Though Hanmer Springs is nestled in an alpine basin at about 350m above sea level, surrounded by peaks sometimes soaring more than a vertical kilometre higher, as the name…
Nestled into the golden hills of Hakatere Conservation Park, Mt Barrosa offers a steady climb and rewarding views for trampers who want to make it home by dinnertime. By…
From the road end, head up the small bank toward the trees and the Hawdon River, where there is a sign pointing to the Hawdon River Track. At this…
Foggy Peak, 1741m, has long been a must-do summit in Canterbury. Its steep slopes, though not at all technical, provide a moderate challenge and a serious fitness test as…
From Lake Clearwater village, the track curves around the eastern edge of the lake on a four-wheel-drive gravel track. This first part of the trail is suitable for all…
Overlooking Lake Ōhau, the 1522m Ben Ohau imposes its tussocked body onto the land and entices day walkers upwards. By Ashlyn Oswalt With stunning views from Ben Ohau summit…
Starting at the Bealey Spur car park, this route heads up the well-formed DOC track gaining 600m, passing through beech forest and tussock swamp to reach Bealey Spur Hut…
This trip is an absolute must for anyone ready to be challenged over varied terrain, including tracks, scree slopes and boulder-covered river beds. It starts on the popular Avalanche…
Our trip to Waimakariri Falls Hut was a diversion from a planned Three Passes trip. We’d spent the night at Carrington Hut, after walking four hours up the Waimakariri…
From Carrington Hut, cross the White River and join the true right bank of the Waimakariri River. This leads gradually north and up for a while before 250m of…
Mt Percival on the Hanmer Range towers over Hanmer Springs in north Canterbury, though officially it is actually in Marlborough. It is one of those summits that appears to…
Harman Pass is the first pass on the classic Three Passes route. It can be reached in a long day from the Klondyke Corner road end and makes a…
A winter climb of Mt Bealey showcases the beauty of Arthur’s Pass National Park. The park has sometimes been referred to as the ‘poor cousin’ of national parks. It…
Travers Peak has been a day trip destination of mine for many years – so much so, that my latest outing here was the ninth time I have climbed…
Tucked into a corner of Korowai-Torlesse Conservation Park, directly south of Porters Heights ski field, near Coleridge Saddle, is the seldom-climbed Red Hill, 1641m. It sits a few kilometres…
Huts in cold, wet weather are like a magnet for trampers. The warmth, comfort and shelter they offer is unequalled after a bitter day in the hills. Spurs Hut…
Our climb to Avalanche Peak began with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. In resesarching the trip, we couldn’t help but notice the warnings from DOC: ‘Dying to see…
It’s a nine-kilometre walk from the road end car park and the hut is easy to reach in three hours, which can allow the opportunity to also climb the…
Staying at huts, practical as they undoubtedly are, is not everyone’s cup of tea. When I was on the hunt for an easy but secluded overnight camping destination, the…
One day, I picked up a hitch-hiker on the Matukituki Road. She was taking a break from the Te Araroa Trail to make the climb to Cascade Saddle. When…
Since Guy Mannering and A. P. Harper first crossed Ball Pass in January 1890, it has become one of the better-known spots in the Southern Alps. We set off…
If refurbished old musterer’s huts are to your liking, along with grand scenery amid the stark beauty of the high country, then Boundary Creek Hut is a winner. The…
Spurred on by wild weather Our trip began with a car journey south from Christchurch through Fairlie and into the big, bare hills of the Sherwood and Ben McLeod…
Fowlers Pass is part of a historic stock route lying between the upper Clarence Valley and Stanley Vale catchment, a feeder of the Wairau River in southern Marlborough. It…
Arthur’s Pass National Park is a wonderful playground in winter. There is plenty of variety from short walks through snow-laden beech trees to hard ice climbing routes in gullies…
Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is a climber’s paradise, with 19 peaks that extend higher than 3000m and 40 per cent of it glacial terrain. The park lacks tracks and…
Deep in the Southern Alps, Godley Hut has one of the best alpine views in the country, looking out to the terminal lake of the Maud and Grey glaciers,…
Boasting New Zealand’s highest peaks, expansive skies, turquoise lakes, dynamic glaciers and braided rivers, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is a mecca for climbers wishing to scale high mountains. But…
The Craigieburn Range provides ample opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. Boasting five ski fields and 12 named peaks above 1800m, there’s plenty to keep skiers and trampers happy, all within…
Gottlieb Braun-Elwert, the well-known and respected climber and mountain guide who died of a heart attack while ski touring with former prime minister Helen Clark in 2008, justifiably deserved…
The Mingha-Deception covers, in just two or three days, all of the most notable features of Arthur’s Pass – braided rivers, open tops, a mountain lake, beech forest, waterfalls,…
From the road end, the track heads through grassland down the Ahuriri Valley with the peaks of the Barrier and Huxley ranges on either side and the braided Ahuriri…
The Canterbury high country is best in autumn when the red tones add to the space, beauty and grandeur of the Alps and foothills. With a good forecast, cold,…
According to legend, the expression ‘cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’ originates from the idea that in exceptionally cold conditions, ship cannonballs would fall off…
If bushline huts and Alp views are what you look for in an accessible weekend tramp, then Black Hill Hut in the Lees Valley area of Canterbury is a…
Godley Hut is a gem. Built pile-less in 1934, directly onto a slightly elevated rocky shelf at 1100m, it looks out to the terminal lake of the Maud and…
The Torlesse Range is one of the most accessible weekend destinations for Christchurch trampers. And yet, apart from perhaps climbing Mt Torlesse, Foggy and Castle Hill peaks and visiting…
Dawn was calling. Not unusual perhaps, except that this dawn was a rendezvous I had made with the summit of a minor foothill in South Canterbury – and I…
The Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier viewpoint has unrivalled views of Tasman Glacier and its terminal lake, as well as some of the tallest and most magnificent mountains in…
Even though Mt Oxford lies 50km from Christchurch, it can be viewed from many places in the city – it looms in front of the higher summits to the…
The route begins at the end of the Wilberforce Canal Road and follows the riverbed vehicle track to Fanghill Stream. Kiwi Stream enters the Wilberforce River directly opposite Fanghill,…
The Rakaia Valley is immense. Some 4-5km wide and draining a vast tract of the Southern Alps, the river courses over a stony riverbed, flanked by huge terraces and…
A sign at the top of Mt John, where there is also an observatory, states: ‘Probably the best place on the planet for a café’. Mt John is also…
Tucked into a little corner of a high country valley, beneath the towering flanks of the Mt Somers Range, is an archetype of the rustic musterer’s hut. Manuka Hut…
One of the best things about Daylight Saving is how it allows you to do something a little wild in the afternoon. Case in point: Peak Hill near Lake…
A break in the storm Summer had not been good to us and we were itching to get out again. With one stormy weekend after the next, we had planned, attempted…
From the Whitehorse Hill car park, follow the Hooker Valley Track. Just before you reach Hooker Lake, the Ball Pass route is signposted, branching to the right off the…
Lying north of the inland expanses of the Lees Valley, the Puketeraki Forest Conservation Area covers 6750ha and boasts two huts. Both can be linked on a lovely two…
Moraine terrain Cameron Valley and its promise of a barren and hostile landscape at the end of its namesake glacier had caught our attention on a previous trip to…
The Faust and the spur-ious… Faust offers an accessible high country experience in a region known for its magnificence. The 1710m peak rises directly above the confluence of the…