New Zealand Hike and Explore

SINGLE TRAVELERS: If you are traveling alone, you will feel at home with a welcoming group. If you would like to have your own room throughout the trip, you may purchase a single supplement for an additional fee.

MEALS: Everybody is involved with the preparation and cooking of meals using fresh, healthy ingredients for bountiful dishes. Vegetarian meals and other dietary needs are easy to accommodate. There will be plenty of snacks provided through out each day. We’ll enjoy happy hours together, but the purchase of alcoholic beverages is not included in the trip fees.

EQUIPMENT AND CLOTHING: WI provides all cooking, first aid and other gear. You are responsible for your clothing and personal gear. The weather can change quickly in New Zealand, bright and sunny one moment and drizzly the next. We will send you a recommended packing list after you register.

Begin and end your New Zealand adventure in Christchurch, known as the Garden City for its well-maintained public gardens and parks. As New Zealand’s second largest city, it is the jumping off point for a journey across the South Island. Founded in 1856 by English settlers, Christchurch is rich in natural and cultural history. The city center and surrounding area is a popular place for tourists to wander and enjoy arts, crafts, museums, and Kiwi culture. Other popular sites to visit are Cathedral Square, Colombo and Worcester Streets, Arts Centre, and the Canterbury Museum.

New Zealand’s South Island is divided down the middle by the dramatic and majestic Southern Alps. At the northern end of the Southern Alps, Arthur’s Pass National Park is a great place to experience the contrasts of the region. An area rich in biodiversity where subtropical and cool climate vegetation overlap, you can see dry beech forests in the east and lush rain forests on the western slopes of the mountains. The kea, a New Zealand mountain parrot, can be found here. Many of the area’s plants are endemic, meaning they can’t be found anywhere else and suggesting the region’s importance as a botanic refuge during the ice ages. To the west of the divide is Paparoa National Park, which was founded in 1987 to protect its spectacular coastline and unique rock formations from the mining and forestry industries. One such feature is Pancake Rocks. This fascinating formation was created millions of years ago by organic marine sediments that gradually settled on the ocean floor and solidified over time by intense water pressure. As the earth continued to move and change, this new limestone formation rose above sea level where the rain, wind, and pounding seawater shaped the rocks into the strange formations we see today, which resemble pancakes. Paparoa National Park is also famous for the Ballroom Overhang, another spectacular rock formation. This huge fluviatile overhanging rock cliff, carved out by the Fox River, is the largest in New Zealand and makes for an unforgettable natural shelter for campers.

Located on the central Tasman Coast, Okarito Lagoon is a coastal lagoon and the largest undisturbed wetland in New Zealand. This lagoon acts as a sanctuary to many species of bird, the most notable of which is the Kotuku, or White Heron, an extremely rare bird featured on the New Zealand $2 coin. The Kotuku is highly endangered and exclusively breeds in the Okarito Lagoon. Overall, roughly 350 species of birds are intensively cared for by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation in the rain forests between the lagoon and the glaciers.

On the inland side of Okarito, visitors can take the Copland Track to Welcome Flat where they are rewarded with a soak in natural thermal pools while taking in views of some of New Zealand’s highest peaks. Nearby, and within this range lie popular hiking spots. The Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers, bordering Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the Alpine Fault, can be hiked with a guide and provide stunning views of massive ice caves, crevasses and seracs. Of the 140 glaciers in New Zealand, only these two border the rain forests and foster such a unique ecosystem. These glaciers are also famous for their views of the Southern Alps, especially New Zealand’s tallest peak Aoraki (or Mount Cook), which stands at 12,316 feet elev.

The Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, have a legend surrounding the formation of this mountain and the surrounding range. The story says that a young boy named Aoraki, along with his brothers, became stranded on a reef while canoeing. One side of the canoe sunk down into the water, so to keep from drowning the brothers climbed to the high side and awaited rescue. No rescue ever came, but the south wind did and it was so cold the boys froze on the high side of their partially submerged canoe, thus forming the multiple peaks of the Southern Alps. Because Aoraki was the youngest brother, he was given the highest spot in the canoe and therefore became the highest peak in the range. The legend of the brothers represents the importance of sacred ancestors in Maori culture. Also named after Captain James Cook in 1851, the area has been protected as Aorkai/Mount Cook National Park since 1887 because of the area’s significant vegetation, landscape, and cultural history.

Because of geographic isolation, the early Maori developed its own unique culture, language, mythology, craftwork, and performing arts. The tribal society they created revolved around Polynesian social customs and organization. The oldest settlers to the area became hunters who depended on a large, flightless bird called the takahe for their food supply. Within several hundred years, the bird had been mostly wiped out due to excessive hunting and modifications to their natural grazing lands. This resulted in horticultural practices that defined the “classic period” of the Maori, which lasted until the arrival of European settlers. These 19th century Maori created finely made pounamu (a form of jade) ornaments and weapons, possessed advanced canoe-building skills, and developed an extensive warrior culture. The Maori culture has undergone a strong revival within New Zealand since the 1960s, and the New Zealand government now recognizes and protects the Maoris’ status as an indigenous people. Making up roughly 16 percent of the country’s population, they lend their extensive cultural heritage to the nation and their influence can be seen in all spheres of New Zealand culture and society, with independent representation in areas of media, politics, and sports.

The distinct natural history of southwestern New Zealand has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Te Wahipounamu. The village of Haast sits at the entrance to the site. From Haast, visitors can experience fur seal and penguin colonies, sea fishing, and Jackson Bay, one of the most remote villages in New Zealand. The Te Wahipounamu Park encompasses almost 5 million acres of rain forest, covering a tenth of the country and making it the least-disturbed land in the nation. Glacial formations and tectonic plate movements created the extremely mountainous terrain that Te Wahipounamu is known for. Accompanying the varying terrain, the biodiversity is indicative of the rest of New Zealand and is particularly rich and pristine. At high altitude, alpine vegetation flourishes, and at lower altitudes, the rain forests grow dense and tall. This area also provides a core habitat for many of the country’s native fauna, including the “rediscovered” takahe bird, which is now recognized and protected as an endangered species.

Acting as the gateway to Te Wahipounamu, Lake Wanaka offers great relaxation opportunities. Wanaka is a westernized form of the Maori word “oanaka,” meaning place of Anaka. Anaka, a Maori chief, created the settlement as a summertime village for his people, but it was attacked and mostly destroyed by a northern Maori war in 1836. A few years later, in 1853, Nathaniel Chalmers became the first European to put down roots on the shores of the lake, but it was a gold rush in the 1870s that created a population wave. Tourism started in 1881 after all the gold had been mined, and people kept coming back to relax on one of the deepest lakes in the world.

To the South of Lake Wanaka, on the shores of another glacial lake, sits Queenstown. A major hub for adventure tourists, it is best know for winter sports including downhill and cross-country skiing on the surrounding mountains. Lake Wakatipu also provides recreation opportunities, and visitors can take a ride around the lake on a 100 year old coal-fired steamship. This steamship is a throwback to Queenstown’s days as a gold mining destination.