Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
One of the best websites for Kiwi hikers is backcountryNZ.com
It is edited by Jan Robertson from Auckland. He is a conservationist who likes nothing better than to tramp and photograph the astonishing New Zealand outdoors.
BestHike.com links to many of his hiking pages.
I am a big fan of coastal hikes. In fact, I rank the best hike in the World the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, in Canada.
To me coastal hiking is like mountain hiking, with the added treat of the ocean! Since I grew up 12hrs drive from the sea, perhaps it is still a novelty.
Whie sand beaches, aquamarine lagoons, picture perfect bays! One Israeli referred to Abel Tasman as hiking Gilligan’s Island.
51km (32.6mi), 5-days, 4-nights, this is the most popular multi-day hike in New Zealand. It’s ideal for all levels of experience and fitness.
Fivefingers are “shoes” designed to provide support and protection for your tender feets while still keeping the sensation of traipsing around barefoot.
Ted McDonald (aka “Barefoot Ted”) recently ran the Boston Marathon in Fivefingers.
2Dolphins.com Blog: Fivefingers For Your Ten Toes
Who wants to try wearing them on a multi-day hike?
The Finest Walk in the World.
That’s the tag line inevitably associated with the Milford Track on the South Island of New Zealand. It’s almost always wrongly attributed to Kiwi Poet Blanche Baughan. Her original title — A Notable Walk — was changed by an editor when printed in the London Spectator, 1908.
Serious hikers often make the Milford pilgrimage so they can legitimately rank it below more favourite treks.
In reality, Milford is a wonderful hike. Lakes, crystalline rivers, huge waterfalls, kooky birdlife, rainforest, and, of course, arriving at fantastic Milford Sound.
Web expert and adventure traveller — Mark Moxon is one of best sources of hiking information on the internet. His hiking site is LongDistanceWalks.com
I particularly like his Greatest Walks section.
There you will find his “trippiest tales”, the unusual and bizarre.
besthike.com links to many of Mark’s travelogues.
You may have heard of this adventure. It’s a long walk down the beautiful coast of New South Wales. A thru-hike for normal people.
David and Pennie Briese dreamed it. And then achieved it. Congratulations!
… time to walk, time to reflect and time to rejuvenate.
… splendid isolated beaches, around magnificent rock platforms, over windswept cliffs and headlands, though superb untouched forest, and past wetlands and lakes filled with birds.
Sounds lovely. But New South Wales is quite developed. They enjoyed a cold beer at the end of most stages!
There is no hiker more famous than Ray Jardine. He is often credited with igniting the light weight hiking revolution.
Jardine championed hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail using only lightweight gear.
He replaced tent with a tarp & sleeping bag with a quilt. He advises that we make & modify our own gear.
His controversial book Beyond Backpacking (1999) is now the Bible for many thru-hikers.
In his spare time, Jardine rowed across the Atlantic, kayaked to the Arctic Ocean, cycled across America twice, and canoed the sub-Arctic wilderness.
Oh, and he invented the “Friend” used by all elite rock climbers.
Wow. A wiki dedicated to the wonderful but still somewhat obscure sport of canyoneering … or canyoning. (The use of these words and what they mean is still being debated.)
The best trips involves abseiling down through waterfalls.
But canyoning can also involve hiking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, swimming and “li-loing” (using an inflatable air mattress).
The best day hike in the world, we reckon.
Especially if you have never hiked around active volcanos. It’s fascinating.
You can warm yourself at steaming vents, scree down volcanic scoria, marvel at aquamarine water filled explosion holes, tramp craters & puzzle at bizarre volcanic formations.
Wait for good weather before setting out. Wind & low cloud sometimes make this hike a miserable slog in the fog.
I love the MSR Hubba (maximum) 3.5lbs (1.6kg).
But the recent record holder for lightest commercial 2-skin tent is the Terra Nova Laserlite (maximum) 2.75lbs (1.25kg).
How much lighter can they go? Silicon-injected nylon is very, very lightweight.
Product details — terra-nova.co.uk tents
besthike.com 