New Zealand DOC Great Walks, book early

[wayno]

I see and hear about it a lot. people come from overseas to walk one of the great walks, they either dont realise you have to book them to get on or they dont realise you need to book well in advance at certain times of the year,
or they look online in advance and see loads of spare places and decide to make their decision about where and when they will walk when they get there,
If you turn up at a doc office the day before you want to walk them in peak season, you're going to be out of luck
the milford track books out months in advance, the only people getting on the track with late notice are the very few who get places from late cancellations or no shows...
what then happens is they look around for other scenic tramps to do, and they usually end up doing tracks that don't require booking in the area, especially around fiordland and aspiring parks those other tracks are overflowing with people because of the scenario i described, you wont' be guaranteed a bunk or even a tent space at the small doc campsites, you wont even be guaranteed being able to sleep inside the hut it could be so full...
or they end up on trips where the facilities are a lot less than they expect, basic huts that are too hot or too cold, no stoves. maybe no mattresses, or on very rough tracks that take good navigation skills to follow or even find which is what a good majority of the tracks in nz can be like.... the great walk tracks are the exception rather than the rule...

https://booking.doc.govt.nz/

[ninjapuppet]

thats true.

It also pays to check back frequently too, as people do cancel. as the weather turned bad last week, climbing was put on hold so we were scratching our heads about what to do... went online last sunday and voila, a few spots opened up on the routeburn so we booked for the following day.

on the Routeburn, a few parties were telling us they had to skip the falls hut as it was booked out in October but we managed to squeeze in. Luck i guess.

[wayno]

i think about 11am any tickets not collected on the day are supposed to go for resale. provided you can get yourself onto the track that day, not so practical for the milford.
some people dont collect their tickets and go straight onto the track. i've never seen double ups on space though

[flatfoot]

My work plans changed for January so back in October I realised I had time for a walk. When I looked into walking the Milford Track, there was only one gap for 1 person for Dec 14. That didn't suit so I booked on the guided walk instead. A good way to celebrate my birthday next week

[wayno]

My work plans changed for January so back in October I realised I had time for a walk. When I looked into walking the Milford Track, there was only one gap for 1 person for Dec 14. That didn't suit so I booked on the guided walk instead. A good way to celebrate my birthday next week

the guided walk is rather dangerous, once you see how much alcohol they serve he he

[roysta]

My wife did the guided walk a few years ago and at the end said she felt like a fraud.
I do agree with her, it's not exactly difficult.

[icemancometh]

Neither is doing it without the guide though

And it doesn't have to be hardto be fun (not that bushwalking is hard, just fun!)

[wayno]

a lot of the guided walkers are older or they are families, popular with asians. dont see so many young fit looking adults doing it and more of those are women.
but its not like there are great safety issues travelling alone on the great walks, no one gets lost, and there are plenty of other people around, and all pretty friendly.
apart from luxury accomodation they only save a few kilos in pack weight, they still have to carry all their clothes. they only save on a sleeping bag and breakfasts, dinners, cooking pots.. and for that you'll be paying a thousand or more depending on the track.. and that gets you a bunk room sharing with four, to get a bedroom is even more...

[roysta]

You're right Wayne, anyone with half decent fitness can do many of these walks.
Why the hell you'd want to pay $1500 or more for something you could do for $350 independently I would never know.

[Rob A]

You do "Awk walks" so that the volunteers who sign up to do track maintenance for DOCs have something to ....... ummm .

I guess a lot of people doing these have no experience often no english language and dont have the time or capacity the to organise what it takes to go hiking. Its easier to sign up for a trip in your home country with itinerary and all connections and accommodation taken care of.

Kiwi makes a packet out of it. Thats good isnt it?

[wayno]

You're right Wayne, anyone with half decent fitness can do many of these walks.
Why the hell you'd want to pay $1500 or more for something you could do for $350 independently I would never know.

asians are more likely to go for the guided walks, not sure if its lack of experience or confidence about doing a freedom walk.

older people wanting more comfort for ageing bodies at the end of the day? less wear and tear carrying less weight?

mind you gear choice does make a difference, if you choose gear correctly there won't be a big weight difference between guided and non guided, i'm not an ultralight tramper but i have replaced my older heavier gear for lighter gear that took several kilos off my gear.

a friend of mine said the guided walks will do big specials if they are having trouble getting the numbers. she did the milford and it hosed her off that others saved hundreds, cant remember but it was a big discount possibly half. hell i'd consider trying a guided walk for half price just to see what its like,
can see them from routeburn falls hut in the afternoon, sipping wine or beer from their balcony in the afternoon, having had their showers.....
it's flash accomodation even before you take into account it's in the middle of nowhere,.

mind you doc is making more flash huts these days.. waihohonu on the tongariro northern circuit has two massive windows that look out onto ngauruhoe..
http://tramper.co.nz/files/objectversio ... %20hut.jpg

if the sun is out or you light a fire you can get running hot water from a tap,

[under10kg]

Bit off topic but I would consider a guided walk on the overland track in Tasi.
Taking my girlfriend, double bed in a room to myself and my lover and hot showers would make it pretty romanic!
Only thing that could put me off (apart from the $5000) would be if they insisted that I wear boots rather than my 200 gm runners!

[wayno]

he he, you're opening a real can of worms there, opinion is divided about the luxury tracks, I think you'll find there is a camp that thinks those walks shouldnt become established.
you do the freedom walk on the great walks and at routeburn falls hut you can see the guided walkers hut next door, in the afternoon they sit on the balcony, sipping on the provided spirits..... you're either of two minds, jealous or unhappy that you should have the luxury accom so in your face. it's a hotel sprawling in the bush. Also when the weather is really rough you see the guided walkers get ferried by helicopter from hut to hut
i was there on time and they were doing work on the guided hut, all day long the helicopter flew up and down the routeburn valley......
DOC use the helicopters too bit i've never seen them use them to that extent....
its a big question at the moment as to what facitilites you allow on and near the walks.
theres a proposal to drill a tunnel under the routeburn to speed the trip to milford sound from queenstown, but that will mean a lot of heavy contruction traffic and work near the track and all the visual and noise pollution it entails...
different regions of DOC in nz make their own decisions on what infrastructure comes into th park, so it can vary. fiordland is going ahead with hut upgrades while aspiring park has a blanket ban on any expansion , they are going to put a cap on numbers on one of the most popular tracks in aspiring during peak months, the rees dart, with the cap on accomodation it's asking to overload surrrounding accom with overflow...
the promoting of the most popular nz tracks brings in too many people for the tracks to cope with in peak season meaning otherwise quiet areas get overrun as well....
development of more accomodation in other areas barely keeps pace with expending no's, one new great walk is being built around lake tarawera, next to Rotorua, I expect that will be saturated during the summer season in its first year. , i'm not aware of any other great walks. doc are being encouraged by the govt to work more closely with commercial businesses to fund their operation. that is polarising attitudes. it's hard to know how this will impact national parks going forward.