'Above all do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness.
I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.
But sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill ... thus if one just keeps walking, everything will be alright.'
Soren Kierkegaard, quoting words attributed to Buddha, in a letter, 1847
New Zealand’s Great Walks are described below and detailed on the accompanying maps. The route descriptions have been laid out on a daily basis, although you may choose to create your own itineraries.
ROUTE MAPS
Scales and walking times
For each Great Walk, there is an overview map that shows the whole route and puts all the huts into context. This is drawn at a larger scale (ie less detailed) to the route maps that correspond to each day’s tramping.
These route maps are drawn to a variety of scales of between 1:40,000 and 1:80,000 in order to ensure that each map represents one full day’s tramping from hut to hut.
Within each tramp the day by day maps are drawn at the same scale as each other so as to provide a consistent level of detail. However, the map scale of each Great Walk varies slightly from one track to the next, depending upon the length and distance covered in the course of each tramp.
Approximate walking times are also indicated on each map. There are too many factors that can affect walking speed, such as the size of the group, level of fitness and the state of the weather; as such, they should be used as a rough guide only.
Note that they refer to walking time only and do not include any time for breaks or food. The arrows show to which direction the walking time refers. Finally, there are map keys on p262.
Gradient arrows
The track is marked as a dotted line. An arrow across the trail indicates a slope and always points uphill. Two arrows placed close together means that the gradient is steep.
Note that the arrow points towards the higher part of the trail. If, for example, you are walking from A (at 80m) to B (at 200m) and the trail between the two is short and steep, it would be shown thus: A - - - >> - - - B.
Fees
In the following guide, where fees vary according to age, a child is deemed to be 14 years and under and an adult 15 years and over. School age and youth groups are defined as those aged 17 and under.
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