Information for people travelling to NZ and planning to tramp
In NZ we talk about “tramping”. In NZ tramping is carrying all your own equipment & food, walking through our bush & mountains and staying overnight in either huts or camping in your own tent. The huts will have a mattress, some have bunks and some have large sleeping platforms. Cooking facilities will be one of gas burners, a wood/coal stove or nothing (you supply your own). No utensils are supplied.
All huts on the Great Walks (and some others) have to be prebooked through DoC and for most “Back Country Huts” you cannot book & guarantee a bunk. To stay in any “Back Country Hut” you require either a Back Country Hut Pass or you can buy tickets from the local DoC office. For more than a few nights the Back Country Hut pass is the cheapest way to go. The huts are not free !!
Federated Mountain Clubs does not organise tramping trips. There are two options for you.
- If you are staying in one centre then join one of our member clubs in that town . Go to Our clubs for a list of our member clubs
- If you are travelling around NZ and want to tramp in lots of places then join the FMC as an Individual Supporter. Go to Join FMC for details on how to do this on line.
In either case you will get a discount card which gives you a good discount on all DoC Great Walks and Back Country Hut passes. For more information on other discounts go to Discount Card
You will also get a free copy of our quarterly magazine the “Bulletin”
Some basic hut manners:
- You take your rubbish out with you. Rubbish bins are not supplied and you should not expect to burn it in the hut fireplace (if there is one)
- You don’t send fast members of your party ahead to grab bunks for slower members. Bunks in Back Country Huts are claimed as you arrive.
Department of Conservation
You will be tramping on land owned by the people of NZ and managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC). DoC provide and maintain the huts, tracks, bridges, toilets and car parks you will be using. DoC gets its funding from the NZ taxpayer and the income from Great Walks passes and Back Country Huts Passes. Some useful links are:
- Tracks and walks Information about all the DoC recreation opportunities in NZ.
- Great Walks Information about NZ’s world famous Great Walks
Safe Tramping
Although NZ is in a temperate zone the bush and mountains of NZ can have extremes of weather and be dangerous. Go to Mountain Safety Council for advice about safe tramping