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
Find your trail
Hawkes Bay
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
Bell Rock Track, Boundary Stream Mainland Island Reserve
A track to make your head ring Pick a sunny day to walk the Bell Rock Track to be rewarded with spectacular views of the Hawke’s Bay countryside. The…
- Distance
- 4.4km
- Time
- 3hr return
- Grade
- Easy
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
Rogers Hut via Skips Hut, Whirinaki Forest Park, Hawke’s Bay
Better in daylight Tramping in the dark can be exciting, but it means you don’t get to see anything much. So after tramping into Skips Hut (Whangatawhia) in the…
- Distance
- 10.8km
- Time
- 3-4hr
- Grade
- Easy/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
Lower Matakuhia Hut via Upper Matakuhia Hut, Waipunga Forest
According to DOC, the track from Upper Matakuhia Hut to Lower Matakuhia Hut isn’t worth attempting. Wilderness begs to differ. You can begin the track on Pine Milling Road,…
- Distance
- 13.7km
- Time
- 10-11hr
- Grade
- Moderate
Te Puia Lodge via Middle Hill Hut, Kaweka Forest Park
The walk up Middle Ridge Track to Middle Hill Hut is a bit of a grunt at times but there’s enough flat sections to break up the climb. From…
- Distance
- 25.9km
- Time
- 8.5-11hr return
- Grade
- Moderate/Difficult
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
Makaretu Hut via Longview Hut, Eastern Ruahine Forest Park
Strike out up the hill to Longview Hut and then continue along the ridge past Rocky Knob and pt1174 until the track junction near pt1164. Drop down Makaretu Hut.…
- Distance
- 18.5km
- Time
- 9-11hr
- Grade
- Easy/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
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- Distance
- 3.62km
- Time
- 1.5-2.5hr
- Grade
- Easy