New Zealand Great Walks

The government of New Zealand is very proud of its corner of the planet and, although this wasn't always the case, there is a lot of ongoing effort to conserve and preserve the wilderness. Since the best way to experience these areas is to get out in them, the Department of Conservation controls human impact by encouraging trampers to access the wilderness via nine Great Walk tramping tracks. The tracks are maintained to a very high standard and the huts on some tracks are serviced with wardens, flush toilets, heating, gas for cooking, and other comforts during peak season, so although most of them could be run in a day (the longest track, The Heaphy Track, is 78.4 km), people carry packs, take their time, and stop overnight at the huts.

All of that was really just a lead up to me saying, I LOVE THE GREAT WALKS! I want to run every inch of every one of them. Since the farthest I can convince Ruben to run is 12 miles return, running friends take note. The following photos are recruitment propaganda. By the way, the Accident Compensation Corporation provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all New Zealand residents and visitors, so really, there's no risk whatsoever.

Moturau Hut

This is a manuka tree, the flower from which bees feast to make manuka honey.

This little hut is a map station along the track. The gutters feed into the black rain barrel,
which has a spigot for filling drink bottles. No one is squeamish about drinking rainwater or streamwater.
Must be the ACC.

Late-breaking news: There was unusually heavy rainfall just a few days after R and I were in the Fiordlands. The newspaper said 400 mm. The Department of Conservation had to close the Milford Track. Look at the pictures of these sad, sad people coming off water taxi to the the track after being stuck in a hut for several days.