New Zealand's Main Hiking Regions
Lying between the Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay is Te Urewera, it is immense, remote and rugged and by a long shot the largest forested wilderness area that remains in the New Zealand’s North Island.
650 species of native plant inhabit the park as well as native birds such as kaka, kokako, falcon and blue duck and the kiwi. This forested beauty is famous for its sparkling lakes and many crystal clear rivers and waterfalls set amides 212,000 hectares (523000 acres) of virgin forest – this rare beauty offers some of the best wilderness hiking we know.
The volcanoes found in the centre of the zone are Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, these three volcanoes and their surroundings were constituted as Tongariro National Park.
The South Island region of Canterbury stretches from the South Pacific Ocean on the east coast through the inland patchwork fields of the Canterbury Plains to the rugged Southern Alps the divides the island from east to west and sheltering a series of upland and high-country lakes that feed a series of large braided rivers that flow down to the east coast.
Fiordland is the largest remaining area of true wilderness remaining in New Zealand and is made up of 17 sounds and sits in the south-western corner of the South Island, Fiordland is one of the most dramatic and beautiful parts of our country.
New Zealand's smallest national park at 225sq km (139 sq mi) is renowned for its golden beaches, turquoise sea and sculptured granite rock formations, but it is the coastal walking tracks that makes it world-famous. The walking track takes you both inland into the lush native bush and also along the coastal beaches
At the centre of the South Island the expansive high ground from which the scenic peaks of Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park protrude is known as Mackenzie Country and within its boundary is Lake Tekapo, a highland lake and township sitting at 710 metres (2329 Feet) surrounded by a vast basin of golden tussock. The lake itself is known for its amazing turquoise colour.
The West Coast extends more than 500 kilometres (310 Miles) along the western side of the South Island, it is the longest region in New Zealand, almost the same as the distance between Auckland and Wellington. Jammed between the Alps and the sea on a narrow strip of mainly inhabitable land, what it does not have in the way of people it makes up for in a remarkable array of natural features including rainforests, glaciers, wetlands and cave systems not to mention the wild ocean and vast beaches and don’t forget the Alps.
Steep, forested hills and small quiet bays are the hallmark of the Marlborough Sounds and with many of the small settlements accessible only by boat these Sounds are sparsely populated. This relative isolation is what makes this one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in New Zealand.
