Hiking in New Zealand

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, or the more so because of its unspoilt beauty, range of landscapes and compactness of all this beauty in a small area. Its more unspoilt than the West Coast USA or Japan, but sharing the mountain vistas with those countries. I must also mention that culturally NZ is far more appealing than it was 15 years ago when I first went there. There are nice bars and cafes there now, even if they are empty during the week, and even if people go there and watch TV....the proverbial football and cricket. My favourite cities are Christchurch and Wellington because they are small, compact and international, though you would wonder flying into their 'hill billy' airports lined by fibro houses.

One of the outdoor attractions of New Zealand is the walking trails. For further links on these far better than I could provide, visit the following sites:
1. www.seriousfunnewzealand.com/aboutnz/new-zealand-hiking-trails.cfm
2. www.backcountrynz.com
3. www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz
4. www.heritagetrails.org.nz
5. www.truenz.co.nz/captaincooktrail
6. www.centralotagorailtrail.co.nz
7. www.wildwalks.co.nz - walks around Mt Aspiring National Park and Lake Wanaka
8. www.trailjourneys.co.nz/testimonials.html - Central Otago walking trails
9. www.wellington.govt.nz/services/walkways
10. www.trelawnb-b.co.nz/Walking_Trails.htm - walking trails in the Queenstown & Milford Sound regions
11. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g255104-c67330/New-Zealand:Bicycling.Walking.The.Rail.Trail.html - The Rail Trail for walking or biking
12. www.atoz-nz.com/railtrail.asp
13. www.walkingsoftly.com/newzealand.htm
14. www.traildatabase.org - world database on hiking trails
15. www.nztp.net.nz/walks-trails.html
16. www.rotoruanz.com/activities/activity_detail.asp?ID=434 - walks around the hot springs of Rotorua, North Island

For commercial hiking groups consider:
1. www.puretrailsnewzealand.co.nz
2. www.milfordtourswalks.co.nz
3. www.highcountrytours.co.nz
4. www.wildflowerwalks.co.nz
5. http://centralotago.info/kagan