Summer prices for huts on the Milford Track are up $40 per night for international visitors to $110, while NZ residents have an $8 increase to $78. The Kepler and Routeburn are up $37 for internationals ($102) but only $3 for NZ residents ($68). The popularity of Rakiura over the last year has seen its hut prices bumped up $32 for internationals ($56 per night) and $13 for locals ($37). On the flip side, the Whanganui Journey will be a bit cheaper for all hikers while the Lake Waikaremoana Track and Paparoa Track are unchanged. DOC Heritage and Visitors Director, Steve Taylor, said there will be other pricing changes, including the extension of the use of seasonal pricing, and the introduction of weekend pricing for a small number of DOC’s most high-use huts.
New Zealand s best autumn and winter walks and National Parks
29 Apr, 2021 05:27 PM
6 minutes to read
Aoraki: Pick a route to match your outdoor abilities. Photo / Supplied
Hibernation is for bears - get out there and soak up the winter wonderland, writes
Thomas Bywater
The days are getting shorter again, and somehow longer. New Zealand s front-loaded calendar makes much of the summer season, with March to September all but written off. This is a mistake. The milder, mellow mornings and crisp winter walks capture Aotearoa in a different light.
It is half of the year that doesn t get nearly its fair share but all that is about to change.
New Zealand s 10 best autumn and winter walks and National Parks nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A new DOC hut has been built on Fiordland s Milford Track, in a safer spot than the one it s replacing
A new DOC hut has been built on Fiordland s Milford Track, in a safer spot than the one it s replacing 29 April 2021
The Mintaro hut project has cost 3.4 million dollars - and has room for 40 people.
It also includes lodgings for a warden, a new suspension bridge, track rerouting, and a toilet block.
A DOC spokeswoman says the cost reflects the superior facilities, and the remoteness of the site.
The new hut is 1.5 kilometres from the old site - which was in the path of rockfalls, if there was a major earthquake.