an informal guide to tramping in the South Island and Rakiura

An in-depth, full-on, all-you-need-to-know, but not-complete-hand-holding, guide to Te Araroa and 39 other multi-day tramping tracks and routes in the South Island and Rakiura.

Information on most of the useful stuff about tramping, various long-distance tracks and routes, mountain passes, huts, hut passes, etc. And plenty of images to get a feel of what any particular track or hut is like. Yeah, a heap of images.

Yay! Even suggestions about those questions mum likes to know:

Where to go? Here are a few ideas for multi-day tramps to get you going.

Even some Great Walks, although, frankly, they are all great walks. The very hard to get onto Milford Track, the scenic Routeburn Track, the terrific Kepler Track, the overly popular Abel Tasman Coastal Track, the diversity of the Heaphy Track, and the short Rakiura Track.

In the north, what about the highly recommended Travers-Sabine Track in Nelson Lakes National Park, the full Nelson Lakes circuit, or cutting that short by doing the Lewis Pass to St Arnaud straight through; wandering the Leslie-Karamea track in Kahurangi; the Alpine Route out the back of Nelson that leads over the tops to St Arnaud; or, heading Harpers Pass, through Lake Sumner Forest Park to Arthurs Pass National Park, the St James Walkway, or for something more demanding, the Harman Pass route.

There are a few non-Great Walks that can be accessed from Te Anau: the Greenstone and Caples Tracks, the Hollyford Track, and turning it into a circuit with the Pyke-Big Bay Route. And the beautiful Lake Monowai area.

Stewart Island/Rakiura is as good a place as any. There’s the Rakiura Great Walk, or the more energetic North West Circuit, perhaps adding on the Southern Circuit for the full Stewart Island experience. Don’t try the Tin Range route, getting as far south as you can by foot in New Zealand, unless you have plenty of tramping experience.

That’s a start, just to get you in the mood. More routes will be added over time, Dusky Track, etc.

What about the weather? Actually, there’s not much you can do about that.

What basic gear do you need? A pack, boots, and clothing in general. Clue: the lightweight, but robust, variety usually helps.

What other stuff, ie, maps and GPS, etc, is needed?

How about some camping equipment like a cooking setup?

Where are those 950 backcountry huts that you can use? And official DOC campsites. This website has information on about 415 of the most popular huts and campsites.

What to eat? Just in case you can’t make up your mind about what’s for dinner.

And, of course, what’s it likely to cost?

Do you need any more incentives?

You can always read about someone else’s Little Adventures:

beyond 47º S—the Tin Range to Port Pegasus,

85 days from Bluff to Ships Cove sort of on Te Araroa,

Tramping is a great way to experience the New Zealand landscape. Sure you can rip through the Great Walks but, maybe, that can wait until you turn 70. If you are keen to really experience the New Zealand backcountry, to have a trip to remember the rest of your life, you can get off the Great Walks, ie, overcrowded and manicured trails, into the lesser travelled parts that still have a decent level of amenity. More of a challenge, both physically and mentally.

An island as big as the South Island has plenty of tracks to explore that hack through massively scenic territory and have the benefit of plenty of solitude.

Maybe this website might just inspire you to get out there yourself. There’s a massive swathe of exciting terrain to explore.

And a heap of fun on your own Little Adventure.

Here’s a few random articles to get you started. This website has over 1500 informative pages to choose from . . .

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Lake Monowai, Fiordland National Park

Not for novice trampers, due to occasional track finding requirements and the generally remote nature of the area, but if you like tramping away from the crowds, with a reasonable level of energy expenditure, on relatively underused tracks, this would be an excellent choice.

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East West route | Marlborough

Yeah, this is a good trip for long legged loners who like to cover terrain without tree roots, trees themselves, or other trampers.

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sleeping bag

To generalise and oversimplify, feathers are better in the cooler areas.

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GPS app or paper maps?

GPS app or paper maps? There’s an easy answer: how about both?

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North Arm campsite | Rakiura National Park, Stewart Island

Four sandy camping sites are a two-minute walk from the North Arm Hut, uphill, set among rimu forest trees.

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100 Days | Walking Te Araroa paperback and ebook

100 Days | Walking Te Araroa answers the fundamental question: Why is a long break away from Civilisation, allowing the re-calibration of Life, important to long-term well-being?

An opportunity to find a balance between mind and body, coz, yeah, Modern Life happens pretty much in our heads these days, dominated by screentime. Time to readjust the pendulum between thought and action.

Oh, it is also a day-to-day account of a true New Zealand backcountry tramp.

One summer GJ Coop spent 100, err, 101 days walking the 1300 km length of the South Island of New Zealand, the world’s 12th biggest island. As a pre-ramble the first 16 days were spent on Stewart Island/Rakiura, attempting to get as far south as is sensibly possible in New Zealand. Like beyond 47º S.

Sensibly, huh?

If it was so sensible, why was he the only one doing it?

Yup, a great Little Adventure. 

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Paperback & ebook

100 Days | Walking Te Araroa is available from Amazon both as a paperback, and as an ebook.

To check out the first pages click on the image below:

Length: 105,000 words — a 298 page paperback

Paperback cost: $US15.99

Ebook file size: 4085 KB

Ebook file format: .mobi — read in the Kindle app

Ebook cost: $US4.99

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Here’s an extract:

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

Yahoo!!

I let out a scream, spontaneously, thinking I’d sound like Tarzan, I guess, but with a dry throat my voice cut out unexpectedly. Fortunately, there was no one within 20 km of me, perhaps. I didn’t try again, but I did feel exuberant.

I had traded possessions for experiences, security for freedom.

This was the payoff.

There it was. Hugeness, remoteness, and wilderness all rolled into one.

Up there I could sense my own remarkable insignificance, one small individual humbled by the unfathomable sparseness in front of me.

At this moment I had everything I needed, my pack lay on the ground with my physical essentials, my mind’s relentless wandering for once still and at peace.

We surround ourselves with people, possessions, and activities to avoid this confrontation with ourselves in our routine lives. Here I was: stripped, alone, and strong. This was one of the most significant moments in my lifetime. The present was right in front of my eyes, no need to dwell on the past or contemplate the future. Everything important was just in front of my eyes, all new, not able to be grasped in its entirety, that was enough, if not too much. All senses were operational without the need for thought or processing.

It was awesome, as in the archaic sense, filling you with awe, not in the current, diluted meaning — yeah, pretty good.

I felt a surge of life. Pure exhilaration.