South Island, New Zealand · 11 days · 155 miles · 4 tracks
New Zealand Hiking Guide
In November 2023 I walked four tracks on New Zealand's South Island in three weeks: the Rees-Dart with two friends, the Kepler, the Routeburn solo with a wild camp at Lake Wilson, and the Milford on a guided walk. This guide has my GPS files, maps and notes for all 11 days, plus how the Great Walk hut bookings work and what they cost for 2026-27, every shuttle and boat between the trailheads, and what's changed since, including the Dart Track closure.
What's inside
- All 11 days. Stats, time to allow, my notes, the trail, where to get off, a map with an elevation profile, and links to that day in my films.
- My GPX files. My own recordings for each day, plus one file per track with waypoints for the huts, campsites, trailheads and passes, ready for AllTrails, Gaia GPS, Garmin or Organic Maps.
- Booking the huts. How the DOC Great Walks booking day works, the 2026-27 opening dates and prices for international visitors and residents, and the Rees-Dart huts.
- Guided or independent. What the guided Milford includes and costs, and the independent four-day hut plan you can book yourself.
- Shuttles, buses and boats. Info & Track, Tracknet, the Kepler water taxi and the Milford boats, with 2026-27 times and fares, and how I got to each track.
- Camping, explained. Where you can and can't camp on each track, and the rules around my Lake Wilson camp.
- Other ways to do it. The standard four-day Kepler, the Routeburn in three days, the Rees-Dart while the Dart Track is closed, and all four in about three weeks.
- Before you go and a trip sheet. One page of year-to-year checks and a printable one-page summary of all four tracks.
Look inside
The details
- Format
- A 79-page PDF sized for a phone (A5, prints fine too) and a folder of GPX files, in one zip download.
- Edition
- 2026-27 season edition, updated September 2026.
- Delivery
- Instant. After you pay you get a private download link. Bookmark it to download again on any device.
- Payment
- Secure checkout through Stripe. The price is in US dollars, and sales tax or VAT is added where it applies.
- Questions
- Email kraig@kraigadams.com.
Get the next guide
I'm making guides for more of my hikes, and I host a group trip about once a year. Get an email when a new guide or trip is out. A few emails a year.