Bookings for New Zealand's Great Walks Open This Week

Keen explorers have another opportunity to get out and see own their backyard as the Department of Conservation opens bookings for New Zealand's Great Walks this week. Starting from Tuesday, 9 June, bookings will be open for eight of the ten popular tramping tracks, opening up some of the country's most spectacular landscapes.

The Great Walks offer a high standard of tracks and facilities, and allow hikers to access some of the best scenery in the country, ranging from golden beaches to giant podocarp rainforest and rugged alpine terrain. The walks range from 32 kilometres to 82 kilometres and take between three and six days to complete. The Tongariro Northern Circuit and Kepler Track are loop walks, while all other Great Walks require transport to return to the starting point.

For anyone wanting to get out over winter, there are a range of year-round walking and biking opportunities, including Rakiura, Abel Tasman, Heaphy, Paparoa, Lake Waikaremoana and Abel Tasman Coast tracks. The Department of Conservation advises that trampers "must be well prepared."

Bookings for the 2020/2021 season will be available for all tracks except Milford and Routeburn which are still undergoing storm repairs. Bookings for these tracks are projected to open in July/August 2020.

The bookings are only open to domestic trampers while travel restrictions remain in place.

For more information about the Great Walks, visit doc.govt.nz.