Walking in New Zealand

Explore Worldwide’s escorted walking tour in New Zealand takes you from Auckland’s volcanic cityscape south through Rotorua’s geothermal steams and Māori culture, before crossing the Cook Strait to venture into the Marlborough Sounds and Abel Tasman National Park. The route traces coastal and forest walks amid native birdlife and sheltered bays.

The journey continues down the West Coast, visiting black rock overhangs at Hawks Crag and a seal colony at Tauranga Bay, before heading inland to the Southern Alps region. Walks near the retreating Franz Josef Glacier and Lake Matheson reveal the striking impact of glaciers on the landscape, while stops in Wanaka, Queenstown and Fiordland National Park bring a variety of hills, beech forests and sparkling lakes.

Highlights include the volcanic terrain of Tongariro National Park, the alpine drive to Milford Sound with its towering Mitre Peak, and an unhurried stroll along parts of the Queen Charlotte Track. The tour finishes with a city tour of Christchurch and a visit to Lake Tekapo’s Church of the Good Shepherd, leaving a last impression of New Zealand’s mix of geology, history and habitats.

These are the places the trip visits, in order. Explore Worldwide publishes the day-by-day itinerary on its own site.