Walking
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Walking and Trekking
The Whole Country is the Track
Walking in New Zealand isn't just something you do to pass the time between drives. It's how you actually get to the good stuff. From the golden-sand coast of Golden Bay to the raw edge-of-the-earth lighthouse walks of Southland, the variety is pretty nuts. The thing I'd say above everything else is this: go early. Whether it's Roys Peak in the Wanaka Region, the Hooker Valley Track at Mt Cook, or the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki - early morning or late afternoon is almost always a different and better experience. Tour buses are real and they fill the popular spots fast. If you've got a campervan, use that flexibility.
Promo code RANKERS - good deal done!
Tide Tables Are Your Friend
A lot of NZ's best walks are tide-dependent and this catches people out. The Truman Track near Punakaiki is best at low tide. Pancake Rocks at high tide when the blowholes are firing. Wharariki Beach out in Golden Bay - caves, rock pools, seal pups in the arches - opens right up at low tide and it's a completely different place. Same deal on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway, where you're sharing the coast with seals at close range. On the island ferry side of things, if you're up in Auckland, the promo code RANKERS gets you a discount on walking on Tiritiri Matangi - one of NZ's great wildlife walks, and a win-win really.
Pick Your Level and Go
NZ walking isn't all big alpine grunts. The country is genuinely good at offering everything from a 20-minute family amble - like The Grove in Takaka or the Lake Gunn Nature Walk on the Milford Road - right through to serious day hikes like Gertrude Saddle in Fiordland or Lake Marian, which is a 10 out of 10 for me. My honest advice is to pick one or two walks that match your fitness and the day's weather, and slow down enough to actually take it in. The people with their phones in front of them the whole time are missing the point.
Walking Tracks
1543 items with the highest ranking score first, showing page 1 of 52.
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