How to plan the ultimate hiking adventure in New Zealand

Travel

Immortalised on the big screen and beloved by outdoor enthusiasts, New Zealand’s soul-stirring landscapes are its crowning glory. for hikers, completing one of the country’s ‘Great Walks’ is a lifetime achievement. 

ByJustin Meneguzzi

Published January 21, 2024

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

To walk across New Zealand is to experience some of the greatest landscapes in the world. From moss-carpeted forests to sun-drenched mountaintops with impossibly far-reaching views, the country is blessed with an almost unfair share of natural beauty, thanks to the volcanoes, glaciers and rivers that have helped carve out its environs over millions of years.   

Since the first Māori inhabitants arrived in around 1250, wandering feet have etched a spiderweb of trails up and down the country. There are thousands of walking tracks to choose from — short and long, boardwalked and gravelled, coastal and alpine — but just 11 have so far been officially designated a Great Walk. 

Each of these multiday tracks carries hikers through a unique landscape, but what unifies them is their relative ease and approachability. Trails are expertly maintained and studded with huts and camping sites where you can put up your feet at the end of the day and mingle with fellow hikers. An abundance of group tours mean you don’t need to walk alone, or you can stamp off on a solo sojourn if the mood takes you. Many trails can be broken down into single-day trots, too, if you’re short on time.

The ease of travelling on foot through New Zealand might explain why locals have taken to hiking — or ‘tramping’, as they call it — with such gusto. The Department of Conservation (DOC) starts selling cabin bed spaces in June for the coming summer, with beds along the most popular trails, like the Milford Track, snapped up with the same fervour as Glastonbury or Taylor Swift tickets. Maybe it’s the altitude or just the fresh air, but this competitiveness quickly evaporates on the hiking paths, where every passer-by is greeted with a ‘kia ora’ — ‘hello’ — and cake and tea are traded for trail gossip. 

In the aftermath of the pandemic, hiking and camping have experienced a boost as travellers continue to reacquaint themselves with the simple joy of slowing down outdoors. Only by walking can we eavesdrop on the fluted calls of New Zealand’s birdlife, tickle our fingers in beds of giant moss and inhale the earthy aroma of petrichor following summer rain. If the steep climbs and hairpin bends don’t leave you breathless, the sight of New Zealand’s snow-dusted peaks plunging into verdant valleys will. Here, we’ve picked three of the country’s best trails.

Itinerary 1: Milford Track, South Island

Start: Glade Wharf, at Lake Te Anau
Finish: Sandfly Point, near Milford Sound
Hike length: Four days/33.5 miles.

Shaped by glaciers over 10,000 years, Fiordland National Park on the South Island’s southwest coast is home to dramatic valleys, sky-piercing summits and primeval rainforests where mataī trees bow beneath great garlands of moss. Red-and-green winged kea parrots soar over alpine passes and emerald rivers invite walkers to pause and dip their feet. 

Having traditionally been used by Māori hunters searching Milford Sound for prized jade, the Milford Track is today lauded as one of the finest walks in the world, thanks to its stunning scenery. The four-day trail starts beside Lake Te Anau, then passes through Clinton Valley before climbing to its highest point over the alpine Mackinnon Pass. Afterwards, it descends again to the valley floor and Milford Sound, where a boat ferries walkers over the majestic fjord. 

You don’t need to be an expert to experience the grandeur of the Milford Track, but you do need to pack a rain jacket. With an average of 200 days of rain a year, Fiordland National Park is one of the wettest places on the planet. The silver lining to those rain clouds is that the downfall gives the park its luminous green forests and thunderous waterfalls. 

Highlights

1. Clinton Valley
Set off on the first day through the Clinton Valley, passing beneath cathedral-like beech forests to arrive at a suspension bridge over clear waters. Look for trout and eels below, as well as the endangered whio (blue duck). Rarer than kiwi, its numbers are rebounding after successful conservation efforts. Arrive at Clinton Hut and indulge in a refreshing dip at one of the swimming holes nearby.  

2. Mackinnon Pass
Rise early on the third day to tackle the challenging zigzag ascent to Mackinnon Pass. Along the way, there’s a cairned memorial to Scottish-born explorer Quintin Mackinnon, who spearheaded the construction of the track over the pass and led tourist groups across it in the late 1800s. Shortly afterwards, you’ll reach the highest point of the Milford Track at 1,154 metres, with a 360-degree view dominated by glaciers and mountain peaks. 

3. Sutherland Falls
At 580 metres, New Zealand’s highest waterfall is fed by several glaciers that lead into Lake Quill, which spills over and plummets into the valley over three steps. Stick to the trail, and you’ll be offered a glimpse of Sutherland Falls, but to get closer and feel her misty breath on your face, there’s an optional 90-minute return hike to the base of the falls where you can enjoy a bracing swim. 

4. Giant Gate Falls
With the alpine crossing now behind you, take your time as you amble beside the Arthur River and stop to admire McKay Falls and Lake Ida. Another suspension bridge leads over rocks and across the last waterfall on this track, the spectacular Giant Gate Falls. 

5. Milford Sound
The track comes to an end at the aptly named Sandfly Point (pack repellent); pre-book a water taxi to meet you and ferry you across the picturesque Milford Sound.

How To Do It: 
The Milford Track is a one-way walk and huts must be booked in advance as camping isn’t permitted. To reach the starting point, arrange a bus or private transport from Queenstown to Te Anau Downs, then catch a ferry to Glade Wharf. Links to transport operators, as well as guided hiking packages, can be found here. 

Itinerary 2: Tongariro Northern Circuit, North Island 

Start & finish: Whakapapa Village
Hike length: Four days/28 miles.

Volcanic Tongariro, New Zealand’s oldest national park, has dual UNESCO World Heritage status for both its landscapes and Māori associations. And it’s here that you’ll find the North Island’s greatest walk. It begins deceptively enough: starting out on boardwalks, you pass over clear streams hidden beneath bronze tussocks, before the path disappears and your boots are crunching on black pumice and lava flows as you climb towering Mount Ngauruhoe. From here, the Tongariro Northern Circuit weaves past the country’s most active volcanoes, traversing a landscape dotted with lakes, cold-water springs and the jagged remnants of past eruptions. 

The Tongariro Northern Circuit’s greatest asset is its flexibility. While it’s technically a four-day wander, hikers can skip the final day if they want less walking. There’s also the popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is ideal for hikers short on time. The one-day, 12-mile walk covers the first day of the circuit and takes visitors to the Emerald and Blue Lakes and Mount Ngauruhoe crater before sinking back below the bush line. While a single-day option is enticing for many, step off the Alpine Crossing and the rest of the trail is far quieter as it passes through a raw landscape forged by ice and fire, where Māori legends tell of jealous love feuds between the volcanoes. 

Highlights

1. Mount Ngauruhoe
Currently dormant, this volcano is one of the country’s most active and has erupted 61 times from 1839 to 1974. Hikers needn’t fear a mid-hike explosion as the volcano is closely monitored. Its brooding face and perfectly shaped cone made it an ideal stand-in for Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films.

2. Emerald & Blue Lakes
These dual lakes pop like jewels against the dusty brown landscape. While beautiful, the lakes get their hues (and sulphuric rotten-egg aroma) from the volcanic minerals washing down from geothermal parts of the mountain, making them unsuitable for swimming in. They’re also sacred to the local Māori tribe, who ask visitors to avoid touching them.

3. Oturere Hut
Your second night is spent at Oturere Hut, where you can watch Mount Ngauruhoe steam like a cauldron as the evening mist seeps down the slopes. The trail here passes over thick lava spurs and offers a distant preview of the Rangipo Desert. After dropping your bags and settling in, follow the signs to a nearby waterfall over the ridge from the hut. 

4. Ohinepango Springs
Surprisingly, given the area’s prolific hot springs due to its close proximity to a volcano, this gin-clear spring isn’t heated. That doesn’t make it any less inviting to soak in and refresh your trail-weary feet after arriving at Waihohonu Hut on the third day. 

5. Rangipo Desert
One of the world’s largest eruptions, 5,000 years ago, created this ‘wet desert’, which receives ample rainfall but is unable to retain it, thanks to its coarse soil. Take time to admire the unusual volcanic boulders hurled by Mount Ngauruhoe during its eruptions.

6. Taranaki Falls
A final two-hour looped detour brings you to this 20-metre-high waterfall, then passes Tama Lakes and a series of gullies forged by volcanoes over millennia.

How tp do it: 
Winter ice, snow and avalanches mean the Tongariro Northern Circuit should only be walked mid-October to mid-April. Hikers must book ahead to stay in the three public huts; Adrift Tongariro and Walking Legends offer three-day guided hikes with transport, meals and hut bookings.

Published in January/February 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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