Ten years of the Waiheke Walking Festival will be celebrated with 10 days of walking from November 15-24.

The Hauraki Gulf island’s annual walking festival, which is one of the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, will showcase more than 40 walks – including exclusive sections over private land.

“One of the biggest successes of the festival is that some of the walks are on private land and you can’t do them at any other time of year,” Waiheke Walking Trust chairperson Tess Shaw said.

Other highlights will include the top 10 Big Walks and Mini Walks from the past nine years, and a selection of new tracks.

The festival now attracts around 60 per cent of its attendees from the mainland and overseas, but Shaw says it has kept its local vibe.

“It’s a real community grassroots event, and even as it’s grown, the various stewards have done a good job of keeping the community feel,” she said.

Popular walks with number restrictions are likely to book out. Become a Friend of the Festival to gain access to early bird registration, available online from September 1.

Setting the record straight

In the story ‘Paw patrol’ we incorrectly credited the photo of Gadget, the mixed terrier.

The image was taken by Matt Jones Wildlife Images.

In the story ‘Great southern land’, also in the July issue, we incorrectly spelt the name of water taxi operator Rakiura Herzhoff.