Walking

Walking and Trekking

PhotoMiles Holden

Activities ▷ Land Activities ▷ Walking ▷

Walking and Trekking

The Whole Country is the Track

Walking in New Zealand isn't just something you do to pass the time between drives. It's how you actually get to the good stuff. From the golden-sand coast of Golden Bay to the raw edge-of-the-earth lighthouse walks of Southland, the variety is pretty nuts. The thing I'd say above everything else is this: go early. Whether it's Roys Peak in the Wanaka Region, the Hooker Valley Track at Mt Cook, or the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki - early morning or late afternoon is almost always a different and better experience. Tour buses are real and they fill the popular spots fast. If you've got a campervan, use that flexibility.

Tide Tables Are Your Friend

A lot of NZ's best walks are tide-dependent and this catches people out. The Truman Track near Punakaiki is best at low tide. Pancake Rocks at high tide when the blowholes are firing. Wharariki Beach out in Golden Bay - caves, rock pools, seal pups in the arches - opens right up at low tide and it's a completely different place. Same deal on the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway, where you're sharing the coast with seals at close range. On the island ferry side of things, if you're up in Auckland, the promo code RANKERS gets you a discount on walking on Tiritiri Matangi - one of NZ's great wildlife walks, and a win-win really.

Pick Your Level and Go

NZ walking isn't all big alpine grunts. The country is genuinely good at offering everything from a 20-minute family amble - like The Grove in Takaka or the Lake Gunn Nature Walk on the Milford Road - right through to serious day hikes like Gertrude Saddle in Fiordland or Lake Marian, which is a 10 out of 10 for me. My honest advice is to pick one or two walks that match your fitness and the day's weather, and slow down enough to actually take it in. The people with their phones in front of them the whole time are missing the point.

1544 items with the highest ranking score first, showing page 1 of 52.

Inside Cave Stream

South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷

Cave Stream Scenic Reserve

Cave Walk - Craigieburn

5 52 reviews

Cave walk takes 40 mins to 1 hr. It's 594m long and is an epic experience. Limestone formations nearby were the setting for the filming of “Narnia...

Wairere Falls

North Island ▷ Waikato ▷

5 26 reviews

5 km return | 3 hours return

Allans Beach from Sandymount

South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷

Sandymount Track

Lovers Leap and The Chasm

5 16 reviews

2.5 km return | 1 hour return

Entrance to Moria

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

5 16 reviews

1 hr return

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

Tunnel Terrace Walk

Goldsborough

5 11 reviews

700 m return | 20 minutes return

Pukekura Park

North Island ▷ Taranaki ▷

Pukekura Park

New Plymouth

5 9 reviews

The park covers about 52ha (128 acres) and contains a diverse range of landscapes, including many plant collections, exotic specimen trees, formal...

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

5 8 reviews

1.2 km return | 20 minutes return

Bream Head from the air

North Island ▷ Northland ▷

Busby Head Track

Bream Head Scenic Reserve - Whangarei Heads

5 8 reviews

Time: 1 hr Distance: 3 km

Lake Rotoiti shoreline near the Bellbird Walk entrance

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

Bellbird Walk

Lake Rotoiti - Nelson Lakes National Park

5 6 reviews

800 m return | 15 minutes return

view from Maunganui Bluff

North Island ▷ Northland ▷

5 5 reviews

5.2 km return | 2 hours 30 minutes return

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

5 4 reviews

Time: 20 minutes round trip

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

Anglers Walk, Lake Rotoiti

Nelson Lakes National Park

5 4 reviews

Time: 1 hour each way

North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷

5 4 reviews

1.3 km return | 30 minutes return

North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷

5 4 reviews

5 km return | 2 hours 30 minutes return

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The surf lifesaving tower at Te Henga

North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷

5 4 reviews

Bethells Rd to Constable Rd 8 km or 3 - 4 hr one way, Bethells Rd to O’Neill’s Bay 2 km or 45 min one way.

Dune Lakes behind the wild West Coast beach

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

Dune Lake Walk

Ship Creek

5 4 reviews

1 km return | 30 minutes return

North Island ▷ Northland ▷

5 3 reviews

350 m return | 15 minutes return

South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷

French Ridge Track

Matukituki Valley

5 3 reviews

Time: 4-5 hours, Distance: 7.2 km

North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷

5 3 reviews

Lovely waterfalls and swimming hole

Couldn't really get much bluer....!

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

4.9 47 reviews

650 m one-way | 15 minutes one-way

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

Oparara Arch Walk

Oparara Basin

4.9 34 reviews

2 km return | 50 minutes return

South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷

Circle Walk

Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve

4.9 20 reviews

1.7 km return | 45 minutes return

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.9 20 reviews

Approx 1 km return | 20 minutes return

Miners Hut

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

4.9 12 reviews

Time: 45 minutes return Features Rainforest, gold history, relics, old cemetery.

Whites bay

South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷

Whites Bay tracks

Eastern Marlborough

4.9 12 reviews

Time: 10 min to 8-9 hr return depending which track taken

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.9 12 reviews

View from the bottom

North Island ▷ Northland ▷

Mount Manaia Track

Bream Head Scenic Reserve

4.9 11 reviews

4 km return | 2 hours return

Tiny

North Island ▷ Taranaki ▷

Wilkies Pools Loop Track

Kaponga, Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki

4.9 11 reviews

Time: 1 - 1hr 30 min return

Bubbling mud

North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷

4.9 10 reviews

Time: 2 min one way, Distance: 20 m

Syme Hut

North Island ▷ Taranaki ▷

Fantham's Peak

Dawson Falls, Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki

4.9 9 reviews

4.1 km return | 5 hours return