Great NZ Day Hikes

July 7, 2023: Charlotte. We depart for our next 2023 adventure tomorrow, but today I’m reminiscing about some great NZ day hikes from our 2023 New Zealand road trip!

“If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.”

New Zealand Hiking

New Zealand is a hiker’s paradise:  one third of the country is set aside as national parks, crisscrossed by Great Walks that go for miles.  In a country roughly the size of Great Brittan but with only 7% the population, it’s easy to be alone in nature. 

I’m sure the multi-day camping treks on the Great Walks are fantastic.  However, our ambitions are a little bit more modest.  At the end of a day’s trek we want a hot shower, comfortable chair, and wine please! 

So I thought I’d share a few of our favorite day hikes from the New Zealand trip. Advance warning… there are a lot of pictures! I agonized over which to include, and probably got a little carried away.

The Kepler Track

The Kepler Track is one of the famous “New Zealand Great Walks.” At over 60km long, the full track is a haul through the peaks of Fjordland National Park. Our day hike near Te Anau though was an easy walk in the woods, with beautiful river, peak, and glacier views. 

Ben Lomond

In 2022’s British Trip, Jean and I “bagged our first Monro” – Ben Lomond, north of Glasgow, Scotland.  This year we climbed another Ben Lomond, high above Queenstown, New Zealand.  This southern peak, at over 5700’, is a good bit taller than the Scottish munro.  To be fair though… we took a cable car up to 2500’, so the total climb wasn’t much different! While the NZ peak wasn’t as cold (it was summer), it was every bit as windy.

Another bonus for this NZ trek – racing down the luge track after the hike! 

Franz Josef Glacier

This was a first for us: heli-hiking on a glacier.  Franz Josef Glacier Guides outfitted us with everything for the trek, including boots, crampons, snowsuits and poles. After a short walk to the helipad, we were up and away!

The mountain-to-sea views were amazing.  But we turned away as our guide led us up the glacier, and the fun soon began.  Our group climbed through several fissures, squeezed between walls of blue ice over 1000 years old.  We clipped to safety lines as we walked icy ridges, and turned again to those sea views.  And then, reluctantly, we boarded the copter for the quick ride back down.  This was not a strenuous hike by any stretch, but it was breathtaking!   

Abel Tasman Track

The Abel Tasman National Park track was so very different than the glacier, but just as memorable.  A water taxi took us several miles into the park and dropped us at Medlands Beach. 

We trekked over the hill to Bark Bay, and found we had it entirely to ourselves. So we enjoyed a swim, with only shorebirds for company.

From there, we hiked out, racing the tide to make the low water crossing at Torrent Bay. 

The Tongariro

“One does not simply walk into Mordor.”  And yet we did, and had a much easier time than Frodo and Samwise… there were no orcs to be seen. 

Tongariro National Park was the setting for the cursed land of Mordor in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. We didn’t do the full trek, but instead, a beautiful 12-mile loop hike to Taranaka Falls and the Tama Lakes.  Looming in the distance was Mount Ruapehu , an active volcano that was “Mount Doom” in the movies.

And more great NZ day hikes!

That wraps up favorite NZ day hikes.  There are so many more though… if you love the outdoors, put New Zealand on your bucket list!