Great walk in winter

they all get bad weather. generally the further south the colder., waikaremoana is still freezing

I've always regarded winter as the best season for tramping, just so long as you are prepared for it. 1. The days are shorter. I know this is a statement of the bleeding obvious, but it does mean you have less wriggle room if something goes wrong or delays you. Basically you'll want to be either at a hut or well camped by 5pm. 2. A really good -10 degC sleeping bag is going to be essential. Remember every 100m in altitude is 1 degC cooler. If you are in a hut at bushline at say 1200m this means it's going to be a lot colder than you might be used to. 3. Above the bushline tracks can get very badly iced up, especially on their southerly sides. I always carried an ice axe and crampons on all my winter trips and never regretted the extra weight. 4. You'll want to know the forecast; if it's going to snow, you don't want to be trapped in a location that could take days or a week to get out of. Even well known routes like the Kepler have killed people by avalanche. Having said that the upsides are: 1. Winter can also get some really nice settled periods of weather. In between fronts there can be whole weeks of fine days and no wind. 2. There are far fewer people about, the huts will be much less busy. You'll have many of them to yourself. 3. The cooler temperatures make it a lot more pleasant exerting yourself. 4. Far fewer sandflies and no wasps! wayno is right .. winter is wetter, colder and not at all conducive to lazy afternoon swims in the rivers. But with a bit of planning and extra attention it's still a great time to be out there. Any of the places you mention work for me. I'd go for the trips that are easy to moderate in the summer, and you'll generally find them do-able in the winter if the conditions are ok. But never battle on, or take a chances with a bad southerly storm. If you are above bushline your life is on the line unless you can find shelter within an hour or so. About five years ago I was coming out from one of my favourite hideaways in the Tararuas and as I was coming over a peak called Jumbo the southerly storm caught me full on, with high winds and horizontal sleet. This is an extremely popular walk; I've done it many times and from this spot there is a hut about 30 min lower down at bushline on a well marked track. Yet it was one of dodgiest 30min of my entire tramping experience. I was well clothed, knew exactly where I was, and totally fit ... yet by the time I got to the hut I was shattered by the cold, the wind and the fear of knowing I was just one slip, one mistake drifting off the track, one small thing going wrong from being a headline the next day. Now I don't recite this small tale to put you off at all. The real mistake I made was not taking a small radio and not hearing the forecast. Being on the tops, even very safe and familiar ones, at that time of year without knowing that a storm was coming was just not smart of me. Edit: This was published just today and is very well written: http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/themes/adventure/80883339/do-you-have-what-it-takes-to-survive-a-winters-night-in-the-bush

I've done both the Heaphy and Abel Tasman (a combination of the Inland and Coast tracks) in winter. Both were great. Actually the year we did the Abel Tasman, we were trying to do the Heaphy but rain meant the rivers were up and we couldn't get to the start of the track as the fords were closed. Wherever you go, you will need to check the forecast and it is possible you could need to alter plans. But these two are pretty doable in winter without mountaineering skills. There was snow on the ground on the Abel Tasman Inland track but it is all below the bushline, and on the Coast track we had Anchorage Hut and Te Puketea Bay at sunrise all to ourselves! Not sure the tidal crossings would have been so fun on cold winter mornings. The Heaphy was cold and frosty with no snow when we were there, absolutely beautiful. Hope you have a great trip

Abel Tasman or Heaphy are your best options. Abel Tasman provides settled weather and the coastal track is at low elevations. The Heaphy is a riskier option because it has higher elevation but it doesn't get the extremes. You would still need to be very mindful of the forceast with the Heaphy.