Great Walks
Guiding on the Heaphy Track
Angus McKenzie has spent the past ten years as a guide on the Heaphy Track in the Kahurangi National Park in the northwest corner of the South Island. Audio
Great Walks celebrate 30th anniversary with bookings set to open
New Zealand's Great Walks are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, with the 2022-23 booking season opening next week.
Te Urewera, Waikaremoana Great Walk to reopen for visitors
Grab your hiking boots - Lake Waikaremoana will reopen to visitors next month.
Te Urewera was shut back in August when Delta arrived and the country went into level 4.
Tūhoe, the iwi and kaitiaki of… Video, Audio
Te Urewera closed until end of January for Covid protection
There is a rāhui on the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk while the iwi that has responsibility over the area tries to get vaccination rates up.
Te Urewera has been closed to visitors since Delta arrived… Audio
Thousands of Great Walk bookings open up as Aucklanders cancel
More than 2000 Great Walk bookings have been cancelled in recent months as Covid continues to take a toll.
Te Araroa Trail hikers stuck in Northland lockdown
The walk of a lifetime has come to a shuddering halt for trampers stuck in the upper North Island's alert level 3 lockdowns.
About 650 people are registered to walk the entire Te Araroa Trail - which… Audio
Surge in Great Walks bookings boost for local communities
Communities near New Zealand's Great Walks are celebrating a surge in domestic bookings from Kiwis keen to check out their own backyard. Audio
Are our Great Walks overpriced?
New Zealanders pay roughly half the rate of tourists to stay in huts on our Great Walks, but does that discrepancy mean tourists are being priced out of the market? Audio
Paul Hersey: tips for tackling the Great Walks
We have nine official Great Walks, one of which is actually a great river journey, that range in length from 32 to 82 kilometres long. Most are part of our national park network. Paul Hersey is a… Audio
Talk the Walk: The Tongariro Northern Crossing
Penny Treager has actually done all the great walks, but tells us about the Tongariro Northern Circuit. Audio, Gallery
Fee hikes for overseas tourists could put some off
From October, the government plans to make foreign tourists pay twice as much as locals to stay in tramping huts on four of the country's great walks, including the Abel Tasman track. Video, Audio
Talk the Walk: Waikaremoana
We continue our series on the Great Walks of New Zealand, and today Sue Hope tells us about walking Waikaremoana with her women's walking group. Audio, Gallery
Talk the Walk: Whanganui
We continue our series on the great walks, today the Whanganui journey. Sarah Johal tells us about her experience of the national park walk and kayak trip. Audio, Gallery
Talk the Walk: Routeburn Track
Talk the Walk looks at the different great walks of New Zealand and talks to people who know them best. Audio, Gallery
Kaikōura aims for the Great Walks map
Local authorities and iwi in north Canterbury have applied to have popular walkways around Kaikōura elevated to 'Great Walks' status.
DOC increases hut, campsite fees for NZ's Great Walks
New Zealand's nine Great Walks have become increasingly popular, but if you want to stay overnight they've just become more expensive too. DoC's Gavin Walker explains why hut fees are going up. Audio
Tourist numbers at 'tipping point' on NZ hikes
Tramping groups say tourists are spoiling Kiwis' great outdoors experience. DOC says the wilderness experience is still possible - you just won't have a 20-bunk hut to yourself.
Should NZ's Great Walks be privately-run?
Four tourism leaders have put forward the possibility of privatising New Zealand's Great Walks, which lost more than $3 million last year. Audio
Overcrowding fears for Milford and Routeburn
Bookings on the South Island's famous tramping tracks are running at an all-time high, raising concerns about overcrowding and potential damage to New Zealand's reputation. Audio
Rogue campers 'ruining' Great Walks
The Department of Conservation is having to recruit more volunteers to cope with a spike of freedom campers littering and defecating on tracks in the South Island.