So many to choose from.....

minus the crowds often means more dangerous terrain. look at the tracks section or http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/

What part of NZ are you visiting. NZ looks small on the map but it takes a long time to go from one end to the other. Have a look at the Te aroa walkway. You can pick sections that fit your requirements

Hi Geeves - Our entire trip will revolve around what treks we choose. Anything goes! I'll look into Te aroa walkway. Thanks Waynowski - As I said, we are experience walkers, but I'm getting on a bit so the knees are not always kind to me. These days I tend to shy away from the big climbs, but if they are relatively short sections, I'm still OK. Takes me a bit longer to warm up the next morning though *sigh*

eating oily fish or fish oil is good for lubricating the joints and keeping them healthy. avoid too much red meat and full fat dairy. focus on the south island.

A lot of us old crocks take glucosamine too! I stopped it for about a month but went back to taking it when it seemed any back ache I got was taking longer to go away. Frank swears by it. He's stopped taking it and then gone back to it. Yes, a lot of folks have problems with increased iron levels and that can affect the joints in these individuals so for them excessive red meat would mean issuies for them. Others can benefit from going gluten-free. It's worth trialling going without it for a month. Our household is GF. I can't see any difference except my TSH has dropped from 10 to 3 and the thyroid antibodies (anti-TPO)have gone from strongly positive to weakly positive so I'm sticking with it. Frank gets a crippling gutsache if he accidently has some.

Old crocks some how I don't picture you as being quite in that league just yet Honora. But I do agree with you both on Glucosimine and omega 3 every now and then I run out and about 3 days is all it takes to remind me to buy some more.

thanks, Paul. Well, I might be an old crock if I didn't take all that stuff...

Thanks everyone for the health tips :) I think we have that side of it covered though - my wife is a nutritionist. She is very much in control of my diet and gives me a good kick up the wazoo if I don't take my supplements. We also prepare all our own hiking food, and meals are carefully planned to maximise nutrition & flavour, and minimise weight. We have been using a dehydrator for many years, so have quite a range of meals. We are even considering writing a book of hiking recipes with what we have learned. That's for another day though. I have had a look at a few more trails, but am still no closer to deciding :( Any more suggestions??

Back to the subject... The Hollyford Track is fantastic and there's no big climbs. You can fly fly into Martin's Bay and walk out. Martin's Bay is beautiful and has a seal and penguin colony. Be worth staying 2 nights there. If you want a trip into the mountains and a bit short of time a climb up to the Mueller Hut would be great for the alpine part of your trip.