Tramping, known elsewhere as backpacking, rambling, hill walking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand.
Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country. Trampers often carry a backpack and wet-weather gear, and may also carry equipment for cooking and sleeping. [1]
Alpine climbing has been a recreational activity from the early days of European settlement, and possibly earlier. From the 1950s tracks, huts and bridges were built in the forested areas of New Zealand to support hunters culling introduced deer species which had become a threat to the biodiversity of New Zealand. As tramping became popular these facilities were increasingly used by trampers. In later years tramping has become popular for both local and foreign tourists.
Tramping clubs were formed in many towns, cities and universities with regular trips being organised. The clubs sometimes own a bus to transport club members to the tracks.
A network of tramping tracks has been developed throughout New Zealand of varying lengths and difficulties. A small number of tramping tracks cross private land either in part or in full. All of the major tramping tracks are on public land that is administered by the Department of Conservation.
Among the best-known tracks are the ten Great Walks and the ultra-long-distance Te Araroa.
There is a network of more than 950 backcountry huts throughout New Zealand operated by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on public land. [2] DOC operates a program of bookings, tickets, and passes to help fund the maintenance of these huts. [3] Some areas have privately owned huts on public land used for commercial tourism operations. The majority of the huts were built by the now defunct New Zealand Forest Service for deer culling operations. Other huts were built by alpine clubs, schools, and ski clubs. Some of the buildings on public land that are readily accessible by vehicle, are generally "baches" or "cribs" built by private individuals when control of the use of public land was less stringent. These baches are not made available to the public. Some public huts are associated with a local club and volunteers from clubs will perform much of the maintenance on these huts. In the Tararua Forest Park north of Wellington huts are managed in a partnership between DOC and various lower North Island clubs. In the eastern Southern Alps near Christchurch some huts are managed solely by the Canterbury Mountaineering Club and they rely on fees from these huts to help pay the cost of maintenance.
Amongst experienced trampers there is a strong culture of looking after huts. The phrase "hut etiquette" encompasses looking after any hut that is used and showing consideration for other hut users. Most huts on the conservation estate are open to the public and the state of a hut depends on the care by those who use it.
This environmental care code promoted by the Department of Conservation contains a 10-point checklist of things that can be done in the outdoors to help minimise impact: [4]
| 1 | Protect plants and animals | Treat New Zealand's forests and birds with care and respect. They are unique and often rare. |
| 2 | Remove rubbish | Litter is unattractive, harmful to wildlife and can increase vermin and disease. Plan your visits to reduce rubbish, and carry out what you carry in. |
| 3 | Bury toilet waste | In areas without toilet facilities, bury your toilet waste in a shallow hole well away from waterways, tracks, campsites and huts. |
| 4 | Keep streams and lakes clean | When cleaning and washing, take the water and wash well away from the water source. Because soaps and detergents are harmful to water-life, drain used water into the soil to allow it to be filtered. If you suspect the water may be contaminated, either boil it for at least 3 minutes, or filter it, or chemically treat it. |
| 5 | Take care with fires | Portable fuel stoves are less harmful to the environment and are more efficient than fires. If you do use a fire, keep it small, use only dead wood and make sure it is out by dousing it with water and checking the ashes before leaving. |
| 6 | Camp carefully | When camping, leave no trace of your visit. |
| 7 | Keep to the track | By keeping to the track, where one exists, you lessen the chance of damaging fragile plants. |
| 8 | Consider others | People visit the back country and rural areas for many reasons. Be considerate of other visitors who also have a right to enjoy the natural environment. |
| 9 | Respect our cultural heritage | Many places in New Zealand have a spiritual and historical significance. Treat these places with consideration and respect. |
| 10 | Enjoy your visit | Enjoy your outdoor experience. Take a last look before leaving an area; will the next visitor know that you have been there? |
| Take nothing but pictures – leave nothing but footsteps | ||
| Toitu te whenua (leave the land undisturbed) | ||
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park is a national park located in the central-west of the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in October 1953 and takes its name from the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki / Mount Cook. The area of the park is 707 km2 (273 sq mi), and it shares a border with Westland Tai Poutini National Park along the Main Divide of the Southern Alps. The national park consists of reserves that were established as early as 1885 to protect the area's significant landscape and vegetation. Glaciers cover 40% of the park, including the county's largest glacier, Haupapa / Tasman Glacier. In 1990, the park was included in the area designated as the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Site. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) alongside Ngāi Tahu, the iwi who are mana whenua in the region.
The Department of Conservation is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage.
Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was created in 1956. The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and valleys created by glaciers during the ice ages.
Kahurangi National Park is a national park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers 5,193 km2 (2,005 sq mi), ranging from the Buller River near Murchison in the south, to the base of Farewell Spit in Golden Bay in the north. The park has no single dominant landform, but includes an unusually wide variety of landscapes, including mountain ranges, rivers, gorges, raised peneplains and karst features such as caves and arches. Many of the landforms within the park are considered to be nationally or internationally significant.
Arthur's Pass National Park is located in the South Island of New Zealand and covers 1,185 km2 of mostly mountainous terrain. Adjacent to it lies Craigieburn Forest Park. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation.
Tongariro National Park, located in the central North Island, is the oldest national park in New Zealand. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site of mixed cultural and natural values.
The Heaphy Track is a popular tramping and mountain biking track in the north west of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located within the Kahurangi National Park and classified as one of New Zealand's ten Great Walks by the Department of Conservation. Named after Charles Heaphy, the track is 78.4 kilometres (48.7 mi) long and is usually walked in four or five days. The track is open for shared use with mountain bikers in the winter season from 1 May to 30 September each year. The southern end of the track is at Kōhaihai, north of Karamea on the northern West Coast, and the northern end is in the upper valley of the Aorere River, Golden Bay.
Lake Ōhau is a lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. The Hopkins and Dobson rivers fed into the northern end of Lake Ōhau. These rivers have their headwaters in the Southern Alps. The lake's outflow is the Ōhau River, which travels from the southeast corner of Lake Ōhau and feeds into the Waitaki River hydroelectric project. The Barrier range dominate the western side of Lake Ōhau, while the Ben Ohau range dominates the eastern side of Lake Ōhau. At the northern end of the lake, in between the Hopkins and Dobson rivers, lies the Naumann Range of mountains.
The Milford Track is a hiking route in New Zealand, located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. The 53.5 km (33.2 mi) hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes in Milford Sound at Sandfly Point, traversing rainforests, wetlands, and an alpine pass.
The New Zealand Great Walks are a set of popular tramping tracks developed and maintained by the Department of Conservation. They are New Zealand's premier tracks, through areas of some of the best scenery in the country, ranging from coastlines with beaches to dense rain forests and alpine terrain. The tracks are maintained to a high standard, making it easier for visitors to explore some of the most scenic parts of New Zealand's backcountry.
The Ōrongorongo River runs for 32 kilometres (20 mi) southwest through the Ōrongorongo Valley in the southern Remutaka Ranges of the North Island of New Zealand. The river and its associated catchments lie within the bounds of the Remutaka Forest Park, which is administered by the Department of Conservation.
A wilderness hut, bothy, backcountry hut, or backcountry shelter is a free, primitive mountain hut for temporary accommodation, usually located in wilderness areas, national parks and along backpacking and hiking routes. They are found in many parts of the world, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, northern Russia, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Huts are basic and unmanned, without running water.
The Hump Ridge Track, also called the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track, is a 61 km walking track that is partly in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. The track was opened in 2001 and is run privately on behalf of the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track Charitable Trust.
Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park is a publicly accessible conservation park in the North Island of New Zealand. The park is centered on the town of Minginui and part of the eastern boundary flanks Te Urewera. The Whirinaki Forest is one of the world's last prehistoric rainforests.
Craigieburn Forest Park is a protected area in the South Island of New Zealand, adjacent to Arthur's Pass National Park to the north.
Aorangi Forest Park is a 194-square-kilometre (75 sq mi) protected area in the Wellington Region of New Zealand administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). It had been called the Haurangi Forest Park but DOC changed to reflect the Māori name of the range protected by the park.
The Old Ghost Road is a mountain bike and tramping trail part-funded as one of the projects of the New Zealand Cycle Trail (NZCT) system in the Buller District of New Zealand. Of all NZCT projects, it is the technically most difficult one to ride and is rated "advanced". The highest point of the trail is at 1,280 metres (4,200 ft).
The Copland Track is a tramping track in the south Westland area of New Zealand's South Island, well known for the naturally-occurring hot springs at Welcome Flat along its route. The main track is approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) long one-way from the trailhead at State Highway 6 to the track's inland end at the Douglas Rock Hut, and is usually completed in 2 to 4 days depending on whether the full distance is walked, with many opting to walk only as far as Welcome Flat. The track is the western portion of a longer path which historically connected the West Coast to Mount Cook Village via Copland Pass, however erosion and the retreat of the Hooker Glacier has led to the eastern side of this route becoming increasingly dangerous to traverse.
The Wangapeka Track is a tramping track in the north-west of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the main tramping tracks in the Kahurangi National Park, a protected area managed by the Department of Conservation. The route traverses the southern end of the park from the historic Wangapeka goldfields area west of Tapawera to the coastal plains of the West Coast at Little Wanganui. The route is 59 km (37 mi) long and crosses the Wangapeka and Little Wanganui saddles, each over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation. The track passes through the valleys of the Wangapeka River, Karamea River, Taipō River and Little Wanganui River. The majority of the track is in river valleys and under forest cover, with small sections in tussock land at Stag Flat and the Little Wanganui Saddle. It typically takes walkers 4–6 days to complete the route.
The historic Haast to Paringa Cattle Track is a trail through South Westland, New Zealand, constructed in 1875 to allow farmers in the Landsborough and Cascade Valley area to drive their cattle on an annual two-week journey to the sale yards in Whataroa. It was constructed as an inland loop to bypass the precipitous cliffs at Knights Point. For 90 years it was the only land access to the settlements of Haast and Jackson Bay, but the last mob of cattle was driven in 1961, and the construction of a highway connecting Paringa to Haast Pass in 1965 made it redundant. After falling into disuse, the cattle track was converted into a 33-kilometre (21 mi), three-day tramping track, opening in 1981. The track and its three huts are maintained by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
