New Zealand Hiking Tours

Volcanoes and Rainforest 10 Day Safari
This tour will take you to incredible unique areas on the North Island of New Zealand. Hike through Jurassic-like rainforest and river gorges of Whirinaki Forest Park and explore the volcanic wonderland of Tongariro National Park. Enjoy kayaking on Lake Tarawera, soaking in thermal streams and go in search of glow-worms, hidden caves and waterfalls.

Tour location
New Zealand’s North Island. Starting in Auckland, finishing in Wellington.

Project Age Limit
Minimum 18, maximum dependant on potential participants health.

New Zealand
New Zealand is a land of rare and amazing beauty - glacial mountains, ancient volcanoes, pristine beaches, lush rainforests, erupting geysers and boiling mud pools. It is famous for it’s exhilarating outdoor activities, among them hiking, jet boating, skiing, sky-diving, rafting, swimming with dolphins, whale watching and bungee jumping. An essential stop is any round the world ticket or a destination in it’s own right – New Zealand is a must see at least once in a lifetime.

The Tour
During this tour you will backpack through the many wilderness areas of the North Island. The areas that you will cover include the beautiful Whirinaki Forest Park, the volcanic wonderland of Tongariro National Park and Mt Egmont National Park where a climb up Fanthams peak will provide you with stunning views of Mt Egmont/Taranaki. Highlights will include kayaking across the enchanting Lake Tarawera, climbing to the summit of an active volcano and exploring hidden caves.   

Many who visit the North Island are amazed at the degree of wilderness that is hidden.

Itinerary
Day 1 Wednesday
Join the tour in Auckland - 7km/2 hours hiking
You will be given a short briefing by your guide before driving south to Rotorua. A little further south you will stop beside a forest lake for picnic lunch and to get organised for the hike into Whirinaki Forest Park. This park covers an area of 60,000 hectares and is famous for its Jurassic like rainforest. The first afternoon of hiking will be an easy one, on a track through native beech forest, to a simple forest hut beside a river. There will be time to relax while you cook your evening meal and your guide will brief you on what to expect over the next 9 days.

Day 2 Thursday
Whirinaki - 14km/6 hours hiking
This morning you will continue along an easy valley track. From here the group will hike up a side river through a beautiful gorge (learning river crossing techniques) to the next hut/camp. You will stop for lunch on the way and have the chance to take a quick swim in the cascades – crystal clear water you can drink. This remote wilderness is completely off the tourist trail. The rare blue duck, robins and hear kaka (a large parrot) are often seen on this trail. There will be an evening campfire and time to enjoy the sounds of the bush and the feeling of being a million miles from anywhere.

Day 3 Friday
Whirinaki - 10km/5 hours hiking
Today the hike will take you through cascading creeks on a rougher trail. You will hike over a small pass into the world-renowned Whirinaki rain forest of weeping ferns and forest giants. In the afternoon the group will be driven to the Rotorua area. This is an amazing area festooned with thermal activity. On the way you can have a swim in a natural hot river complete with a small hot waterfall. Arriving at the accommodation/campground you will have time to have a shower before turning in for the night.

Day 4 Saturday 
Rotorua - 15km/5 hours kayaking
Today will be an early start in time for kayaking (optional - $80) on lake Tarawera, an ancient Crater Lake with beautiful sand beaches surrounded by forests. This area is rich in Maori history.  You will paddle past the site of a Maori village that was buried under the ash from the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption.  

There are numerous steaming thermal springs along the lake edge that you paddle through. At lunch you can relax by soaking in a hot stream in the bush. In the evening you will drive south to a thermal area before vehicle camping beside the impressive aqua-blue waters of the Waikato River.

Day 5 Sunday 
Taupo - 5km/1.5 hours hiking
After breakfast you will head south to the clear waters of Lake Taupo for some swimming and relaxing. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand created when the largest volcanic explosion known to human-kind erupted in 186 AD. After lunch the group will drive to Tongariro National Park. It is New Zealand’s first National Park, gifted to the people of New Zealand by a far-sighted Maori chief who saw this as a way of protecting the tapu (respect, sacredness, preciousness) of this land - in particular the summits of the active volcanoes. An afternoon hike across alpine grasslands between these volcanoes will end at a hut set in native beech forest beside a bubbling stream (in warm weather you may camp nearby).

Day 6 Monday 
Tongariro World Heritage Area - 7km/4 hours hiking 
Time will be spent exploring the Tongariro World Heritage area of beech forests, springs, and desert landscapes before hiking to the next hut/camp on the remote side of the park. The volcanoes in the park rumble from time to time: the most recent was in September 1995 when Mt Ruapehu, the highest mountain in the Park released clouds of ash and steam. Another much younger volcano, Mt Ngauruhoe is almost perfectly symmetrical. All around this scarlet moonscape are turquoise and green-blue crater lakes, adding their surreal colours to the landscape.

Day 7 Tuesday 
Tongariro National Park - 15km/6 hour hiking 
Today you will hike gently up through a moon valley of contorted lava flows and ash fields before taking a steep climb up the last section to the emerald lakes where you will stop for lunch. You will then cross the diverse volcanic plateau - lava valleys, scarlet moonscapes, steaming explosion craters, before descending on the western side. When conditions are good, there is an option to climb one of the volcanic peaks. A short drive takes you to an excellent lodge in a sleepy little farming town. It will just be your group here and you will be able to relax in front of a fire and cook up a big meal after having glorious hot showers. Sometimes the group checks out the classic kiwi "gumboots at the door" rural pub down the road.

Day 8 Wednesday 
Waitomo - 1km/1 hour caving 
After an early start you’ll drive 2 hours west through a hill country farming region to the Waitomo Caves area. The name Waitomo comes from the Maori wai (water) and tomo(shaft). This limestone area is famous for its thousands of caves. You will explore a secret river cave where you will see glow worms, waterfalls and limestone formations. Later the group will drive on through the remote Waitomo back-country to the wild west coast, stopping on the way to look at rock formations in limestone scenic reserves. Tonight will be spent camping beside the beach where you can have a swim, and cook on the beach in a hangi (Maori earth oven). In the evening the group can relax around a beach fire and enjoy being beside the ocean.

Day 9 Thursday 
Mount Egmont National Park - 3km/1.5 hours hiking 
The morning will be spent at the coast; clambering through the bush and exploring the site of an ancient Maori pa (fortified Village), After relaxing, swimming and exploring the cliffs and beaches there will be a drive south to Mt Egmont National Park. A late afternoon hike will take you through twisted moss covered forest to a cosy alpine hut high on the side of the volcano. From here there are spectacular views of Mt Egmont /Taranaki and across to Tongariro National Park - usually above the evening cloud. 

Day 10 Friday
Tour ends Wellington - 6km/2-5 hours hiking. 
If the mountain conditions are reasonable, the group will get up early to climb up the side of Mt Egmont/Taranaki as far as Fanthams peak. On the way south there will be a stop at a wild Wanganui beach for lunch, a big sort out of gear and a swim. On arrival back in Wellington the group can head out for an evening meal and farewell drink. Hostel or your preferred accommodation.

Project Support
Throughout your tour you will be accompanied by an experienced and professional guide, who will be able to answer any of your questions as well as giving you advice and ideas for when your tour has come to an end.  

Furthermore, a member of staff in the UK can be contact 24 hours a day via our emergency contact number if necessary.

Hiking Grade Medium
No previous hiking experience is required, but you need to be reasonably fit and enthusiastic. On average, 4 – 5 hours a day will be spent hiking (7 hours max). The terrain will be mostly tracks although some may be slippery or rough; there will also be some off-track hiking and river crossings.

Accommodation
Accommodation will range from camping, back-country huts, cribs (summer house), hostels and cabins. Accommodation is not included in the programme price and the cost will vary depending on where you are staying. Generally if the weather is good you will be camping which is a cheaper option. If the weather is less pleasant you may be staying in huts, cabins or cribs.

Meals
Safaris will be on a food kitty system so each person will need to contribute $10 per day. Food will be brought at the supermarket and then all participants will need to contribute to preparing meals.  Meals will consist of barbecues, salads, pasta, rice etc and you will also want to take lots of hiking food with you such as chocolate, peanuts, raisins and biscuits.

Getting there
You will need to arrange your flights into Auckland to arrive the day before the start of the tour.  The tour will depart from Auckland at 7am. 
 
Tour Cost Includes

• Transport during the tour
• All guiding

Tour Cost Excludes

• Flights
• Insurance
• Kayaking ($80)
• Food and accommodation ($22 per day for food and accommodation will need to be put into a Kitty fund)