And the dog came too... dog walks in New Zealand
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • Notes for Users
  • Alarums and Excursions!!
  • South Island
    • North-West >
      • Atua Stream Walk
      • Barnicoat
      • Ben Nevis
      • Botanical Hill
      • Boulder Bank
      • Brooklyn
      • Collingwood Beach
      • Collingwood Cemetery
      • Cotterell Road
      • Dellside
      • Dicker Road
      • Dominion Flats
      • Eves Valley Road
      • Faulkner Bush
      • Grampians
      • Great Taste Trail - Richmond
      • Great Taste Trail - Kohatu
      • Great Taste Trail - Wakefield
      • Hacket Valley
      • Hoddy Estuary Reserve
      • Hoddy Road
      • Kawatiri Rail Tunnel walk
      • Kina Beach
      • Maitai Valley
      • Mapua Headland
      • Marahau Beach
      • Marahau Forest
      • Mead Stream
      • Milnthorpe Forest
      • Motueka Inlet
      • Motueka Spit
      • Pakawau Beach
      • Paton's Rock
      • Paynes Ford Tramline Track
      • Pearse Valley
      • Pohara Beach
      • Rameka Creek
      • Red Hills
      • Ridgeview Road Walkway
      • Robson Reserve
      • Rough Island
      • Sharlands
      • Split Apple Rock
      • Stagecoach Road
      • St Arnaud Loop Walk
      • Tahunanui Beach
      • Tantragee
      • Tasman View Road
      • Teetotal
      • Two Rivers
      • Waimea Fish-Out Ponds
      • Waimea River Trail
      • Wairoa River Left Branch
      • Waiwhero Forest
      • Waiwhero Ridge
    • North-East >
      • Archer's Track
      • Blairich Reserve
      • Cullen Creek
      • Cullen Point
      • Davies Bay Track
      • Esson's Valley Tracks
      • Goulter River
      • Grovetown Lagoon
      • Half Moon Track
      • Kotuku Trail
      • Lake Chalice
      • Link Trail East
      • Link Trail West
      • Lower Wairau
      • Mount Baldy and Mount Royal
      • Mount Barrett Walkway
      • Mount Fell
      • Mount Fishtail
      • Mount Richmond
      • Mount Riley
      • Mount Robertson
      • Mount Stokes
      • Mount Takorika
      • Ngakuta Bay
      • Nydia Track
      • Opouri Bridle Track
      • Patutu Walk
      • Pelorus Track
      • Piwakawa Track
      • Rarangi
      • Sawcut Gorge
      • Snout Tracks
      • Taylor's Valley
      • Tirohanga
      • Wairau River
      • Wakamarina Track
    • West >
      • Alborns Track
      • Big Rimu Tree walk
      • Charming Creek
      • Chasm Creek
      • Coalbrookdale
      • Denniston Historic Walkway
      • Denniston Plateau
      • Gentle Annie Point walk
      • Goldsborough Tracks
      • Haast-Paringa Cattle Track
      • Kawatiri Beach Trail
      • Kawatiri River Trail
      • Kumara Community walks
      • Lake Hanlon
      • Larry's Creek
      • Mikonui River
      • Millerton Bathhouse Track
      • Moeraki Valley Track
      • Mokihinui Stopbank
      • Mount Adams
      • Mount Glasgow
      • Mount Haast Route
      • Murchison Tree Walks
      • Murray Creek
      • Old Ghost Road
      • Porika Road
      • Powerhouse and Lookout Walks
      • Progress Water Race
      • Ross Goldfield Walks
      • Skyline Walk
      • Stafford Bay Loop
      • Wanganui River
      • Whataroa Walks
      • Whitcombe Loop Tracks
      • Whitcombe Valley Track
      • Zig-Zag Track
    • Central-North >
      • Balmoral Lookout
      • Bottle Lake
      • Cheviot Hills Reserve
      • Childrens Bay Farm
      • Craigieburn Forest
      • Culverden Domain
      • Diamond Harbour
      • Ellangowan Scenic Reserve
      • Garden of Tane
      • Godley Head
      • Governors Bay
      • Halswell Quarry
      • Hanmer Forest Walks
      • H W Hart Arboretum
      • Ka Whata Tu o Rakihouia
      • Kaikoura Trail
      • Kowai Bush Reserve
      • Kowai River
      • Lyttleton Coastal Walk
      • Lytteleton Hills
      • McCleans Forest
      • McHughs Forest Park
      • Mears Bush
      • Mount Grey
      • Mount Oxford
      • Mount Richardson
      • Mount Thomas
      • Newton Falls
      • Ngaio Point
      • Panama Rock
      • Pegasus Bay
      • Rakahuri River
      • Sign of the Bellbird
      • Sign of the Kiwi
      • St James Conservation Park
      • Tutakakahikura Scenic Reserve​
      • Victoria Park
      • West Melton Forest
      • Woodills North
      • Woodills South
    • Central-South >
      • Ahuriri East Branch
      • Ahuriri Valley Tracks
      • Ashburton River
      • Benmore Peninsula
      • Centennial Park
      • Cowan's Hill
      • Dingle Burn
      • Double Hill
      • Freehold Creek
      • Greta and Dorcy Tracks
      • Gunns Bush
      • Hook Bush
      • Huxley and Hopkins Valleys
      • Kelceys Bush
      • Knottingly Park
      • Lake Emma walk
      • Lake Emily Tracks
      • Lake Hood
      • Lake Ohau Track
      • Lake Opuha Walk
      • Lake Tekapo Lakeside Walk
      • Lake Tekapo Regional Park
      • Lake Wainono
      • Lower Opihi River Track
      • Macaulay River walk
      • Methven walkway
      • Mount Barrosa
      • Mount Sunday & Mount Potts
      • Opihi River Walkway
      • Orari River Mountain Bike Tracks
      • Pareora River
      • Pioneer Park
      • Potts River Walks
      • Quailburn Track
      • Saltwater Creek
      • Snowy Gorge
      • Talbot Forest
      • Temple Valley Tracks
      • Waihao River
      • Waihi River Walk
      • Waimate Creek walks
      • Waitohi Bush
    • South-East >
      • Alexandra Anniversary Walk
      • Arawata Bridle Track
      • Arrow Gorge Loop
      • Arrowtown Millennium Track
      • Bannockburn Sluicings
      • Bob's Cove and Twelve Mile Delta
      • Boundary Creek
      • Bull Creek
      • Bullendale Track
      • Butcher's Dam
      • Central Otago Rail Trail
      • Chrystals Beach
      • Clutha Riverside Track
      • Commissioner's Track
      • Conroy's Dam
      • Cromwell-Pisa Walkway
      • Crystal Battery
      • Deans Bank Track
      • Diamond Creek Track
      • Dunedin Walks
      • Earnscleugh Tailings
      • Flagstaff Hill
      • Frankton Arm Walkway
      • Gabriel's Gully
      • Gibbston River Trail
      • Gladstone Track
      • Glendhu Bay Track
      • Glenorchy Boardwalk
      • Grovers Hill
      • Hawea River Track
      • Huriawa Pa Walk
      • Kanuka Loop
      • Lake Alta Track
      • Lake Hayes Trail
      • Lakeside Walk
      • Leith Saddle
      • Long Beach
      • Mapoutahi
      • Mosgiel Floodbank
      • Mount Cargill
      • Mount Crichton Loop
      • Mount Iron Track
      • Munro's Gully
      • Naseby Forest
      • Nevis Valley Tracks
      • Newcastle Track
      • One MIle Creek
      • Oteake Conservation Park
      • Outram Glen
      • Quartz Reef
      • St Bathans
      • Trotters Gorge
    • South-West >
      • Blair Athol Walkway
      • Boyd Creek
      • Manapouri cycleway
      • McLean Falls
      • The Bluff
  • North Island
    • Auckland & Waiheke
    • Coromandel & North Waikato
    • Wellington
    • The North
    • Manawatu & Wairarapa
    • The East
    • Taranaki & Central
  • Useful Links
  • Progress Water Race
  • Rock and Pillar Conservation Park
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
A note on the site

This site is constantly being updated as I discover and explore new walks. At times, descriptions of sites might be incomplete, while I wait for the chance to do further editing. For the same reason, the regional maps and accompanying hyperlinks that take you to the detailed descriptions may not always exactly match (e.g. there may be new sites listed that do not occur on the maps). Please accept these as unavoidable difficulties of maintaining a website such as this. But if you note any real errors, please inform me via the email: andthedogcametoo@gmail.com


A note on names

The names of walks are often somewhat informal, and are not always consistent in different sources. In general, I've tried to use the names here which seem most widely recognised, but in some cases have adapted them or invented names of my own, to avoid confusion between different locations. 

As a literary pedant I would also have liked to sort out the absent apostrophes which bedevil many possessive place names in New Zealand - e.g. McCleans Forest and Kelceys Bush (and when I've done that. move on to all the other errors of grammatical omission and commission that offend me every day). However, it soon became apparent that this would make it difficult for users who wanted to find the walks in other databases. So, with a few exceptions where I couldn't resist, I've left them as they are. But it really does hurt! 

 
A note on the maps

Many of the maps on this website have been compiled in QGIS, a public domain geographic information system, using data obtained from LINZ, under the Creative Commons Agreement. The wonderful facilities offered by both these initiatives are gratefully acknowledged. Any errors, however, are my own.

​Most of the walks on this site will ultimately include maps showing the layout of the walk. It should be noted that many of these are indicative only, for they have largely been based either on field sketches done when walking the routes, or from simple maps displayed at the site or produced by the local community. Others have been mapped using GPS, but since I haven't yet managed to do all the walks on the site in their entirety, these are inevitably limited in number. So don't be surprised if the details of the path differ from what's shown on the map - and don't blame me if you get lost! 

A note on the classifications

I've endeavoured to classify all the walks in terms of their length, level of difficulty and status. Sometimes these are no more than best guesses, because of the lack of definitive information, so please recognise that they may not be accurate, and if you're in any doubt check the 'Further Information' that I've suggested. These classifications are applied as follows:

Distance is given in kilometres (usually to the nearest half-kilometre). For loop walks the distance refers to the complete loop; for linear walks (i.e. simple there-and-back) and networks (i.e. more complex configurations) the length is one-way: you need to double the length for the return journey!


Grade is defined in terms of four categories:
  • Simple: generally flat, well-formed and easy paths which anyone with a reasonable level of fitness can walk;    
  • Moderate: undulating paths, or paths with some hills, and/or rather rough underfoot; requires some degree of effort to complete;
  • Difficult: walks that contain steep uphill sections and/or significant obstacles such as stream crossings, but are generally clearly marked. Suitable only for fit walkers with some tramping experience;
  • Severe: back country walks that require good tramping skills; often poorly marked and involving serious challenges. Don't attempt unless you are experienced and well-equipped. 

Status is defined as on-leash or off-leash (or varied if different rules apply in different sections), according to the information I've been able to find. In some cases, where official sources are unavailable of ambiguous (e.g. with many DoC sites), I've used my best judgement to determine the status. If dogs are clearly permitted, but the status otherwise uncertain, I've defined the paths as 'on-leash'. Note that, even on off-leash paths, dogs must be under control - e.g. directly responsive to voice commands. Land owners in NZ are all too willing to complain about dog access, so please don't give them more cause to do so!  
If you've found this website helpful, you might also want to look at some of my novels and poetry. These, like my dog-walking, are drawn from a love of nature and the countryside. To learn more, click here.