It can take a bit of effort to find peace and solitude while travelling through the West Coast’s glacier country, but it can be worth it. Even in the…
Hike the Whitcombe Track to Frew Hut and then spend another valley day hiking to four-bunk Wilkinson Hut. An hour downstream from the hut, the route veers up a…
As the thunder of a thousand white hooves hammered the rocks below this impressive 60m waterfall, we stripped off our clothes and plunged into the deep glacial green pool…
Like most glaciers in New Zealand, Franz Josef is retreating fairly quickly. From the valley floor, it is now impossible to get a sense of the sheer enormity of…
The Point Elizabeth Track is an old water race built by 19th-century miners to sluice their gold claims. It’s now one of the most popular walking and running tracks…
Because of the nature of the climbs and descents, the Old Ghost Road is best done from Lyell to Seddonville. From Lyell, the track immediately crosses a swingbridge and…
There’s something of a wild west feel to this rewarding two-night circuit in the South Island’s Victoria Forest Park, starting and finishing near the town of Reefton. The highlight…
For all that, March provides a period when rivers are low, the weather is more settled and a little cooler for high, open tops travel. From SH73, the easy…
I’ve been trying to put my finger on what it is that some modern huts lack, something that makes them cold of spirit, hard and unwelcoming. A trip to…
When most people visit Mt Cook Village for the first time, their attention is directed firstly at Mt Sefton, towering spectacularly overhead, then at the big guy, Aoraki/Mt Cook,…
Perched high above Lake Kaniere on the West Coast, Mt Brown Hut is a cosy four-bunker with sublime views to the Tasman Sea and the Hokitika mountains. If you…
This three-to-four day loop heads up the Arahura River and down the Styx River to the bottom end of Lake Kaniere. It’s a relaxed affair and a doable trip…
Nestled in a beautiful basin on the lower slopes of the Smyth Range on the West Coast, Scamper Torrent is a four bunk Forest Service hut. Although infrequently visited,…
First steps are never easy. After a long, involuntary break from tramping, we were desperate to get back into the mountains. As we browsed our maps, Klondyke Valley Track…
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…
The pick of them Emerging from a tunnel of dense bush into a small clearing, I was expecting to see a dilapidated corrugated iron hut. But to my surprise,…
Secreted in the wild heart of South Westland, the upper Edison River provides epic views of the Strachan Range and its outlying summits. Sheer-sided ridges, gorges, impenetrable subalpine scrub,…
Start by heading up the Toaroha River to Cedar Flat Hut. From the hut, travel up the valley for a while longer, where the track passes through striking cedar…
Get ready for a real ride on this trip. Rapid Creek Hut can only be accessed via a cage attached to a flying fox – one person and pack…
With low-altitude (topping out at 580m), an easy forest walking track, little elevation and a jewel of a lake, this trip makes for an ideal winter tramp in all…
For a classic backcountry hut-bagging trip, traverse the Arahura to the Whitcombe Rivers over Styx Saddle, Lathrop Saddle, the Toaroha Range, Toaroha Saddle and Frew Saddle. An ‘extended mix’…
Tarn-dotted tops on West Coast loop After browsing the Remote Huts website I grew intrigued by Cone Creek Hut, deep in the headwaters of the upper Ahaura catchment on the…
A worthwhile speculation A 1931 advertisement in The Dominion newspaper inviting readers to invest in Big River Goldmines Limited, described it as ‘a worthwhile speculation’. This was somewhat of…
If you’re at Punakaiki and want to escape the crowds at Pancake Rocks, a short walk along the Pororari River Track will do the trick. The track passes through a...
The Styx River on the West Coast boasts a population of the only duck in the world hard-core enough to spend its days surfing turbulent white water in its…
The track starts from the edge of Lake Kaniere and eventually leads to Mt Brown Hut on the Newton Range, overlooking the Styx and Arahura rivers. The climb up the…
Mungo Hut is not an easy place to get to, but once there you’re in the heart of some spectacular country. The easiest way is up the Toaroha Valley…
To go tramping on the West Coast is to explore history. Everywhere you turn there are monuments to miners who carved a living from the earth. In their search…
The Toaroha to Lower Whitcombe track is typically hiked from the Cedar Flat end, up the Toaroha River and out via the Hokitika and Whitcombe rivers. This description, elevation…
At 180,000ha, Victoria Conservation Park is New Zealand’s largest conservation park. It’s reminiscent of Fiordland with reasonably easily traversed tops surrounded by fearsome battlements consisting of forest floor to…
For those wanting an easy overnighter to get back into tramping or who still haven,t quite got the strength for a long overnight tramp, the Taipo Valley is for…
An easy track follows the true right of the lower Fox River for a while before eventually getting wet feet on the numerous river crossings. After half an hour,…
The West Coast is renowned for its dramatic karst scenery, especially its limestone arches. In the upper Oparara Basin near Karamea, tannin-stained rivers, the colour of tea, wind their…
The first section of the walk passes through impressive red beech forest but before long follows the perimeter of a fence line. Once past the farm, a short muddy…
The Crooked River is tucked away on the West Coast, near Greymouth. Its tracks and huts see few visitors and make a good place to escape for a while.…
Starting out from Maruia Saddle Road, the track climbs through the bush towards the tops. The lower part of the track is marked but the forest has been damaged…
The Harihari Coastal Walk is an easy trail between the Wanganui and Poerua rivers. The walk forms a loop from the car park, along the Wanganui River to the…
This is a journey up one of the most spectacular valleys in Westland.The track begins by following the true right of the Karangarua River, sidling through dewy flats and…
Immerse yourself in this isolated sub-alpine area with a relatively easy jaunt up to Lake Stream Hut. Situated on the bushline, the hut is reached after several hours padding…
The Croesus Track offers some of the best scenery the Paparoa Range has to offer, with stunning panoramas across old gold-mining country. If you’re into a relatively easy overnighter…
Take the steep track to the top of Mt Kerr (1438m) before traversing 3km of ridge top to Top Olderog Bivvy. Crampons and ice axes required in winter and…