Hillary Trail

Ive walked parts of it. Some nice country out that way. Some roots and mud but nothing too bad. It does have a lot of junctions though, and some of the other tracks nearby can be a bit rough depending on the weather.

Sounds like a good way to get a first impression on multi day tramping. As I said, I am not worried about my fitness but more on the navigating part, which seems to be not much of a problem on this track as long as I carry a DOC map with me...

From the responses, it seems like a "taster trail" I'm sure if your fitness is as good as you say @micha1234 then you'll be able to manage it. RE: Maps, we've been having a discussion about maps on your original thread. The imperative (no doubt obvious) thing is to always carry an adequate map and compass, alongside any digital form of navigation. Even on an "easy" tramp, if you take a wrong turn and get lost, it's always comforting to know how to get back onto the trail. I don't know your navigational level, but if you are unsure and you haven't yet done so, then please do take an orienteering & navigation course. A river crossing course and a basic alpine course. The benefits you will receive from these will far outweigh the cons. They'll also give you the confidence going forward when you step up a grade in tramping level. Being able to navigate at night using the stars is also another great skill to have. Obviously in NZ it's the southern hemisphere, so everything you may have learnt about constellations at home will throw another curve ball into the equation. All good fun though and learning new skills is always better than not.

Taking a course would certainly be beneficial, I was also hoping on being able to join someone more experienced than me on a tramp :-p

Just ensure you know where you are at all times and you will be fine. Remember, theres a difference between being lost and "taking a different route". Lost is when you have bugger all Idea of where you are, "taking a different route" is when you are off your planned route but know where you are so can make it back on (aka, you took a wrong turn but worked it out).

All the track junctions in the Waitakere Ranges are signposted, and on the Hillary Trail there are normally marker posts to indicate which track the HT takes. There are enough tracks that even if you do get temporarily 'lost' you will soon get somewhere that you can orientate yourself. For the HT, river crossing & advanced navigation skills are not required. The deepest stream is normally only knee deep although after heavy rain it can be waist deep. Of course gaining the knowledge is great but don't let lack of it put you off doing a simple route like the Hillary Trail.

the Hillary trail concept was "created" in recent years, like te araroa by stitching together and upgrading existing tracks, its clay, when it rains a lot of it gets slick and muddy and doesn't dry out fast. te araroa was originally planned to go through that area, but you'd have to walk through a lot more of suburbia in the process, as my dad used to say about some places "the best road there, is the road out of town" it wont surprise me if someone takes a fall one day off the cliff tops on the northern Te henga part one day.

@waynowski "it wont surprise me if someone takes a fall one day off the cliff tops on the northern Te henga part one day." Someone did a few years ago although they got stuck in a gorse bush on the way down (still had to be rescued I believe). Not too serious in the end that time though. A few years ago someone fell from the Mercer Bay loop walk (now part of the Hillary Trail) and died. Stepped back off the track to take a photo and went off the edge of the cliff. Not to scare anyone though! Hundreds of people do those tracks and as long as you look where you are stepping it's fine. No more risky than many other tracks - less risky than crossing the road in Auckland.

Last time I went through a few of the junction signs were missing or obscured. Then again, only part of the route I was taking was on the hillary trail, much of it was on less used tracks. Considering its a high use area those might be fixed now.