A blog about New Zealand tramping / hiking
Climbing to the summit of Taranaki Maunga; New Zealand’s second highest volcano was one massive adventure. Scree slopes made up of sharp scoria, a snow-filled crater and amazing 360° views were all in a day’s work. Length: 12.6km return with over 1,000m elevation gain (and descent) Time taken: DOC says 8-10 hours for the Northern Summit
If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of busier tracks and experience mountain views and tarns in tranquility, then Sugarloaf Pass is the perfect choice. Length: ~10km return with ~700m elevation gain Time taken: 5 – 7 hours return Difficulty: moderate Facilities: Routeburn carpark at the trailhead has toilets and shelter. Why
Clifden Caves are an awesome underground caving adventure off the beaten path in Southland, plus they’re free and self-guided! Length: only 300m between the entrance and exit by road, but over 1km of winding caves Time taken: 1 hour (DOC says 1.5 – 2 hours) Difficulty: easy – moderate Facilities: none Very important note: This cave
Lake Angelus has to be one of the most picturesque settings for a DOC hut in all of New Zealand. Crystal clear sparkling water, impressive rocky peaks and hot chocolates on the deck – that’s luxury accomodation right there. Length: 11.2 – 12.2km (depending on the route) with ~900m elevation gain Time taken: 6 hours
Tramping (hiking for those non-Kiwis) can appear to be a relatively lonely and solo activity if you’ve never done it before. You wouldn’t necessarily think that walking in the wilderness, enjoying nature, is (like any human social activity) governed by certain standards of expected behaviour. But tramping is actually a pretty social activity. So there
Oh fitness, my beautiful frenemy. At best our relationship status is “It’s complicated”, mainly because I cheat on you with Netflix. Often. From the outside it probably looks as though I’m bounding up steep mountain slopes with limitless energy. But that, my friends, is a lie. My family know the truth – that I’m often
Length: Around 11 km return, boardwalk steps most of the way (~600m climb) Time taken: under 2 hours to Pouakai Hut from Mangorei road-end, 15 minutes from hut to tarns Difficulty: Easy, but uphill Facilities: Track departs from the end of Mangorei Rd (not even a carpark, so don’t get your hopes up about a toilet
To go tramping is to go on an adventure, but adventure doesn’t come without risk. According to Mountain Safety Council, on average each year in New Zealand: 1 in every 279 trampers suffers injury, 1 in every 3,109 requires Search and Rescue, 1 in every 219,876 doesn’t make it home (average of ~6 fatalities per year).
