Peakbagging New Zealand

[albee]

I'm heading over to New Zealand on Tuesday for the next 4 months and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience hiking/climbing/"tramping" over there and if they know what the standard "lists" are for that country. I can't seem to find any info on the internet about how many 10,000' peaks or 3,000m peaks there are, etc...

I'm also debating whether to bring my crampons or buy/rent some over there if I find myself heading for a glacier. I hear that gear over there is quite expensive due to heavy import taxes.

I'm so excited, I hope I get myself into quite a few adventures down there. Here's to summer down under... don't worry, I'll be back in March with pictures!

Wish me luck!

...Albee

 

[poison ivy]

Wow... I'm salivating just thinking about all the hiking you could do in four months there!!

I went to New Zealand for two weeks in Feb. 2004. Not sure about peakbagging lists persay... what you may want to take a look at are the backpacking "tracks." There are tons of them on the South Island... (did not go to North Island so I can't comment there) and they hiking there is absolutely spectacular.

We did two tracks -- the Routeburn, which was gorgeous mountain scenery that I just loved (my all time favorite hike) and the Abel Tasman Track, which was more beachy and relaxing. I would highly, highly recommend hitting the Routeburn track. These tracks have huts along the way (kind of like the AMC self-service huts but way less expensive.)

The premiere track is the Milford Track and a woman we met from Holland also highly recommended the Keppler Track -- she said it was better than both Milford and Routeburn in her opinion. A great book is Lonely Planet's "Tramping in New Zealand" which lists all the tracks, their difficulty and how to book etc.

I can't comment on the Glaciers, or Mt. Cook -- we only hit the bases (it was raining the day we visited Fox Glacier so we opted to do touristy stuff instead.)

I'd also highly recommend kayaking in either Milford or Doubtful Sound (we used Fiordland Wilderness Experience and they were just great.)

Okay, I've probably rambled on enough here, but my final tip will be -- don't speed if you're going to rent a car. The tickets are very, very expensive!!!

Enjoy the trip... New Zealand is a spectacular place. Can't wait to see your pictures!!
- Ivy

 

[Tim Kase]

albee,
I've just spent half the night researching New Zealand as Laurie and I are heading there in Feb/March. Apparently there's 22 peaks over 10,000 feet in the Mount Cook National Park alone. Try a google search to "Gorp New Zealand" web site. We've got three weeks for peak bagging, I'm jealous of your four months! I sure would like an update on your travels.
Happy adventures!
Tim

 

[spongebob]

What the heck is everyone going to New Zealand? I'm going down in December, so maybe we can have a VFTT New Zealand beer night Albee. Four months you rat bas@ard! You should be able to see freaking everything. I'm glad to hear the Routeburn track rocks. I can give you my overly ambitous itinerary if you want.

 

[MrAmeche]

Albee, I'm struggling to conceal my jealousy, but I wish you the best over there. Everyone has given great advice, but if you're still looking for a list of major peaks, try this link:

http://peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=73

Or maybe Summit Post

Don't forget the pictures when you return!

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Four months -- awesome! My husband and I spent a month there this past December/January and loved it.

What we did for tramping:

-- Matikituki Valley/Rob Roy Glacier (had intended to do the Cascade Saddle Route by the conditions/weather deterred us. We had originally planned to hike over the Cascade Saddle and drop into the Dart Valley and hike out to Glenorchy, then do the Routeburn)
-- day hike of Mt. Alfred from Glenorchy
-- Routeburn Track
-- Ben Lomond day hike from Queenstown
-- mountaineering in Mt. Cook (course with Alpine Guides)
-- on the N. Island we did the Tongariro Crossing and also scrambled up Ngarauhoe (Mt. Doom from LOTR)

If we would have had more time we would've done the Kepler track, Abel Tasman, and tracks in Arthur's Pass. The Lonely Planet NZ Tramping book was great for planning and we also got information and ordered maps from the DOC website. You can string together some of the tracks so the large maps are useful for coordinating adjacent hikes.

You definitely should visit Mt. Cook NP because it's beautiful. There are some easy hikes there (i.e. Hooker Valley), but most of the hikes would be technical/require gear (which is how we ended up doing a course with Alpine Guides). If we hadn't done the course we would've hiked to Mueller's Hut. If your time/budget allows, I would certainly look into a trip with Alpine Guides.

We also did kayaking in Milford and Doubtful Sounds. The trip we did in Doubtful Sound was three days with a guiding company and was quite reasonable. Minus the sandflies, it was a fun trip and I would recommend that as well (we got picked up by the company directly from the end of the Routeburn Track).

If you're interested, you can take a peek at our pictures and trip notes here:

New Zealand pics/notes

Have fun!!

ETA: either take or rent crampons. buying gear there is expensive, particularly if you want to buy something that is imported. Also, with four months you will have enough time to 'schedule in' bad weather days, which I would def. recommend.

 

[David Metsky]

I was there for 5 weeks many years ago. We hiked the whole time, but peakbagging isn't really the style there, there are many long tracks that offer huts, good access, and killer views.

We did a trip near Ruapau on the north island, then went to the south. Our first was in Nelson Lakes Provincial park which was fantastic. Very isolated, amazing scenery. Then we headed to Arthur's Pass and the Fox Glacier. Then a nice point to point hike in Mt Aspiring National Park. I wish we could have spent a lot more time there. We did the Reese-Dart track, IIRC.

Then south for the Milford Track. It's heavily regulated, expensive, and crowded, and you should try everything to go on it. It was one of the most amazing hikes of my life, don't be scared off by the hype, it's worth it. The last hike we did was an overnight to Meuller Hut at Mt Cook.

If I could go back I'd spend a bit more time in Fjordland and Mt Aspiring NPs, and a lot more time on the north island in the far north. Other places that seemed fun were Stewert Island in the way south, the Routeburn and Able Tasman Tracks, and I'm sure I could have spent more time at Mt Cook NP.

-dave-

 

[Abster]

Reading this thread and looking at the pictures is making me feel very nostalgic! As soon as I graduated from high school I moved to New Zealand and worked at a vineyard on the South Island. The other responses have pretty well covered what I remember as places to go for outings – Mt. Cook NP, the tracks, Arthur’s Pass, etc. The Marlborough Sounds are wonderful! You could easily just go to Queenstown and start chatting people up to find out tons of things to do. Kiwi’s are very welcoming and down to earth. I remember that many of the youth hostels allowed older people to stay in them as well. Also, in one hostel I stayed for free because I vacuumed the rooms each day….although you may not be on that kind of a tight budget! New Zealand is amazing….soak up every bit. Don’t forget to eat the great seafood (lobster looks different) and lamb, drink the great beer and wine, get a Maori fish-hook (but you have to give it away), and catch a game of rugby. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[TomD]

NZ climbing

I haven't been down there for a while, but I'm sure the mountains haven't gone anywhere. As already mentioned, Mt. Cook NP, Arthur's Pass NP and Fiordland have plenty of climbing. Queenstown is the adventure sports center on the South Island. You can rent gear or bring your own. Buying is a bit pricey, but used gear is fairly plentiful.

The park service and the alpine clubs own huts in the mountains--most climbing is done from huts. Check with Alpine Guides at Mt. Cook for local info. There are a couple of other guiding companies as well, but I'm only familiar with AG. Maps and info are readily available from the park service. There are a few guidebooks as well. Tramping in New Zealand by Lonely Planet is a good book for track walking. Their NZ book is a good general guide for low budget touring. Insight has a good one for more upscale travel.

Be prepared for glacier travel and always rope up. Wandering around unroped in the summer on the glaciers is asking for trouble. Be prepared for bad weather--it is a given at least part of the time you'll be there. Have fun-it's a great place.