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Hawkes Bay

Sunrise Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

From the car park, the track quickly leaves the farmland for the mossy still of the beech forest. The 12 bunk Triplex Hut is reached within five minutes, making…

Distance
4.66km
Time
3hr
Grade
Easy

Hawke’s Bay Ridge, Ruahine Forest Park

Hawke’s Bay Ridge is about 7km long, connecting Iron Peg on the Hikurangi Range with Ohuinga on the main Ruahine Range. A superb option in good weather is to…

Distance
33.3km
Time
Maungakukeke Road to Purity Hut, 3hr; To Ohuinga, 4hr; To Kelly Knight Hut via Te Hekenga, 7-8hr; To road end, 3hr
Grade
Difficult

Hawke’s Bay Ridge, Ruahine Forest Park

You won’t find ‘Hawke’s Bay Ridge’ on any modern topo maps, but local trampers know and use the name. It was likely coined by tramper, botanist and mapmaker extraordinaire,…

Distance
33.3km
Time
Maungakukeke Road to Purity Hut, 3hr; To Ohuinga, 4hr; To Kelly Knight Hut via Te Hekenga, 7-8hr; To road end, 3hr
Grade
Difficult

Ruahine Corner Hut via Golden Crown Ridge, Ruahine Forest Park

Tramp up Golden Crown Ridge, which makes a slow but steady transition from burnt scrub to thin forest. At the top of the ridge, the gradient eases and soon…

Distance
46.1
Time
Mangleton Road to Aranga Hut, 4-5hr; To Ruahine Corner Hut, 4-5hr; To Ikawatea Forks Hut, 4hr; To Rockslide Biv via Apias Creek, 3.5-4hr; To Mangleton Rd, 6-8hr
Grade
Moderate/Difficult

Otatara Pā Historic Reserve, Hawke’s Bay

I have walked over and beside many historic pā sites, but Otatara Pā Historic Reserve near Napier is a standout. This is not only because of the dramatic pouwhenua…

Distance
1.95km
Time
1.5hrs
Grade
Easy

Kiwi Mouth Hut, Kaweka Forest Park

Manson Country invokes images of remote, wild terrain and campfires where weary souls might share tales of backcountry adventure. According to the book Shelter from the storm, the remote…

Distance
11.1km
Time
Car park to Kiwi Saddle Hut, 3.5hr; To Kiwi Mouth Hut, 2.5-3.5hr
Grade
Moderate/Difficult

Traverse (A-Frame) Hut, Ruahine Range

Up, up and at ’em Traverse Hut, formerly A-Frame Hut, sits forlornly atop the Ruahine Range, looking out over the Hawke’s Bay. Unfortunately, it has been consistently vandalised over…

Distance
2.63km
Time
3.5-4hr return
Grade
Easy

Te Puia Loop, Kaweka Forest Park

The five gorges This loop walk in the foothills of the Kaweka Range can be done in two-four days depending on your desired intensity level. With three huts and…

Distance
24.6km
Time
Car park to Middle Hill Hut, 3-4hr; To Makino Hut, 5-6hr; To Te Puia Hut, 1.5hr; To car park, 2-3hr
Grade
Moderate/Difficult

Kiwi Saddle Hut, Kaweka Forest Park

Perched at 1170m near its namesake saddle, the hut occupies a small clearing in the beech forest. The most direct access is from The Lakes car park, up the…

Distance
6km
Time
Lakes car park via Mt Kuripapango, 3-4hr
Grade
Moderate

Sandy Bay Hut, Te Urewera

Sitting on a beach on a lake dotted with forest-covered islands, Sandy Bay Hut has an almost tropical setting – but at 900m in Te Urewera it can feel…

Distance
10.7km
Time
4hr each way
Grade
Moderate

Howletts Hut via Daphne Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

Howletts Hut is named after one of New Zealand’s pioneering trampers; William Howlett, who set up a ‘sort of alpine club’ in the 1890s, and spent innumerable summers botanising…

Distance
7.81km
Time
4.5-6hr
Grade
Easy/Moderate

Top Maropea Hut via Sunrise Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

Beyond Sunrise Hut Top Maropea Hut was built in 1958 by the New Zealand Forest Service. It is situated about 1.5km to the north-west of Armstrong Saddle. We started…

Distance
6.52km
Time
Car park to Sunrise Hut, 3-3.5hr; Sunrise Hut to Top Maropea Hut, 1.5hr
Grade
Moderate

Parks Peak Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

Parks Peak puffer  A 700-800m ascent looked like just the ticket for the kind of tramp I wanted: a quick, moderately tough tramp with the option to overnight, and…

Distance
4.42km
Time
3-3.5hr to hut
Grade
Easy/Moderate

Stanfield Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

Around 60 huts are scattered around Ruahine Forest Park, most of them built in the 1960s by the Forest Service to shelter deer cullers who went bush for weeks…

Distance
8.74km
Time
Car park to Stanfield Hut, 1.45-2hr; Hut to car park via Tamaki River West Branch, 2-2.5hr
Grade
Easy/Moderate

Mahia Peninsula Track, Mahia Peninsula Scenic Reserve

Situated near the heart of the peninsula, Mahia Peninsula Scenic Reserve represents one of the last pieces of lowland coastal forest remaining on the east coast.Hikers are taken through…

Distance
3.62km
Time
1.5-2.5hr
Grade
Easy

Kaweka Flats Bivouac, Kaweka Forest Park

In country as precipitous and rugged as the Kaweka Range, there are limited options for family tramping. Happily, one accessible option suitable for school-age children is the track to…

Time
2hr each way
Grade
Easy/Moderate

Iron Gate Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

Iron Gate Hut, on the western side of Ruahine Forest Park, is a wee gem set beside the Oroua River. With the road end only an hour,s drive from…

Distance
7.56km
Time
4-5hr to the hut
Grade
Easy

Waipawa Saddle Circuit, Ruahine Forest Park

For the North Island tramper seeking a weekend experience that encompasses all the necessary staples, the Ruahines is your range. Steep, crumbling peaks, exposed tops with gasping drops; neat,…

Distance
15.5km (not including a short road section)
Time
8-11hr
Grade
Moderate

Te U Bivouac, Waioeka Conservation Area

If you’re in the mood for a remote tramp-and-camp, an excursion through two splendid Te Urewera valleys to Te U bivvy will get you well away from it all.…

Distance
25.1km
Time
2-3 days
Grade
Moderate

Central Whirinaki Hut, Whirinaki Forest Park

The track follows the Whirinaki River to a junction, where the track splits towards Managamate Hut or continues on to Whirinaki Central. A few kilometres from here is Vern’s…

Distance
15.1km
Time
2 days
Grade
Moderate

Waikamaka Hut Loop, Ruahine Forest Park

This trip begins with a cruisey amble up the Waipawa River to Waipawa Forks Hut, which is reached in about an hour. From the hut, the valley narrows and…

Distance
18.2km
Time
12-14hr
Grade
Moderate

Poutaki Hut, Gwavas Conservation Area

A walk with a mixture of bush track and forestry road. Start by crossing the Makaroro River before joining up with the forestry roads to the end of Leatherwood…

Distance
6.24km
Time
3hr
Grade
Moderate

Longview Hut, Eastern Ruahine Forest Park

A poled track crosses Moorcock Stream then heads north on the true left bank through paddocks before swinging west towards the tops through regenerating scrub. It’s about an hour…

Distance
2.7km
Time
2-3hr
Grade
Easy

Kiritaki Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

If an isolated getaway is what you,re after, then Kiritaki Hut is well worth considering. From the road-end a well-marked trail leads up Oruakeretaki Stream before heading up a…

Distance
5km
Time
3-4hr
Grade
Moderate

Te Puia Lodge, Kaweka Forest Park

The popular Kaweka Ranges have several trips ideal for young trampers. From ‘The Gums’ car park, the well-graded track winds its way alongside the Mohaka River, passing several good…

Distance
6.6km
Time
3hr
Grade
Easy

Shute’s Hut, Ruahine Forest Park

Take a step back in time with a day or overnight trip to historic Shute’s Hut, a rabbiter’s hut built in 1920 and made with local stone and cement…

Distance
6.19km
Time
2-3hr
Grade
Easy

Mahia Peninsula Track

Support Wilderness Since 1991, Wilderness has had one simple goal: to help Kiwis 'See more, do more, live more' of New Zealand. If you value our mission, please consider…

Distance
3.62km
Time
1.5-2.5hr
Grade
Easy