HIKING
AND TRAMPING - PALMERSTON NORTH NEW ZEALAND
Homepage
for Palmerston North New Zealand and accommodation tourism
travel tours information for visitors to Palmerston North
NZ. Palmerston North is situated on the banks of the Manawatu
River. Palmerston North provides every type of accommodation
- top class hotels, motels, hostels, bed and breakfasts,
home and farmstays. Buy
a map, look at real estate for sale, and look for a rental
car hire or job for employment in Palmerston North New Zealand.
Mother
nature has endowed Palmerston North and the Manawatu area
with endless opportunities to experience the great outdoors,
from short walks in splendid native bush, half day walks
through the spectacular Manawatu Gorge, to tramping in the
majestic Ruahine, or Tararua Ranges. Museums, gardens and
arts & crafts abound, with many cottage industries to
be discovered in the beautiful Pohangina Valley. The area
provides every type of accommodation - top class hotels,
motels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, home and farmstays.
An excellent array of restaurants and bars to suit all palates
are a popular feature of the city.
PALMERSTON
NORTH TRAMPING
AND WALKING TRACKS
Alice
Nash Memorial Heritage Lodge Track Take an easy hike to Alice Nash Memorial
Heritage Lodge in the scenic Oroua River valley
of the Ruahine Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 45
min
Beehive
Creek Walkway Beehive Creek Walkway follows the creek
through a mixture of native bush and exotics before
crossing farmland to Pohangina Valley West Road.
The 2-3 hour walk is closed during lambing season. Category: Tramping track Distance: 4 km Completion Time: 2 -3
hr Alert: The walkway is
closed for lambing from 1 August to 31 October.
Bruce
Park Loop Track An easy walk through a podocarp and broadleaf
forest remnant with impressive specimens of rimu,
totara and kahikatea. Category: Walking track Completion Time: 20
min - 1 hr
Deerford
Track to Makiekie Creek Walk Deerford Track on the edge of the
Ruahine Forest Park to picturesque Makiekie Creek
for a picnic and a paddle. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 1 hr
Iron
Gate Hut Track Iron Gate Hut is a good days hike along
a sidle track up the Oroua River valley. Longer
tramps are possible from this hut. Stay a night
and return the same way. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 4 -
5 hr
Kahikatea
Walk This easy walk is a great introduction
to broadleaved forest. The well defined and easy
to follow track is suitable for children of all
ages. As the name of the walk suggests, mature kahikatea
are the stars in this reserve. Category: Walking track Completion Time: 20
min
Kawhatau
Base to Crow Hut Loop Track A very steep up and down tramp in Ruahine
Forest Park, climbing first to the Mokai Patea Range,
then dropping to the Kawhatau River and then back
up to the Hikurangi Range and out to Kawhatau Base.
Involves camping out. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 days
Kelly
Knight Hut Track
The track to Kelly Knight Hut crosses farmland to
the Ruahine Forest Park boundary, then sidles above
the Pourangaki River to rech the hut via a swingbridge.
Stay a night and return the same way. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 2 hr
30 min - 3 hr 30 min Alert: You must get
permission from the landowner to cross Kohunui Station.
Knights
Track to Pohangina Valley East Road Track
There is a bit of everything on this tramp in the
Ruahine Forest Park. Open tops, rivers and bush
travel. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 days
Knights-Shorts
Loop Track Take a strenuous day hike and enjoy the
spectacular scenery from the tops of the Ngamoko
Range in the Ruahine Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 8 -
10 hr
Maharahara
Peak Track Take a steep climb through forest to the
rocky open knolls of Maharahara high point in the
Ruahine Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 6 hr Alert: During September
and October when lambing is in progress access to
this track is closed.
Manawatu
Gorge - Totara Loop Track
An easy loop walk for families through bush at the
Woodville end of the Manawatu Gorge Track. Category: Walking track
Manawatu
Gorge Track The Manawatu Gorge Track provide the opportunity
to enjoy native bush only a short distance from
Palmerston North. Category: Walking track Completion Time: 3 -
5 hr one way
Mangaweka
Scenic Reserve Track Escape from the fast lane and step back
to a land of perching lilies, tree fern and majestic
kahikatea. Category: Walking track Completion Time: 1 hr
McKinnon
Hut Track
Perched on the northern end of the Hikurangi Range
in Ruahine Forest Park, McKinnon Hut is accessed
via a long ridge climbing up from the Kawhatau Valley.
Stay a night and return the same way. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 4 -
6 hr
Mid
Pohangina Hut Track
Cross farmland and then sidle high above the picturesque
Pohangina River in the Ruahine Forest Park before
crossing a swingbridge and heading to the hut. Stay
a night and return the same way. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 5 -
7 hr
No.1
Line Lookout Track Climb this track in Ruahine Forest Park
to the lookout at the end of No.1 Line in the Pohangina
Valley and enjoy the views. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 2 -
3 hr
Paengaroa
Scenic Reserve Walk
Take a short stroll to a picnic spot in this reserve
renowned for its unique and rare and endangered
flora. Category: Short walk Completion Time: 10
min
Purity
- Kelly Knight Hut Loop Track A loop tramp that takes in the Pourangaki
River valley and the open tops of the Hikurangi
Range in the Ruahine Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 days
Purity
Hut Track
A steep climb to this hut nestled above the bushline
on the Hikurangi Range in the Ruahine Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 -
4 hr
Purity
to Kawhatau Base Track
Walk along the tussock tops of the Hikurangi Range
between these two huts in Ruahine Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 days
Rangiwahia
Hut - Deadmans Track An easy to moderate overnight tramp to
Rangiwahia Hut on the Whanahuia Range in Ruahine
Forest Park. Return via the open tops and Deadman�s
Track. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 2 days
Rangiwahia
Hut Track A popular, easy overnight tramp to the
tussock tops of the Whanahuia Range in the Ruahine
Forest Park. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 2 -
3 hr
Renfrew
Roadend to Table Flat Roadend Climb up and over the tussock tops of the
Whanahuia Range in Ruahine Forest Park then drop
down to follow the Oroua River valley. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 days
Ruahine
Corner to Kawhatau Base Track An excellent but strenuous trip in the
remote north western Ruahine Forest Park renowned
for its scenery and ecological values. Fly in by
helicopter and walk out. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 4 days
Table
Flat - Kashmir Roadend West-East crossing A west east traverse of the Ruahine Forest
Park, following the Oroua River valley and over
the main Ruahine Range to the Kashmir Roadend. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 3 days
Zekes
Hut Track An ideal day hike or easy overnight tramp
to a newly replaced hut nestled within Hihitahi
Forest Sanctuary north of Taihape. Category: Tramping track Completion Time: 2 hr
30 min - 3 hr 30 min
