[Rob K]

Hello,

We have been in the Manawatu for about 3 months now and are really enjoying all the tramping that you can do in the area. We would like to start discovering other areas and we were wondering if anybody has suggestions about specific trails in Taraniki, Hawke's Bay, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty. We have young children (9, 6, 5, and 2) so we do not tend to do walks over 4 hours, and that is a factor.

For all of you in the Manawatu, here are some great family walks (the estimated times are based on what it took us with our crew):
* Around Palmerston North:
- The Manawatu Gorge Walk (about 3 hours of easy tramping from one end of the gorge to the other through beautiful forest with a few viewpoints)
- Kahuterawa Road Walk (about 2 hours up through forest with the bonus of having to cross a few creeks - a lot of fun for kids!). A few kms before the start of the trail, you also come to a reserve along the river - a great picnic spot. You can also drive to the end of Scotts Rd and get a great view of the Manawatu, and even the ocean, Mt Ruapehu and Taranaki on a clear day).
- Upper Turitea Walk starting at the end of Turitea Rd - easy walk through the bush.
- The Totara Reserve Park north of Pohangina also has a lot of nice family walks.

We also did one in the Ohau Gorge west of Levin in the Tararuas where you cross private land (and get very muddy in the process!) and then you get into the bush and follow the Ohau river. We only went up for about 90 mns because we started late, but there are several huts in the area and you can really get lost for a few days there. I can't remember the name of that walk, but if anyone is interested, I will look it up.

Last Sunday we went to the Rangiwahia Hut (about a 90 mn drive north of Palmerston North). Already from the carpark you can see Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauru-hoe and apparently Taranaki (the weather was not clear enough that day to see the latter). It is a nice walk on a well-defined trail to the hut, but at one point, you have to take a detour because of a landslide (a legacy I guess from the floods of 2004). You end up going up trough a rough trail for about 45 mns and it is very steep, but great fun for kids - ours told us that was their favourite part. You then cross a stream and finally arrive at the hut after about 1h45 mns from the carpark and the view is really beautiful.

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions,

Sandrine

[nessie]

Have a look at http://www.tramper.co.nz/index.cfm/ posted elsewhere. Browsing the site from the UK it looks fantastic, hope its half as good there.

F

[Rob K]

Thanks Nessie,

I had already browsed that website. I just wanted suggestions from people from this forum (especially those with children) who had actually done some of the walks in the areas I mentioned. All the books and sites I had come across featured mostly very long walks or backcountry tramping.

I have since been to the PN library and found a great collection of books that describe days walks in various NZ areas (Days Walks of Northland, Days Walks of Greater Wellington, Days Walks of Nelson, etc). The walks take from 15 mns to a full day. Here is the link to the publishing company :http://www.reed.co.nz/products.cfm?categoryid=78

Each walk has the following comments:
*track grade (level of difficulty)
*estimated time
*access
*track notes
*points of interest

All in all, excellent guides for families with young ones or for people who don't embark on an overnight tramp. They're exactly what I was looking for.

Sandrine

[Paul and Linda]

Hi Sandrine, we would love to meet up and go tramping with you, perhaps Diny and the boys could come too?

Our two boys, Thomas and Jonathan are 4 and 7 and would love to meet some other kids. We'd love to meet you all and maybe shed some of my UK-couch-potato and immigration-stress-induced big daddy belly.

Have you bought walking boots locally on arrival, we all need to be kitted out with some (mine fell apart last year and I sorely miss them, (pun intended!, sorry))

What sort of car are you using to access these trails, will we need a 4x4, because this is exactly the sort of stuff we are coming to NZ to do, (that and gigantic holes/castles on the beach, learning to surf and ski, and attempting to go to my grave at a very late age without never having done a bungy!!!!!).

Hopefully we will be arriving w/c 19th September.

Cheers

Paul and Linda

[Rob K]

Hi Paul,

Walking/hiking boots are to be found all over NZ at just about any price range. I got a pair in Christchurch for around $150, that have served me very well. I do just about everything in them: hike, work, etc.

Don't think a fancy 4x4 is necessary. We bought a used 4WD minivan in Chch, and it has served us very well. We've been on many very deserted back roads here, and the quality of even the gravel roads is such that you probably could get by without 4WD.

Look forward to meeting you and your family on your arrival...

Cheers,

Rob