New Zealand is blessed with some of the most spectacular hiking in the world, and because of this country’s compact dimensions they’re all easily accessible. The Department of Conservation (aka DOC) lists eleven Great Walks on their website. Three are in the North Island, seven in the South Island, and one on Stewart Island. All can be completed in five days or less, with three days being the average estimated duration.
Many of the Outside Sports team have done some or all these walks (and many of the much longer ones like the Te Araroa as well). This article gives you the benefit of their combined knowledge, so you can pack smart when you tackle one of these walks, or head away on your own path.
Outside Sports - New Zealand's Leading Hiking Outfitters
A recent Outside Sport adventure guide took a deep dive into hiking gear for New Zealandand what is most appropriate to the conditions you’re likely to encounter in our summer hiking season. This one takes a slightly different tack as it’s more of packing checklist for 2-5 day hikes, where you might be overnighting in a mixture of huts and shelters, and tenting.
Your Backpack - Choosing the Right Pack Volume
For a two-night hike on one of the Great Walks trails you can probably squeeze most of the gear into a 40 litre pack. However a 60 litre pack won’t add too much more weight and is more versatile, so that’s size we recommend to most hikers. It will cover you for shorter hikes and let you carry everything you need for longer adventures. It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!
Even if you’re hiking in the middle of summer, don’t think it won’t rain. New Zealand is notorious for it.Choose a waterproof pack! Adding a rain cover is a great idea too, so you don’t have to bring a streaming wet pack into your hut or tent.
Hack: use a plastic rubbish bag to line the inside of your pack. You’ll be happy you did if you take a tumble on a slippery rock while crossing a stream.
Tent Advice
On some Great Walks you’ll be guaranteed of a spot in a DOC hut. One others it might be the luck of the draw whether you get one or not. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to have a tent with you. The size of the tent you take depends on the number of people in your group and your sleeping arrangements.
It is worth spending the money to get a durable and lightweight hiking tent from MSR, Nemo, Orson, and The North Face, or Salewa. Tents are one of the items where it’s definitely worth paying for quality.
Sleep Systems
A good night’s sleep is worth its weight in gold on a Great Walk. Not only will you enjoy the experience more, it’s safer too, as fatigue can result in poor decision making.
Our most popular stoves areJetboil, and MSR, with Gasmateproviding a good budget option. Remember to take a backup lighter with you in case the in-built igniter fails!
Stove Fuel
We sell a lot of fuel canisters throughout the season. Because of its special burner system Jetboil tends to use the least fuel so you need to take fewer canisters with you, saving space and weight.
Food, Water and Cooking
Freeze-dried and dehydrated foods in sachets are the way to go because they pack a lot of nutrition into a very compact and lightweight package. The range of options we have at Outside Sports is amazing letting you dine in style anywhere. Also consider keeping your food separate in your packin a drybag like this one from Sea To Summit to keep the moisture out.
You’ll also need to pack cutlery, and lightweight crockery to eat and drink from. A Swiss Army knife or a multitool like a Leatherman is also a must for chopping and cutting fruit and vegies – and general use on the trail.
Water Purification
Because you never know for sure what’s in the water upstream or in the hut’s water supply it’s wise to purify all water before drinking it. That means boiling your water for at least 5 minutes, or using Aquatabs and a quality water filtration system.
Hydration and Water Containers
You will need to drink at least two to three litres of water a day – more if it's hot and you’re hiking in hilly terrain. Running short of water will ruin your hike and could be dangerous to your health, so you must take water with you, regardless of whether or notyou expect to find water supplies along the trail. We have a range of lightweight bottles, flasks and reservoirs that keep weight to a minimum.
Choosing the Right clothes for Hiking
The saying ‘four seasons in one day’ is never truer than in the South Island of New Zealand, so you need to be prepared for a wide temperature variation throughout the day: heavy rain, cold winds, and hot sunshine. Experienced hikers love merino underwear, base layers and socks because it has natural odor resistance, and it’sself-cleaning to a certain degree. We have New Zealand’s best merino collection with the full range from Icebreaker, Le Bent, Mons Royale, Smartwool and other leading brands.
Hiking Clothes Packing Checklist
The golden rule is don’t overpack. Choose fabrics that are quick drying and light. Hack: It’s better to wear shorts if it’s raining – legs are much faster to dry than pants.
Two pairs of undies (you can rinse them out at night)
Hack: For the Great Walks in summer most people prefer the comfort of hiking shoes over hiking boots. Most trails are relatively smoothso you don’t need the added ankle support of boots, which are better suited to alpine hiking over rough, rocky terrain.
Phones and Electronics
Coverage is intermittent at best on many of the Great Walks, but you’llprobably still want your phone for taking pictures and video, navigation, reading ebooks etc. Power sources can also be tricky to find so bring an external power bank and your charging cables. Ziplock bags are great for keeping them all organised and dry.
A head torch is brilliant for moving around after dark.
Toiletries and Hygiene
We have most of these items at Outsides Sports in our extensive hiking and camping section,the remained are easy to find at any supermarket or pharmacy. Keep everything organised and minimise spills with ziplock bags.
Baby wipes – great to help youfeel fresh and clean
Hand sanitiser – for cleaning cuts and blisters, and hand cleaning
Toilet paper
Toothbrush and paste
Paw Paw ointment for chapped lips
Anti Chafing balm
Insect repellent – because sandflies!
Sunscreen
Ibuprofen
Ear plugs – for sleeping in huts
Basic first aid kit with sticking plasters, bandages
Survival bag
Towel
Excellent Extras
Hiking poles make walking easier by spreading the load and also add stability over rocky ground and for crossing streams. We have lots of options, but here are some really nice shock-absorbing hiking poles from LEKI.
Duct tape – you can use it to repair rips in gear and clothes, and in emergencies as a bandage!
Trail Guides
DOC has an outline of all the Great Walkson their website, you can also buy a Hut Pass to use their network of hikers huts. The Te Araroa Trail Trust has a fantastic trail navigation app with GPS maps and trail notes. If you’re a registered TA walker there are also benefits at Outside Sports including a 10% donation of the value of your first purchase to the TA Trail Trust, a 10% discount, and ongoing loyalty discounts.
