We work hard to remind people our popular Great Walks can book out very quickly. Just like a concert, it’s first in first served- but every year we get a high number of queries around why people couldn’t secure their desired spot.
From people asking if we gave all the best spots to tourism businesses even before bookings opened, to claims bulk bookings were being made by bots or, heaven forbid, Australians (seriously!), we’ve heard it all. This blog tackles the most common misconceptions and provides advice on how best to bag your spot on one of our fabulous Great Walks.
Myth #1: The Great Walks are all booked out
No, they aren’t – not even close!
Sure, the Milford Track is a beast that can make a liar out of that headline, but even the Milford has cancellations across the year. Meanwhile there’s so much to get excited about on the other Great Walk experiences, that’s how they earned their status after all.
Across the network of 10 Great Walks*, there’s almost always space available, especially if you’re able to be flexible with your travel plans.
Top tip: Great Walks with the most hut capacity include the Whanganui River Journey, Tongariro Northern Circuit, Lake Waikaremoana, Rakiura, Abel Tasman Coast and Heaphy tracks (especially in shoulder seasons). See graph below.
* The Hump Ridge Track is an existing multi-day walk that can be booked in advance through the Hump Ridge Track website. The track became a ‘Great Walk’ in October 2024 and will continue to be booked via the Trust’s booking system.
Myth #2: It’s just the Milford right?
Nope. We have multiple Great Walks and they are all epic. Milford is pretty special, but there are other mind-blowingly beautiful Great Walks out there offering walking (plus biking and paddling on some Great Walks) opportunities throughout the year.
Climb over old lava flows on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, look out for kiwi on Rakiura and takahē on the Heaphy, follow the footsteps of goldminers on the Paparoa, paddle down the Whanganui River and stay at a marae – every Great Walks experience is special.
Do it your way… hike, run, bike, paddle; camp or stay in a hut; do part of a walk or the whole thing.
Top tip: If it’s diversity of scenery, incredible nature (including takahē) and lush rainforest you’re after, try the Heaphy.
Myth #3: You can’t camp on a Great Walk
Milford and Paparoa tracks are the only Great Walks where campsites aren’t provided. You can book camp sites on all the other walks. We know carrying a tent, sleeping bag and mat, and all the cooking equipment you’ll need, really isn’t for everyone. But for those who are keen and able, this is a cheaper option. Camping offers heaps of capacity for groups and night-time quiet and privacy for those who want it.
Top tip: For people new to combining camping with tramping, with a warmer climate and multiple entry and exit points allowing you to do shorter trips, the Abel Tasman Coast Track would be a good place to start.
Myth #4: Half the places are taken before bookings open
No, they really aren’t! No one gets early access to the booking system: for example, my workmate has worked for DOC for 15 years and still has to book a Great Walks spot the same way everyone else does.
Agents – such as i-SITES which make bookings for customers over the counter or on the phone – and concessionaires (the majority of which are walking or kayaking guides) book Great Walks in the same way the public does (i.e., online when bookings open on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, including the details of each client).
Top tip: No one gets an advantage, so it does pay to be prepared in advance of bookings opening:
• Check our website in February to see when bookings open for each Great Walk and set a reminder in advance of bookings opening for you preferred walk.
• MUST HAVE: Make sure you have created your customer account in advance of bookings opening this year;
Since 2024 there has been one single booking system for Great Walks and all other bookable DOC accommodation (other huts, campsites and lodges) so you only need a single account for all bookable accommodation
If you don’t already have an account on the existing huts and campsites booking system you will need to create a new log in and account at https://bookings.doc.govt.nz/Web/.
• We recommend using the latest versions of Chrome, Edge or Firefox browsers. Some Safari users have been known to encounter issues. Also, having a strong internet connection will help, as losing connectivity part way thorough your booking will often lead to the loss of that booking.
• If you open the booking screen prior to the specified opening time you will need to refresh your screen when bookings open to see where there are spaces and to make your booking.
• Have a few dates in mind, and consider choosing quieter times (i.e., not New Year, long weekends, Easter etc) or less popular walks.
• Have the details of everyone in your group to hand so you can quickly enter these into the system.
• Try again for dates, as multiple group members may make duplicate booking and then drop them particularly during the first 25 minutes of bookings opening. Also try again over the coming months as people cancel.
• Finally – be prepared (like booking concert tickets remember). For peak dates and popular walks, there’s a good chance no matter how organised you are, you may not get your preferred spot. We can’t control booking demand, but we do work to operate a fair and even system.
Myth #5: Tourism businesses and bots are taking up all the spots
No, they absolutely aren’t. Our bookings data shows public/independent bookings make up 93% of total bed-nights booked. Concessionaires (e.g., guides and tourism agents) make up just 4% of bookings and 3% are school or community groups. Concessionaires must enter (into the booking system) the names and details of each person booked before the start of their booking. (Yes, we do check to make sure rules are being followed).
Across all 10 Great Walks we have more than 280,000 hut bed nights for sale.
Top tip: Not everyone has the skills, physical abilities, or confidence to set out on a multi-day tramp independently. If you’d like more support, or just want a comfy bed and hot shower at the end of the day, guided walking options might be for you, or spend a single night at just one Great Walks hut.
Myth #6: Great Walks are mainly for international visitors
Although these walks are world-famous and well loved by our international guests, they have always been popular with Kiwis. The introduction of differential pricing for international visitors (now on eight Great Walks) has led to a rise in New Zealanders accessing these walks, and, of course, the previous pandemic border restrictions saw the numbers of Kiwis on these walks go through the roof. While borders were closed 97% of bookings were from New Zealanders. Since the borders have re-opened around 30% of all bookings are from international visitors.
Top tip: You can take your children for an overnight option on most of the walks. Our recommendation would be hiking into Routeburn Flats Hut or taking a water taxi in to overnight on the Abel Tasman Coast Track.
Myth #7: “DOC should just put more huts in!”
Although we have already established there’s heaps of capacity across the 10 Great Walks, we get asked all the time why we don’t just expand huts and bunk spaces – on the Paparoa and Milford tracks in particular. The Great Walks have a limited number of bed spaces (camping space and bunks in huts), to keep numbers at an appropriate level – this ensures the natural and cultural heritage surrounding these walks is protected and that people have a high-quality experience on them.
Top tip: Most Great walks can be done in either direction so if your preferred huts are booked out going one way on a walk, try seeing if there might be availability across your preferred dates doing the walk in the opposite direction.
Myth #8: We can only do the Great Walks in the summer
With the right skills, preparation and packing, five Great Walks can be undertaken all year round: Lake Waikaremoana, Abel Tasman, Heaphy, Paparoa and Rakiura.
Due to greatly increased risks for walkers over the colder months, there is a Great Walks Season (October to April) for the southern Great Walks (Milford, Routeburn and Kepler) and Tongariro Northern Circuit and Whanganui River Journey. Outside the Great Walks Season these walks should only be attempted by fit, experienced and well-equipped people as facilities are greatly reduced and there are additional hazards such as ice underfoot, river crossings and avalanches.
Check out our Know Before You Go webpage for Alerts and preparation advice.
Top tip: Winter is generally a great time to get onto the Heaphy and Abel Tasman tracks.
In summary, we acknowledge the disappointment many may feel at not getting their spot on their preferred walk. Alongside our delight at seeing more New Zealanders than ever take up the opportunity to get onto their world-famous walks (this is what our heritage and visitor rangers and teams come to work for), we also acknowledge if 3,240 people bagged their spot on the Milford within the first hour of bookings opening, then it’s likely another 3,240 people missed out. That sucks for them. We wish we could enable all New Zealanders (even those who wouldn’t do a Great Walk if you paid them) could get out and enjoy a Great Walk (no seriously non-Great Walk people, we think you’d love it – go on).
The Great Walks are diverse and delivered locally to suit the nature of each walk and align with different National Park Management Plans, so the rules and systems do vary.
You do need to do some organising in advance. Besides booking onto the walks, you need to do your homework regarding how to ensure you are properly prepared for your adventure and there are wider logistics to sort including transport to and from the start and finish of each walk.
Our Great Walks are the popstars of the walking world. The pressure on peak dates for popular walks or walks where bed spaces are (out of necessity) limited, can certainly make the booking process competitive. We do however ensure the system has significant capacity to deal with the high demand and as a result the Milford does sell out rapidly.
We understand why customers might be surprised by how quickly space are filled, but it is a case of demand exceeding supply.
This also means some will try to get around the system by making speculative bookings or trying to on-sell their spots. Our investigations show this hasn’t been a significant issue to date, but we are onto this and have checks and balances in place to prevent it from happening. We also monitor bookings and have a team to respond where needed.
At the heart of our Great Walks booking system is a team of dedicated people ensuring we provide a fair and transparent service delivering the best possible opportunity for everyone to get into nature.
This is incredibly helpful – thank you! The Great Walks are on our must-do list in NZ for sure.
I was lucky enough to be able to book the Milford Track the morning it opened, but only after initially missing out on my target dates. By refreshing I eventually found a spot opened up and I was able to book. So keep trying and you may get your dates. I agree with others that some people may be speculatively booking, or double booking, to try to put an itinerary together. (I was also in the position of trying to book Milford reasonably adjacent to Rakiura) So don’t despair – check back frequently because people’s plans do change, and they’ll cancel to ensure they can get their refunds.
For the 2019 summer season I booked online from my home in Alaska, tramps on Lake Waikaremoana, Queen Charlotte (a fabulous but not great walk) Able Tasman, and Routeburn. So simple to do. So inexpensive. Such a marvelous resource! Met a few international travelers, but most of our hut mates were Kiwis. Walks of a lifetime. Good on ya DOC.
NZ should be proud!
P. S. I book the walks six months in advance. Seemed reasonable to me
Thanks for all the information Doc. You only live life once. Our country is beautiful. I’m going to make the most of it. Reading everything has reaffirmed the need to take in nature while we can. chur
I run a guided mountain bike business on the Heaphy and just like everyone else we are there waiting at 0900 on the morning to book the few trips we need. For each we are required to provide the names of the clients we are taking. Generally we only have one or two trips pre-booked by clients and book the huts for other trips later in the season as the bookings come in and we check availability.
Personally I think the biggest problem is “The Big Rush” on one day for the rest of the season, I believe it would be better to open one month at a time 12 months ahead of that month rather than the whole season at once. Often we have clients wanting a specific date but we miss out on the date needed and have to renegotiate with clients who are often unable to move dates.
One thing that people need to realize is that on the morning of the rush the huts will often show as having been booked up, this is usually not the case, what actually happens is that when somebody starts a booking the system locks that hut out until the booking is finishes as the system does not know how many places are being booked until later in the process and having it open to multiple people booking at the same time would cause issues with over booking. So if you find the hut is “full” on the rush morning, it usually is not and it’s just that someone else is making a booking at that time. If you try again 5-10 minutes later you usually find you can get in to book the places you need.
As a concessionaire we get no preference and in fact we are quite restricted to how many places we can book in any one hut at any one time. What we have notices though is that sometimes a family group will book out an entire hut using fictional names so that they can have the hut to themselves, This is very selfish and fortunately DOC are realizing this is happening and the rangers are starting to clamp down on these groups.
No system would be perfect, but DOC are doing there best here to keep things fair and I can assure you as concessionaires and commercial businesses we get no preferential ability to book ahead.
So commercial operators can prebook beds in public huts for private clients ahead of the public? And not just on the Able Tasman as was mentioned in the reply. Can DOC please clarify…..https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/back-your-backyard/125931865/doc-gives-great-walk-operators-notice-to-stop-prebooking-huts
I am a DOC concessionaire and run guided walks on the Heaphy Track. We have never been allowed to prebook or make block bookings without actual names, so nothing has changed. We concessionaires all sit on our computers at 9.30am, waiting for the bookings to open, so we can join the ‘snatch and grab’ race that many of the Great Walks have become, just like everyone else. The only difference being we usually have 10+ trips to book at one time (often unsuccessfully). DOC is just wanting to check we are all following the rules in our concession documents (as it appears some haven’t been).
I have been operating a guided walks business in Stewart Island for the past 22 years.
We have provided a service for people from all walks of life and abilities. We are proud that we have made it possible for a variety of clients to get out there and experience the backcountry, including those with limited confidence and experience, recent hip replacements, in their 80 years, or with other considerations.
We are also helping clients to understand and appreciate a special environment through our interpretation of the fauna, flora and history using our extensive local knowledge.
Our clients have come from overseas, but also from New Zealand pre-COVID. We provide a service for a small proportion of the market and should be recognised for this and not penalised.
Like all concessionaires we pay additional fees for each person guided along with hut and camp fees.
The Rakiura Great Walk originally did not have bookable huts and it was a free for all.
A number of years ago the Department of Conservation decided to make the Rakiura Great Walk huts bookable. So like everyone else we have booked hut spaces when the booking system opens up each year. We have never complained to DOC when we miss out – we understand how it works. In this article DOC indicate that there is also some speculative booking by the public.
Client bookings for any of our tours are haphazard and especially since COVID lockdown. We book a limited number of spaces for the busy season to ensure that we have hut space when needed, otherwise we cannot offer tours when the bookings come in.
Currently 95% or more of New Zealanders are not pre-booking day trips or overnight trips – making it a difficult environment to operate. Neither do all members of the public decide on a set day in winter each year which walk they want to do when the booking system opens.
Everyday even in the winter months, visitors have arrived with nothing pre-planned yet we make ourselves available not knowing what we will be asked to do day by day.
We encourage DOC to allow guiding businesses some allocation to survive because booking patterns are not set in stone, otherwise we would not be able to run our overnight walks on the only Great Walk on which we operate.
Our concession permit does not prevent us from pre-booking to assure we have space when we get bookings. Probably 95% of people walk the Rakiura Great Walk without a guide. We are only taking up a small portion of hut spaces for a proportion of the market that for whatever reason are unable to do the walk on their own.
Booking a small proportion of hut space for each month allows us to operate and survive, without being able to pre-book we would loose part of our income in a highly competitive environment where it is regular practise for DOC staff to guide for competitor concessionaires thereby undermining other business.
This is Stewart Island not the Able Tasman or Milford or Routeurn – we do not get the visitor numbers that other location get and need to be able to operate these overnight walks – a service we have provided for the past 22 years.
The article specifically says that isn’t the case
“Kiwi kids (17 years and under) are free on the Great Walks” – that’s awesome, thanks for that!
As a result of advocacy by Federated Mountain Clubs fmc.org.nz
Thanks DOC, I appreciate your myth busting insights and I was one of the >3000 people that missed out on booking for the Milford Track over the peak Xmas/New Years time. I also appreciate DOC replying to my complaints promptly. The thing that I found unfair was that despite me following all the great advice to prepare for booking, the website crashed so that I couldn’t access it and then when I could get back in (after 9 minutes) it would booked out for the peak periods. There should not be advantage to those that have a faster internet connection than others or are more tech savvy than others. I really urge DOC to try a ballot/lottery system (see similar comment from Adrian above) for the Milford Track only. Perhaps DOC could try it out next season?
Great blog that gives a bunch of people a better understanding. To anyone wanting to go tramping, there is no better feeling then doing it at campsites, or bushwacking if allowed. Knowing that all you have is what you carry is an insane sence of accomplishment at the end of the night. I would recommend it for anyone, even if its just a few hrs to a hut then back out, give it a try and you’ll find out just how fun it is. Best hike i ever did was a walk home hike through forestry and public routes. Great fun exploring and discovering the route using a topo map….. just have a backup and a beacon.
I think a better system would be that used for limited place trips in the US such as rafting the Grand Canyon. Register your interest anytime (no taking a day off work on opening day) and pay a small deposit. Places are then allocated on a ballot . If you miss out and want to stay in, for next season you get two entries in the ballot, year three you get three entries and so on. No discriminating against people who can’t take that day off to try to book, and importantly, a much simpler booking system for DoC. As someone who works in IT, scaling to handle surge loads can be difficult and expensive.
Great article. Thank you!
Could you please explain why guided groups only have to put the names of guides and not the clients when they book for say a group of 10, when the public have to write the name of every person in a similar group of 10. Writing the name of each person in the general publics group takes time and means the guided groups have an advantage. Could the system change so that the general public could initially book with only two names for a larger group too?
If this is true, then it is not a fair playing field and it explains why ordinary people can’t book milford track. It also means the above article is misleading where it refers to guides and agent shaving no advantage and only making up 4% of bookings. If this 4% is concentrated on the milford and routebourn then they obviously have a distinct advantage.
Kia ora Tipene and Amt,
Outside of the Abel Tasman Coast Track (which has the largest amount of accommodation space compared to other Great Walks) no one has the ability to make bookings without entering the details of genuine people/clients.
On the Abel Tasman Coast Track guiding operators are able to make a limited number of bookings without (initially) providing client details. This is only permitted through long-standing guiding concessions. Even on the Abel Tasman Coast Track these operators can only book up 7 additional spaces (without names etc) once they have 2 confirmed customer bookings.
The operators make little impact on public bookings as they book spaces in large campsites that are seldom full.
As stated above, no one can make speculative bookings on the Milford Track or Routeburn Track.
Hi there, I find that a little bit hard to believe actually, so when companies that guide clients on tracks like the Milford, Routeburn or Heaphy book a bed in advance in June for the rest of the coming season they know the actual names and enter into the system those of they are guiding? The point in the article that you are trying to myth bust was simply that groups of New Zealanders have to enter the name of every single person that is going on the tramp when doing the initial booking, while the companies do not. Can you please confirm that if on the day when bookings open do commercial companies have to enter the full names of all people that they will be potentially guiding on the Milford, Routeburn, Heaphy? and if not could groups of New Zealanders do the same.
Guiding overnight on the Milford and Routeburn tracks, don’t use the DOC huts, they have their own, (which I believe is limited to a certain number of people)so these folks wouldn’t be taking away bed numbers from the public
Great myth buster from the source itself!!
Excellent write up and myth buster! I have managed to book my Great Walks over past two seasons but man it’s stressful!!
Look forward to the blog that explains how DOC decided to have campsite passes that enable a huge discount to those that stay at Scenic and Serviced camps and no discount whatsoever for those that stay at Standard Camps and only need a space to stay. It is not an inclusive pass for all Tax Payers for publicly owned camps and has no consideration for what is available in different regions.
Kia ora,
The new Campsite Pass is intended to be simple to use and apply consistently across all campsite categories in New Zealand.
No one is required to purchase a pass and can continue to pay the very affordable standard rate where it makes sense to (e.g. standard campsite = $8 per night). We even offer free campsites around New Zealand so there is something for every budget.
There is nothing consistent about it. The cost for 2a/2c for 7 nights is $168 at a Standard camp and in some regions that’s all we have access to. Those with the options of Scenic and Serviced camps that are upwards of $15 a night with the purchase of the campsite pass will be able to stay for the same cost as a Standard site with more facilities etc. I ask again, why has such a huge discount been made available for the benefit of some regions/Tax Payers and not all?
Great clarification to some popular misconceptions.
Great write up, thanks.
This would be great information to go out to FMC and tramping clubs.
Thanks!
Well done! This is a great write-up.
Yes, well done DoC. I will be forwarding on.