The must-do tramps of New Zealand

Okay it sounds like @Waynowski and @Gaiters have set a challenge: Name the New Zealand tramps every tramper should do at least once in their lifetime. Put forward your list and if we can get some sort of consensus maybe Matthew can use it as an article on the site. There shouldn't be too many restrictions on the trips you choose, daywalks, overnighters, week long epics, on-track, off-track. Just choose trips that give a tramper a broad education and experience in tramping in NZ.
36 comments
21–30 of 36

Not to mention the twisted maze-like tops where every spur off them looks exactly the same in the constant clag. And if there are three choices, four of them lead to bluffs and/or a leatherwood forest :-) "The worst thing about these lists are sharing your special place with the world. " That's partly why I stuck to well-known routes.
Some good suggestions starting to appear here, a lot of discussion about the Tararuas as a great place for a tramping education, I would have to agree, it's where I started tramping. I'm working on a list for the North Island first, my picks for the Tararuas so far are: 1, the northern crossing - a true crossing and superior to the southern crossing IMO, good sample of Tararua travel, perhaps my favourite trip. 2, Holdsworth-Jumbo - nice easyish introduction to the Tararuas 3, Camping at Totara Flats - easy to get to, easy camping, can seem like you are in the middle of nowhere and have the place to yourself but with two huts available just in case. 4, Bannister crossing - only done it once, on a windy day, that was enough educating for a while, though it set me up for a lot of South Island tramping as a student. 5, Oriwa ridge - Otaki river - Fab "off-track" route 6, Mt Hector - sentimental fav, my first peak over 1500m in the Tararuas. 7, DR H - because hardly anyone goes there, lots of interesting routes there 8, southern range loop from Otaki Forks - another fav trip I've got some work cut out to trim that list...
As I grew up in the Tararuas they have a special place in my heart, however, I have spent several years in Fiordland in the late 60's early 70's and I would have to say that the Routeburn would have to be one of the best tracks in NZ as it covers both bush and the tops. Obviously it is probably a lot more crowded now than then!!!!!!!!!! The other track would have to be the Dusky Sound - Manapouri track. But don't forget the track around Lake Waikerimoana.
A few from top of the south. Richmond Alpine Route. Many variations, and relatively easy going for the most part. Amazing views at times. Pelorus-Mt Richmond. Hike up the Pelorus then onto the expoused tops of Mt Fell and Richmond. Mt Stokes: Day trip to the highest point of the Marlborough Sounds, Awesome views over the Marlborough Sounds. Patutu: Day climb to the summit of Patutu, awesome views of the Kaikoura mountains and the surrounding coastline. Mount Tapuae-O-Uenuku. Climb to the summit of such a Iconic mountain. Mt Arthur and Tablelands. Nice climb and impressive views. Lake Angelus: Great overnight trip in Nelson Lakes, nice views. Many variations. Can be included as part of the Travers-Sabine. Thousand Acre Plateau. Awesome view, awesome hut. Climb the Haystack and Needle for extra fun.
I would vote for the Five Passes trip.
A central Westland tops traverse. There are many good ones. Perhaps a bit much navigation for some as along the tops is generally an unmarked route but there are tracks to get above the bushline on some of the ranges. e.g. A Toaroha Range walk via the Pinnacle Biv track or Zit Saddle track through to the Toaroha Saddle or a Diedrich Range Walk between Toaroha Saddle and the tops above Cedar Flat. The above two Ranges could be walked as one big loop. It's mighty country! Other Central Westland Ranges with traversable tops include the Newton, Browning, Griffin & Campbell Ranges. (These ranges are in the beech gap so exhibit different more varied vegetation associations than the more common beech type vegetation north of the Taramakau River and predominant in much of the south and east of the SI)
On Permolat an account of a variation of the Diedrich Range traverse mentioned above was posted yesterday. Quentin Duthie & two others accessed the Range from the Hokitika side rather than the Toaroha side & dropped off the range above Frisco Hut rather than carrying on thru to Toaroha Saddle. They walked out via the Hokitika which is rougher going than the Toaroha. The spectacular gorges in the Hokitika are worth seeing at least once in your lifetime!
@glennj Got a trip planned in there for later in the year and really looking forward to going through the Hokitika gorges. As to the original topic of the thread, the below are a few trips I have enjoyed and would recommend to others. I'm pretty limited as most of my tramping has been in the South Island so the North Island gets a short shift here. North Island 1) Sawtooth Ridge — interesting ridge which in fine conditions is easily achievable. 2) Kaweka-Kaimanawa traverse — can be completed by lots of different routes so easy to customise. 3) Waipakahi Hut — easy trip to a tidy hut which is great for those new to tramping. South Island 1) Dragon's Teeth — great traverse of Kahurangi NP either by the high or low route. Adelaide Tarn is an amazing destination in its own right. 2) Tapuae-O-Uenuku — have always said every Marlburian should climb Tapi and no reason to hold just Marlburians to that. Can add in Mt Alarm as well if you are not worried by exposure! 3) Travers Valley — this is probably my favourite single place to visit. Just a great setting which sums up tramping in NZ for me. 4) St Arnaud to Lewis Pass — great trip through Nelson Lakes NP and along the St James Walkway. Can customise how you do the route to your abilities but if you are up to it going via Lake Thompson the Matakitaki and Three Tarn Pass is brilliant. 5) Five Passes — has already been mentioned but is a great trip. 6) George Sound Route — nowhere near as fearsome as its reputation. 7) Any off track Fiordland trip — just for the sadistic. I look back with fond memories of crossing from the aforementioned George Sound to the Stillwater then climbing out of the east branch to get back to Henry Pass. At the time I'm pretty sure it was wet, exhausting and a frustrating mix of windfall, thick bush, bluffs and waterfalls!
I have been keen to do the Mt Owen trip and I thought it would appear on some ones list here. Is it nothing special after all, are there better Kahurangi tramps to do? I have walked the Manuoha - Waikareiti track twice now and expect to it again too, a definite must-do
@Honest That is indeed an interesting trip. I've done a few trips in the Urewera's but not that one. What does prompt my interest is that several years ago a good friend of mine Dr Chris Ward showed me how the entire Waikareiti area was formed by a single extraordinary landslide event. It's well known the Lake Waikaremoana outlet was blocked in recent geological time by a landslide event. If you look on Google Maps (Map view) of this area, the outline of this slide is quite clearly seen. And if you look carefully you'll see some unusual 'wriggles' in the contour lines all through that area. Now zoom out and look north over the whole Waikareiti area. Again the same characteristic 'wriggle' in the contours. Now look at the unusual 'ridgelines' running NE-SW through the lake itself. These are the debris piles of the landslide event rumpled up like a carpet. Look at the unusual drainage patterns throughout the area, look for the curved edges of the basin that represent the boundaries of the landslide. Look at the unusual swamps and lagoons all through the area. The entire event was so massive it was literally unthinkable, and thus it took so long to recognise. The geomorphology underneath this tramp is rather extraordinary and probably unique. Chris studied as a geologist (I worked for him as a field assistant in Dusky Sound) and he worked for DoC in Gisbourne much of his life. He knew this area intimately. He passed away late last year and I suspect not too many people know about his discovery.
21–30 of 36

Sign in to comment on this thread.

Search the forums

Forum Tracks, routes, and huts
Started by nzbazza
On 12 April 2016
Replies 35
Permanent link

Formatting your posts

The forums support MarkDown syntax. Following is a quick reference.

Type this... To get this...
Italic *Italic text* *Italic text*
Bold **Bold text** **Bold text**
Quoted text > Quoted text > Quoted text
Emojis :smile: :+1: :astonished: :heart: :smile: :+1:
:astonished: :heart:
Lists - item 1
- item 2
- item 3
- item 1 - item 2 - item 3
Links https://tramper.nz https://tramper.nz
Images ![](URL/of/image)

URL/of/image
![](/whio/image/icons/ic_photo_black_48dp_2x.png)
Mentions @username @username

Find more emojiLearn about MarkDown