As we all know, ghost stories are best told out in the wilderness, preferably by the dim light of a campfire, or no light at all. It stands to reason then, that New Zealand’s backcountry huts make a perfect setting for one of those spooky tales. Miles from civilization, cut off from any means of [...]

Wednesday 10th March Te Arai beach – Pakiri – up and over Mt Tamahunga – roads to Matakana – 31.4 km – 7.6 hours Onto the top end of Te Arai beach, then down the beach, with Te Arai Point to climb over part way along. Then on for another couple of hours to Pakiri [...]

Tuesday 9th March From near Waipu Cove to south of Mangawhai township, near the top end of Te Arai Beach – 33 km – 7.5 hours From the main road near Waipu Cove, the day started with a walk up a road into the Brynderwyn Hills. The road became a shingle vehicle track winding up [...]

Footbridge in the Catchpool Valley I’m back with the promised second post about hikes within an hour’s drive from Wellington. Sadly, we didn’t manage to squeeze a walk in this weekend because Wellington is kicking up one of its famous gales. Apparently the gusts got up to 140 km/h! Surprisingly, these big blows seem to [...]

Our great summer has been replaced by autumn, which is often the best time for walking in New Zealand.  There have been a few cooler days and even some dustings of snow on the mountain tops around Arthur’s Pass.  This photo was taken on our walk down the valley, with views of Mount Rolleston in [...]

Monday 8th March Reotahi Bay, then Marsden Point to near Waipu Cove – 32.8 km – 50 mins plus 5.75 hours A split day – first an early morning walk from the motel, down to Little Munro Bay, then around the point to Reotahi Bay, with the ever present Marsden Point oil refinery just across [...]

Eastern Walkway One of the really nice things about living in Wellington is how close we are to a lot of good hiking areas. Going for a day hike can be a great way to touch base with nature when you can’t spare the whole weekend for an overnighter. I thought I’d dedicate a post [...]

Sunday 7th March Near to and over Kauri Mountain – Ocean Beach – along the tops at Whangarei Heads then around the foreshore to near Little Munro Bay – 29 km – 8.75 hrs An early morning walk along a quiet rural road, then up and up a private road (with some misleading markings), but [...]

First of all, my apologies for not posting anything for so long. I’m afraid it hasn’t been a very tramping-heavy summer for me. Too much non-blogworthy stuff to do! Today, though, we decided we were long overdue for a decent walk. On my insistence, we checked out a track we’ve never walked before. This track [...]

Saturday 6th March near Ngunguru to near Kauri Mountain – 35.7 km – 8 hours Today was mostly a road walk day, starting from 2.3 km west of Ngunguru (near Tutukaka), with 10 km on the road to Whangarei to get to the head of the Ngunguru estuary, and then head back along a minor [...]

Yesterday we finally got a bit of summer weather here in Wellington, and we decided to go check out a part of Kaitoke Regional Park we’d never explored. After a look around the camping and picnic area for possible future reference (and I was surprised how many people were using the campground considering it’s not [...]

Friday 5th March – Whananki North to past Ngunguru – 25.8 km – 6.5 hours Crossing the long Whananaki Estuary footbridge there were children coming in the opposite direction on their daily walk to school. Then onto a coastal track, with a minor detour to the Captain Bouganville memorial to people from a French freighter [...]

Thursday 4th March – On to Whananaki – 30 km – 8 hours Now in the Whangarei section of Te Araroa. From the Russell Walkway through Mokau to Helena Bay, then some backroads to the start of what will soon be an officially complete Morepork – Onekainga Track. The first section was an old forest [...]

Wednesday 3rd March Ngaiotonga Route / Russell Walkway 21.5 km 9.25 hours The forecast rain happened overnight, with a fine crisp morning to set off on a tramp along a ridge. A good climb to Te Ranga Trig then relatively gentle ups and downs to the junction with the Russell Walkway – 3 hours in. [...]

Tuesday March 2nd South end Waitangi Forest – Waitangi – Paihia – Opua – out east to Ngaiotonga Scenic Reserve and the start of the Ngaiotonga Route / Russell Forest walk 33km, 7 hours Super views out to the islands walking down towards Waitangi. Then around the Paihia waterfront to the start of the Haumai [...]

Puketi to Kerikeri River at SH10, then down the river track, through to the east of the town and then Waitangi Forest to Haururu Falls Rd – 41 km – 8 hours. A road walk in a gentle but persistent much needed rain, then off road again following the Kerikeri River down to the Rainbow [...]

Way behind on the blog so trying to get caught up while in saint arnaud on the south island. The 3 days on the river were amazing. Quite a beautiful place and a number of rapids as well. Great that Sarah will be able to join me for the next part.

Omahuta Forest to Puketi Forest – 31+ km 9 hours Tonys Official Blog Leaving Omahuta with autumn mist in the valley, I was soon into bush, walking on forest roads for a couple of hours. Then the route goes down to a stream – managed to find a track for two thirds of that … [...]

In Taumarunui. The te araroa track kind of falls apart here. After discussion with the outdoor store people and info centre I have opted for the river option, skipping the tongariro crossing (which I have done before) and a lot of east-west traversing. Instead I’ll be floating downstream for 5 days and then another 3 [...]

Mangamuka Saddle on SH1 to Omahuta – 21.5 km, 3 hrs 50 mins Escaped from Auckland this morning, enabling me to start walking at midday. A SH1 road walk down the Mangamuka Gorge with the bush close on each side – not much traffic compared to elsewhere. Through the settlements of Mangamuka and M. Bridge, [...]