Tramping ideas and overall questions

Hey, For tramping (backpacking) I can rexommend doing the Dragons Teeth in the Douglas Range on the Kahurangi National Park - its a 6ish day tramp through amazing scenery and IMO well worth the time. You can find more about it here http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/kahurangi-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/douglas-range/ I would try to avoid hitch-hiking here, as with anywhere you will always run the risk of being picked up with criminal intentions - buses are pretty cheap anyway so I would look at public transport first. If your stopping in the Wellington area anytime id be keen to do a trip. Im 26 and I usually go solo so would be good to have a bud :)

the dragons teeth is a difficult route for experienced trampers, theres different routes , the high route all the way along the ridge top is strictly for people who have experience negotiating dangerous terrain, if you fall there you will be severely injured or killed

@morin cheliu Welcome to the forum. @waynowski is spot on about Dragon's Teeth. DOC rates it as an "Expert Route" suitable for - people with high level backcountry (remote areas) skills and experience, navigation and survival skills required. Complete self-sufficiency required.) It is unmarked and suitable for trampers with a high degree of fitness and off-track experience. http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/kahurangi-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/douglas-range/. You say you are; "not so experienced in hiking though but have heard nz routes are normally very clear and safe" Not so. Many routes require a high degree of navigational skill and previous experience. Best to stay on tracks that are suited to your level of skill: http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/walking-and-tramping/track-categories/ Many of the Great Walks are great for people wanting to see NZ but on a well-formed and easy-to-follow tracks with bookable huts along the way. Good luck with your planning.

I did the Dragons Teeth solo last year in Feb - I took the high route and yes it is a little tricky navigating through the teeth, if your confident in your BC and high altitude skills then you should be ok.. Just dont do it in winter of course

Hey keil, Be real careful on recommending routes to visitors that will suit their abilities. Maureen said she was inexperienced and mentioned the great walks so those and others like them are the ones she would probably enjoy and be safe on. As wayno pointed out,the dragons teeth tramp is another scenario altogether.

Oh right, sorry about that

OK yeah ignore that dragons teeth route, it seems really hard if you don't have a lot of tramping experience, and the NZ bush is really different from anything else and it's easy to get lost. So I would advise to keep on marked tracks. As for great walks, most of them will be booked out pretty soon, and I feel they are not really the best places to enjoy NZ, as they are quite busy and you don't really have that wilderness feeling. But even if you can't do the great walks because they are booked out, you can do a part of them as day walks and that will give you a good experience already. Day walk options on Great walks: - Kepler Track (Te Anau): walk to Luxmore Hut, visit Luxmore Caves, and come back (leave early in the morning, this is a long day walk, 27 km, with a 1,000 meters ascent, but the track is well built and easy to follow, so it's not a huge effort either) http://haere.net/Luxmore-Hut - Routeburn track (Milford Sound Rd): Key Summit, easy, very scenic http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/routeburn-track-key-summit-track/ while you are in the area you can do the Lake Marian track too: http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/lake-marian-track/ - Tongariro Northern Circuit: well there's the Tongariro Crossing obviously (requires a shuttle, about $30) very scenic but very busy too, but other options are Tama Lakes (really scenic too) and on Rupaehu there is the Lake Surprise track, part of the Round the mountain track (a 4-5 days tramp which is a good alternative to the Tongariro Northern Circuit, less busy and cheaper, doesn't require booking) http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/central-north-island/places/tongariro-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/ohakune-area-tramping-tracks/ On the same road Waitonga falls (1h30 return) is nice too. Note that all of those options require a car, or an often expensive shuttle. Apart from that there's hundreds of walk options that are amazing and less known all over NZ, explore the DOC website, it's quite good. Just so you know, usually when you don't need to book it means your bed is not guaranteed, so bring at least a mattress to sleep on the hut floor, and better, a tent, to sleep outside if the hut is full. Other interesting walks (mostly day walks or shorter) I know of: - Aoraki Mt Cook: Sealy tarns (on the way to Mueller hut), Hooker Valley track, Tasman Glacier lake - Karangahake gorge windows walk - Field Hut and Table top (Tararua forest park) - Cobb Valley track (Kahurangi National Park) to Fenella hut, Lake Peel track in the same location is nice too - Copland track to Welcome Hut - Gertrude Saddle (Milford sound) All of these are quite scenic, but if the weather is bad they might be just boring or even dangerous, so check the weather and sometimes it's better to delay a walk by one day or do something else if the weather looks bad. And check track conditions before going, go to a visitor centre and ask about it, they will tell you if the track is closed (happens sometimes) or dangerous because of snow/avalanche risk/landslip/volcanic eruptions/etc. yup even in summer. And be safe: leave trip intentions with someone, even if it's just posting on facebook where you want to go in the next few days and take your phone and offline maps, you know just in case :) Have fun and enjoy your trip!

thanks a lot peoplee!!! It was really helpful...I hope you have an amazing holiday!

I would love to do though a great walk (at least for the experience) is there any you guys specially recommend scenery, wilderness and adventure wise?