Coming to visit

here is site for your help [url="http://www.tearohanz.co.nz"]Te Aroha[/url]

Hi people, I've been reading the posts...and checking out the links (like teararoa.org). If my health stays good and I live forever...but for now, the great walks will work well for me I think. Thinking that doing Queen Charlotte instead of Kemper might be a good plan...If I read correctly it can be a bit of a challenge getting to/from Kemper (in terms of distance?). Then again....Kemper looks So awesome! Google maps are driving me nuts...or maybe its because my computer is as old as I am! On another matter... When I first started this thread I was in a kinda 'this-would-be-really-cool-if-I-could...' kind of mode. Since then it really has become 'lets-get-this-done'! To that end I have informed my boss that I will be quiting probably in mid Oct. Departing around dec 1. So now I'm totally committed...my daughter on the other hand, thinks I 'should' be committed. But none-the-less has given me her full support! Luv that girl! I do have a new serious question though... Do you think, assuming 7 nights per month in hostels and 7 nights in track huts, rest of the time snug in my bag and tent...that $1000-$1500 NZ per month is fairly do-able? If so I'm thinking of up to 4 months. If its to low then I gotta make friends fast! As I've said, this is to be the ultimate hiking experience for me. To that end, keep telling me to 'be prepared' for sudden change! I'm thinking if I get this one thing burned into my brain, I will have the adventure of a life-time. Izogi your points are very well taken...I never even thought of bio-security before. I am however, a bit of a clean fanatic...dirty means extra weight. Emergency beacon also a great idea (especially when alone on the trail). Well, gotta go...just can't sit still any more!

Hi-ho. I think you'll find if you get to a reasonably populated area (Christchurch, Nelson, etc) and pop into an Information Centre, they'll be able to set you up with whatever transport bookings you might need for the Great Walks, especially the Keplar, Routeburn or Milford. They're so close to the tourist trail that there will be buses going through there all the time. Someone else here with more experience might be able to offer better and more specific advice, though. If you're keen on a Great Walk or two, then what you *should* try to do sooner rather than later is keep an eye on the booking system on the NZ Department of Conservation's website for the Great Walks you're thinking of doing, and make sure you have the huts booked for nights that you'll want before they're booked out. It's typically against the rules to camp along Great Walks (as part of the whole walker conveyor-belt system), so you'll want to make sure you have your place in the huts reserved before they're booked out. I'd suggest checking them out now to get a feel for how quickly they're getting booked, and keep an eye on them as time goes on so you know how much time you have to make up your mind about dates. Also note that if you plan to go to places that aren't Great Walks, which sounds likely from what you've said, most back-country huts in NZ are on a hut ticket system. Tickets cost $5 each from a DoC office or various other places, and the number of tickets needed per night depends on the hut (usually 2 or 3)... or you can get a 6 month pass for $90 that may make sense if you're likely to be in huts somewhere for more than 7 or 8 nights. It's an honesty system of dropping the tickets in a box when you arrive, though there are wardens in some of the more frequented places. You can camp outside or elsewhere of course, and people often do, but sometimes people just prefer to use a hut anyway if it's there. Especially if it's just raining and raining and you don't feel like putting up a tent. I'm not sure about the budget, I'd imagine $1500 is probably fine --- someone else is probably better to comment on this. You'd want to be sure you're visiting supermarkets to buy your own food most of the time, as opposed to eating out which will quickly get really expensive. Of course if you're planning to be out and about for so much time, you're unlikely to be eating out anyway. :) When you're at a backpacker place, they'll have shared cooking facilities for people staying there. As long as you're okay sharing rooms with others, you'll probably find backpacker-style accommodation all over for something on the order of $20-$30/night... so you could probably expect about $400 for 14 nights of accommodation. Check out somewhere like http://www.bbh.co.nz/ for an idea of backpacker prices. A lot of them will be happy to look after your stuff if you're wanting to head out into the hills for a few days, as long as you come back to get it later of course. Your most expensive nights are likely to be in the dense touristy areas, such as around Great Walks, which can sometimes be really pricey and extortionate.

Actually you can camp on all the Great Walks except the Milford Track [which you should book soon if you that's one you really want to do]. Have you looked at the Dept of Conservation website which has a section on fees for Great Walks / huts/ campsites etc.

Oops, that's my ignorance of Great Walks showing through. Thanks for the correction.

$1000-$1500/month works out to $33-$50/day. I think that's very workable. I comment on this as I have been working out my budget for the Te Araroa recently. If you work it out that you spend 2/3 time on the track, thus camping or in huts, and you factor out the initial purchase of a Backcountry Hut Pass, then you could probably get away with a budget of $10/day 2/3 of your stay. Backpacker accommodation is around $20-30/night. Plus $10 food allowance (if you do your own cooking) so for 1/3 of the time that's roughly $30-$40/day. So based on a 4 month stay. Easy.

Hey, I'm back. Been driving myself crazy over last few weeks. I have a q about this site. Has anyone/everyone? been experiencing problems with this site lately. I've been having a lot of trouble...posts disappearing..no confirming emails when changing my info, etc. That said...I've got a plan, for december anyway. Goes like this: Assuming I arrive on Nov 27, I'm going almost directly to the Hillary Trail. Go all the way to Muriwai then back to Swanson and bus back to Auckland. Next, its up to Ahipara. You probably think this is nuts, but I intend to tramp up to the cape (no tour bus for me) and finish with the cape walkway. Take a big breath head down to Tongariro Circuit...back to akl and a flight south and end up at Banks Penninsula for 4 days over Christmas (23-27). Bookings - done. I'm pretty comfortable with this agenda...I've got 'outs' if i need them, days of rest, etc. What I haven't figured out yet...is what to do next? I'm thinking the Stewart Island circuit (the whole circuit) would be a good kick off for the new year. Then what? All the S.Isl. great walks... I've been looking for a tramp that will take me from Banks to the Stewart Isl. crossing point. Still plan to use Abel Tasman as the birthday walk, however I'm starting to think it might just be 'to' busy. Maybe something a little more remote... So, feel free to pile on suggestions...I've got Jan,Feb,Mar to fill up. I intend to wear the soles right off my boots! I got an email from one reader...but managed to loose it on a computer clean-up...if you'd like to re-send... Oh, also, hope everyone fared well through the quake. No injuries, no losses. I'm pretty sure I'd like to stay for at least a year...work on building tracks,upgrades, stuff like that...If anyone knows who to talk to...I'll be all over that!

The Inland Pack Track is a spectacular 2-3 day tramp with stunning scenery & virtually no people. Leave & return out of Punakaiki. Go in via the Pororari (just walk right out from the holiday park) & then out via the Fox (hitch back to Punakaiki). Up north, I think the CONCEPT of spending 2-3 days walking on 90-Mile Beach is much more intriguing than the REALITY...but the actual Coastal Track from Te Paki to Kapowairua is a stunner. The Rees-Dart is not to be missed!

well, this will be my last entry on this thread... I'll be in New Zealand in roughly a month...after all the reading, all the searching, and all of the help I've received from all of you...I feel I'm about as ready as I can be...so, my next post will be a picture of the first hut I have seen...and a note about how my little adventure is going! thank-you all for your time and efforts to help me get started! gottawalkit (Rod)

It's easy to get the impression that few people are in the backcountry these days. Can anyone advise as to how busy it is and whether things have still to return to pre-covid levels of activity. I'm looking forward to visiting soon. I will be very limited as to what i can do in the short term. I'm currently rehabilitating after rupturing a quadricep tendon. By the time i get to NZ i will only be doing daywalks. Mostly around Otago. But i will progress get fitter.