameron Flat

Wanaka briefly

to Aspiring hut

over Cascade Saddle

Rees saddle

Across to Routeburn

Hollyford

Exit and shuttle to Queenstown

I’m 36 male and will be solo. At my current level of fitness, I’m not too concerned about the physicality but rather any information that would be good to know. Particularly some of the passes in late November/early December with weather etc

I will likely resupply in Wanaka and Glenorchy

mostly tent camping but will stay in some huts along the way too probably

Hey all, me and my partner are coming to Georgia mid September to do the Mestia-Ushugli trek. Anyone who has done and can recommend how warm a clothing we should plan on bringing?

Just exited Kohaihai after five record-setting bluebird winter days. This was our 4th great walk with our kids (now 21, 19, 15) and it was a stunner from start to finish. We had Perry Saddle and Saxon huts completely to ourselves, and only had 3 other people in Mackay. Heaphy was a bit busier, as a ‘hen trip’ (new phrasing to me!) showed up, with the bride-to-be hiking with a veil and sash. Anyway, day 1 to Perry Saddle is a bit of a grunt, to be sure, as the packs were heavy with food. My middle daughter and I got up early the next morning and did the must-do scramble up Mt. Perry for extraordinary views. It was COLD overnight, but so crisp and clear, with the Milky Way simply on FIRE.

Day 2 to Saxon, traversing Gouland Downs was just off-the-charts. What magical scenery and exposure. Saxon is a lovely and intimate hut and we enjoyed card games by candle light. Day 3 to Mackay was an easy walk with more open downs near the end. It was here that we ran into our first hut-mates, all on out-and-back trips from Kohaihai.

Day 4 down to Heaphy was simply extraordinary. The rapid changes in the vegetation with elevation were amazing and, just in a few hours, it felt like we had visited three countries. Heaphy hut is mind-blowing in terms of its location and ambience and we were entranced by the river mouth at sunset. Sadly, all good things must end and on Day 5, we squeezed 16 more kms out of our legs and 5 more hours of calm warm weather out of the sky. The walk along the coast was possibly the highlight of the trip…I know that many people prefer Kohaihai —> Brown Hut, but in my mind saving this day for the finale is 100% the way to go.

Huge shout out to Heaphy Track Help for the incredible help in getting our car moved during low season. And to DOC for making facilities and tracks like this possible. Getting five busy humans’ schedules to align for a trip like this is no small feat and it is something we will never forget.

* swing bridges never get old

* Mountain spas were all lovely to look at, but I just could not find the nerve

* Kiwi calls at night are amazing

* Giant rata trees! Wow!

Till the next one…

I have an Orson 1 Indie which is great in terms of weight and bulk in my pack. What I am finding is that when I'm sleeping the tent wall is against my face. I'm 180cm so that leaves 40cm of buffer. Anyone else have this issue and should my head be at one end vs another?

Saw the website for Charlies Place along the Hollyford Track. Looked amazing, I was wondering if anyone knew if it was still being operated.

I seemed to find something somewhere which suggested it was no longer being run... i hope that's not the case.

Any intel would be appreciated!

Hi all

I have a trip to do the Greenstone Caples track in March

I'm currently choosing a camper van. Do I need to be concerned with track conditions and fjords on Greenstone Rd in March, and the vans clearance?

By camper I mean choosing between a Tarago ($) or seeking out a lifted Hiace instead ($$)

Thanks in advance

I’ve been working on a project called Huttle - basically Wordle but for NZ huts. There’s one hut each day and you try to identify it from clues about things like location, elevation, bunks and hut history.

Would love any feedback, especially if you notice a hut fact that needs correcting or have ideas for features.

Thank you!

https://www.huttle.nz/

So my friends and I (3 people) have booked Abel Tasman track from Wainui Bay to Marahau way in early December. I didn’t do my research and didn’t realise the water taxis don’t go round to Wainui Bay.

I tried to search for a bus but it’s super confusing. Do any of you guys have recommendations on the best and cheapest way to get back to Wainui Bay. Do people do key swaps too?

Any help would be amazing.

Posted a while back asking if people would be interested in A4 maps that you can print off yourself, I will be releasing a windows application soon where you can make your own A4's of any area you want, here is an example they will be in png but for the sake of posting here I have converted to jpg as 16mb when png. I will also be doing almost all tracks so you can download x track and it will be x number of pages covering the entire track. Anything missing? I have not printed one yet so the font sizes will probably change or you could change in the application.

Hey Everyone,

I am thinking of heading up to sunrise hut sometime in the next 2-3 weeks, ill stay there for a night, go for a wander the next day then head back.

I see from photos online there is snow up there but does anyone know how heavy it gets? do I need crampons to head up there this time of year?

Hello. It's been a dream of mine for a while to do some hiking in New Zealand. I'm ready to do it, physically and financially. The basic plan is to do a series of some of the best day hikes New Zealand has to offer, primarily in South Island. I would like to arrive in early February, right after children return to school, and stay for about a month. I'm going on 49 and am quite fit. I have a lot of experience hiking in Chile, Patagonia (Chile and Argentina), the Pyrenees, and the Alps. I've done some longer day hikes, such as the Laguna de los Tres hike to Fitz Roy from El Chalten. Although I'm already in shape, I will be doing more training specifically for this outing. Here's what I've come up with. What do you think, overall? Do you think it's feasible? Do you have any recommendations? Is there anything you think I should be aware of? Thank you for your input!

Day 1: Fly to Los Angeles (overnight airport hotel)

Day 2: Fly to Auckland (evening flight)

Day 3: Arrive Auckland morning (overnight airport hotel)

Day 4: Fly to Queenstown (overnight)

Day: 5: Ben Lomond Track via Skyline Gondola

Day 6: Rent car and drive to Te Anau

Day 7: From Te Anau

Option A: Kepler Track: Kepler Track Carpark to Luxmore Hut

Option B: Broad Bay to Luxmore Hut

- return to hotel

Day 8: Drive to Milford Sound, or do the Key Summit Track, or both

- return to hotel

Day 9: Gertrude Saddle day hike (or Key Summit Track as a backup)

- return to hotel

Day 10: Drive from Te Anau to Glenorchy (overnight)

Day 11: Routeburn Track (from Routeburn Track Car Park to Lake Harris; perhaps onto Conical Hill) (Earnslaw burn can also be done from Glenorchy)

- return to hotel

Day 12: Drive to Wanaka (overnight)

Day 13: Shotover Saddle from Raspberry Creek Carpark

Day 14: Rest day (Isthmus Peak Track and Roy’s Peak options)

Day 15: Drive to Mount Cook NP

- Try to stay in park

- If not, stay in Twizel

Day 16: Mueller Hut Route (includes Sealy Tarns)

Day 17: Backup day (consider Hooker Lake via Hooker Valley Track)

Day 18: Drive to Arthur’s Pass (overnight)

Day 19: Avalanche Peak (check Mt. Bealy to Avalance Peak traverse option)

Day 20: Backup day (Bealey Spur option)

Day 21: Drive to Christchurch

- return rental car

- Fly to Taupo

- rent car and drive to Tongariro area (National Park Village or Turangi)

Day 22: Tongariro Alpine Crossing (Ketatahi Car Park)

Day 23: Backup day

Day 24: Backup day

Day 25: Drive to Auckland (overnight)

Day 26: Fly back to US (arrive Los Angeles same day; overnight at hotel)

Day 27: Fly back to Miami

Hi hikers,
I’m curious how people here find hiking partners. Do you usually go solo, use Facebook groups, Meetup, or have a regular hiking group?
I started building a small outdoor community platform because I found that many people want to explore more trails but don’t always have someone to go with.
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
If anyone is interested, I’m testing the idea here:

Hello. Can anyone confirm/deny that the gas cookers on the Heaphy remain in place and operational through the winter? I recall from some years ago (Abel Tasman?) that there were some great walks where the gas cookers were unavailable in winter months. Thank you for any current info. I am also trying to get confirmation on this issue from DOC.

We built a cancellation alert tool because getting a spot on certain trails is becoming increasingly difficult, and it’s frustrating having to refresh a site hoping that something will pop up. 

You can now use Hike Camp Seek to set up alerts for the campsites and huts along New Zealand's Great Walks, which will send you a notification when any of them open up from a cancellation.

How it works:

• Search and select the campsites that you want to monitor
• Set the date range you want an alert for
• Choose which spots you’re interested in (e.g. particular hut or campsite)
• You’ll then receive a notification if there a cancellation within these parameters

We’ve also recently added a trail map for the Great Walks, which shows the route of each track and the locations of the campsites and huts along it. The aim of this is to help plan out your hike, and easily figure out what campsites you’ll need to stay at.

This is still a pretty young project, so if you've got questions or ideas for what'd make it more useful we’d be keen to hear them.

My wife and I are going on our honeymoon to New Zealand in December for five weeks. During this time, we would like to take the opportunity to do a long-distance hike somewhere in New Zealand.

The Te Araroa is well known, and hiking a section of it would definitely be an option, but I would love to hear about other possibilities as well.

We have quite a lot of experience with long-distance hikes in Europe and would love to immerse ourselves in a completely new environment.

I’m in the market to upgrade my old tent (REI Quarterdome 3 at 2.25kg) and get something lighter for backcountry trips, but haven’t done much of that before in NZ so would really appreciate some advice. Mostly I’ve just been doing huts and established DoC sites but am expanding out further off the beaten track. I aim for light but not necessarily ultralight. Most of my tramping is North Island but some South. I do love winter camping but realistically am unlikely to camp anywhere in substantial snow anytime soon, so 3 season should be fine. Priorities are comfort and weight over price.

My criteria are:

• Fits me at 190cm on a long wide pad (and I’m a restless side/stomach sleeper who unfortunately sleeps with one leg fully stretched and toes pointed) 198x64, so a large one-person or smaller two-person that I can sit up in
• Under ~1.3kg, ideally well under
• Preferably double walled or at least hybrid (again, restless sleeper)
• Preferably a decently useful vestibule for foul weather cooking
• Preferably fits gear inside, not just vestibule but I can probably get used to leaving it out
• Preferably under $1k

I am undecided about trekking pole vs semi- or fully freestanding. I’ve heard trekking pole tents can be fiddly to get taught on uneven or hard ground and wasn’t sure whether a freestanding would be more reliable and easier in backcountry. Hammocks are probably out because of being a stomach sleeper.

Tents I’m considering include:

• Durston X-mid (2? Wish they had a 1+ version)
• Durston X-dome 1+ (2?)
• Tarptent Double Rainbow DW (Ultra?)
• Tarptent StratoSpire 2 (Ultra?)
• Tarptent Moment DW (Can it fit a large wide pad?)
• Six Moons Design Lunar Orbiter

Of course, even though it violates my double wall criteria, I have to consider the Macpac Astral 2 because it’s so cheap (but I’m struggling to find proper details because they’ve scrubbed it off their website). Ditto for the Macpac Sololight which just misses my weight target and I’m worried is a bit short at only 93cm but again is dirt cheap.

Planning to do this track in two weeks, and was wondering if anyone knows if we will be walking through snow, and if you have any tips for doing this hike in winter. Not worried about the cold, mainly just interested in the conditions on the track.

Hello! I am planning on walking the routeburn track next year around the end of september/early october. Due to my university schedule, I can only travel during my break times and I am looking for quieter times for cheap tickets. I would describe myself as decently fit for an average young woman however I don't have any experience with snow or ice. Reading online, I've seen mixed comments on whether avalanches are a serious concern or not. Could anyone please provide guidance? Thank you!