The circuit that includes the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing — arguably New Zealand’s best single day of walking — extended into a three or four day loop that takes in the volcanic terrain around Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Tongariro from every angle. The second day follows the Crossing route over the Red Crater and past the Emerald Lakes. The rest of the circuit is quieter, emptier, and genuinely wild.

The landscape here does not look like the rest of New Zealand. It looks like somewhere else entirely — Mars, or Middle Earth, depending on your reference points. Steaming vents, black lava fields, and the kind of silence that only exists above the treeline on a clear day. DOC’s Tongariro page has current track conditions and booking details.

Note: Bookings for the Tongariro Northern Circuit are currently affected by planned hut replacements — check DOC’s website for current availability before planning.

The only Great Walk you do not walk. The Whanganui Journey is a canoe or kayak trip down the Whanganui River — New Zealand’s longest navigable waterway — through remote gorges and native bush that feel completely removed from the rest of the country. You paddle between 87 and 145 kilometres depending on your starting point, camping or staying in river huts along the way.

The landscape becomes more remote and more extraordinary as you move downstream. This is a trip that rewards patience and a willingness to let the river set the pace — which it will, regardless of your preferences. Canoes and kayaks can be hired in Taumarunui or Whakahoro.

New Zealand’s most underrated Great Walk. Lake Waikaremoana sits in the Hawke’s Bay hinterland — a deep, still lake surrounded by ancient podocarp forest, accessed via a road that takes longer than expected to drive. Most international visitors have never heard of it. This is precisely the point.

The track circumnavigates the lake, climbing to the Panekire Bluff for expansive views before dropping back to the shoreline. Fishing, swimming, and the kind of quiet that the more popular South Island tracks cannot offer in season. DOC notes it often has space available when other tracks are booked out.

The most famous walk in New Zealand and one of the most celebrated multi-day hikes in the world. Four days from Glade Wharf at the head of Lake Te Anau to Sandfly Point at Milford Sound — through ancient beech forest, over the Mackinnon Pass with its panoramic views of the Clinton Valley below, past the Sutherland Falls (580 metres, one of the tallest in the world), and out to the fiord.

It rains here. A lot. Milford Sound receives over 7,000mm of rainfall annually — more than almost anywhere else on earth with a road. This is not a reason not to go. The waterfalls quadruple after rain, the forest turns vivid green, and the mist that hangs over the valley walls is genuinely spectacular. Pack as if it will rain every day. It probably will.

The track operates strictly one direction only during the season. Camping is not permitted. Boat connections are required at both ends. The logistics require more planning than any other Great Walk — DOC’s Milford Track page covers everything you need to know.

The Routeburn is what you book when you miss out on the Milford. Then you walk it and start recommending it over the Milford. Thirty-two kilometres through two national parks — Fiordland and Mount Aspiring — spending more time above the treeline than any other Great Walk, with views across glacier-carved valleys and alpine lakes that are among the best in the country.

The Harris Saddle on day two is the high point — literally and figuratively. On a clear day the views extend to the Tasman Sea on one side and the Darran Mountains on the other. The track gets considerably less rain than the Milford, particularly on its eastern Queenstown-facing side. It is a one-way track requiring transport at both ends.

A circuit track starting and ending just outside Te Anau — the rare Great Walk that does not require transport logistics at both ends. The Kepler climbs from Lake Te Anau through beech forest to the exposed limestone ridge above Luxmore Hut, then traverses alpine tussock with views over Fiordland that on a clear day are extraordinary. The descent takes in the Iris Burn valley and the Moturau Hut on Lake Manapouri.

The alpine section on day two is the equal of anything on the Routeburn, and the Luxmore Hut itself — perched above the clouds on a clear evening — is one of the finest Great Walk hut locations in the country. Check out the limestone caves near Luxmore Hut. Worth the detour.

New Zealand’s most popular Great Walk and its most accessible. The Abel Tasman follows the coastline of New Zealand’s smallest national park through golden sand beaches, granite headlands, and clear turquoise water. The elevation is gentle, the signage clear, and the water taxis that service the track mean you can walk sections, skip sections, or carry a daypack while your main bag travels ahead by boat.

The weather in the Nelson region is the best in New Zealand — consistently. This is not meteorological hubris, it is a statistical fact supported by decades of sunshine hours data. The track is open year-round and remains pleasant in winter in a way that Fiordland decidedly does not. Some sections cross estuaries that require tide timing — check the Abel Tasman tidal schedule before you go.

The longest Great Walk on foot — 78.4 kilometres from Collingwood in Golden Bay to Karamea on the West Coast. The Heaphy crosses the Gouland Downs (an open, tussock plateau that feels like Scotland had a collaboration with the South Island), drops through dense Kahurangi forest, and ends in a coastal section of nikau palms and pounding Tasman surf that is unlike anything else on the Great Walk network.

The bird life is exceptional throughout. The logistics are the most complicated of any Great Walk — both trailheads are remote, requiring either a long drive or internal flights to connect. The Heaphy is also the only Great Walk open to mountain bikes in winter (May to November), which gives it a unique dual-season personality.

The Paparoa was created partly as a tribute to the 29 miners killed in the Pike River Mine disaster of 2010 — a fact worth holding as you walk through the limestone country above where they worked. It is a relatively new track, opened in 2019, traversing the Paparoa Range through spectacular limestone landscapes, alpine tops, and lush West Coast rainforest.

The Paparoa is also walkable on a mountain bike, giving it the same dual-use flexibility as the Heaphy. As one of the least-visited Great Walks, it offers a degree of solitude in season that the Milford and Abel Tasman cannot. The West Coast weather requires the same respect as Fiordland — pack accordingly.

New Zealand’s newest Great Walk, officially joining the network in October 2024 after years of development by the Hump Ridge Trust. It runs through Fiordland’s remote southern reaches — sub-alpine tussock ridge, ancient podocarp forest, and wild coastal terrain near the bottom of the South Island. The track is a circuit, starting and finishing at Tuatapere.

Unusually for a Great Walk, the Hump Ridge offers luxury lodge upgrades as an alternative to standard huts — a genuinely comfortable option for those who want the scenery without the bunk room. It was named one of the top 25 trails in the world by AllTrails in 2025. Bookings are managed through the Hump Ridge Trust website and can be made up to two years in advance.

Stewart Island sits 30 kilometres south of the South Island’s southern tip, connected by a one-hour ferry from Bluff or a 20-minute flight from Invercargill. The Rakiura Track is a three-day loop through the thick, primordial forest that covers most of the island — native bush so dense and undisturbed it feels genuinely prehistoric.

The scenery on the Rakiura Track itself is not the main event. The main event is Stewart Island — the light at dusk over Paterson Inlet, the almost complete absence of other people, and the very real possibility of seeing a wild kiwi after dark near Mason Bay. Stewart Island has the highest kiwi density of anywhere in New Zealand. That alone is worth the ferry.