Bookings for Milford Track sell out in 40 minutes
Bookings to take a walk on the Milford Track went off without a hitch today, says DOC.
Photo:
Supplied / DoC / Graham Dainty
Demand for the Milford Track remains high, with the Great Walk selling out in just over half an hour today.
The booking system has faced
multiple crashes and false starts over the past two years
, often coinciding with the opening of the popular Great Walk and causing frustration for trampers and tourism businesses.
This prompted the Department of Conservation to
upgrade its website
and add an online queue system to ease the pressure.
Director of heritage and visitors Cat Wilson said the new system coped well.
"Really pleased that people have had a much better experience," she said.
"We had 11,800 people queuing in the lobby at around 9:30 just as bookings opened and they were all into the booking system to make bookings for the 7000 spots on the Milford."
It was all done and dusted in about 40 minutes.
The feedback had been positive and Wilson was thrilled that the bookings were being made in a seamless way.
There have been 23,500 bookings made so far across the Great Walks with the Routeburn and Milford tracks both experiencing high demand.
Cat Wilson encouraged anyone who missed out to keep an eye out for cancellations or check out the other Great Walks on offer.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Weather: South Island prepares for heavy snow, sub-zero temperatures to strike
Lake Tekapo has already been hit by heavy snow. Photo: Supplied / Tanja Clauberg A fresh surge of winter weather is set to descend on the South Island on Friday, bringing snow, sub-zero temperatures and the risk of travel disruption. Authorities are urging caution as road conditions turn slippery and alpine areas brace for heavy snowfall. Metservice issued weather warnings covering most of Te Waipounamu on Friday. Meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the heaviest snowfall was expected in high, inland areas. A snow warning was in place for Central Otago and areas of Canterbury south of the Rangitata River for 9am Friday until midnight. "These areas do look most likely to see some heavy snow throughout Friday, running into the night time and maybe just tipping over into Saturday as well," he said. MetService said 15-25 centimetres of snow could accumulate above 500 metres elevation - and that could mean travel disruption and possible damage to trees and powerlines. In Queenstown Lakes District a heavy snow watch was in place between 9am and 9pm Friday, with snow possible down to 400 metres. A heavy snow watch was also issued for Canterbury north of the Rangitata River and southern Marlborough from 4pm on Friday until 8am on Saturday. Temperatures across the southern half of the South Island were expected to dive into the negatives, and remain low for most of the weekend. "A lot of people will have noticed a real chill to the air," Ferris said. "It looks like the South Island, even parts of the North Island, will feel the chills through the weekend. Some places even into the middle of next week, especially around Central Otago, places like Alexandra, might be fighting to get out of those negatives even through the daytime," he said. Lake Tekapo after overnight snow dump. Photo: Supplied / Tanja Clauberg Authorities urged drivers to factor in the wild weather, and prepare for potential road closures. Ferris said Metservice had issued road snowfall warnings for a number of alpine passes. "Conditions could be quite treacherous, so it's going to be one of those things to check in with the Transport Agency, see if there are any road closures," he said. Metservice said snow could accumulate on the Crown Range, the Lindis Pass, the Haast Pass and on the Dunedin to Waitati Highway. In Canterbury, snow was also expected to settle on Porters Pass, Lewis Pass and Arthurs Pass. Civil Defence Emergency Management Canterbury said people who needed to travel should carry snow chains, sleeping bags, warm clothing and emergency items. "If driving, please remember to switch your headlights on, increase your following distance and be prepared for unexpected hazards," it said. Ferris said people should exercise caution even in areas where there was no snow expected. "Plenty of frosts will be forecast around the South Island. So it could just be a case of taking a little bit easier if you have to be doing any morning travel through the weekend," he said. The warnings follow two highway closures in inland Canterbury on Thursday. Both State Highway 8, between Lake Pukaki and Fairlie, and State Highway 80, between Lake Pukaki and Aoraki-Mount Cook, were closed due to heavy snow. New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said both closures were short-lived and the impact was not widespread. The agency said it would be working with its partners to keep a close eye on the State Highway network around the south and would be responding with its crews as required. It also noted a risk of potential severe gale force southeast winds in Westland on Friday afternoon, and encouraged motorists to be prepared. Central Otago and inland Canterbury, from the Rangitata River southwards are under an orange heavy snow warning. Photo: MetService/Supplied The sub-zero temperatures and potential snow are bringing added stress to farmers and their livestock. In Tapanui - near Gore - Federated Farmers' Otago president Luke Kane has been getting his farm and animals ready. He told Morning Report the drop in temperatures and heavy snow didn't come as a surprise for this time of the year. "It is winter after all. We normally would anticipate two to three of these storms for us throughout the winter and this may be the first one." Preparation was key when these types of snow storms hit, including putting out few extra hay bails, utilising shelter and making sure staff were safe and well feed, Kane said. "We make sure that we have got everything for the next few days pretty well prepared for the cows so we are not having to run tractors around in the mud or snow if it does come. "Most people are pretty well climatised to this type of thing down here." Kane said most farmers had mostly recovered going into winter after a "horrendous spring in the lower South". "Ground conditions are pretty fantastic really and it's shaping up to be okay at this point." He said he hoped people would use their common sense as the chill moved in. "There's always a hope for common sense but it doesn't always prevail right," he laughed. The cold snap could bring a welcome coating of snow for ski areas approaching their winter opening dates. The forecast showed Canterbury's Mt Hutt ski field, which abandoned plans to open early last month , could have a 50 centimetre top up. It was aiming for an opening date of 13 June. There was more than 50 centimetres of snow in Friday's forecast for some Arthurs Pass ski areas, such as Porters and Mount Cheeseman, and for Mackenzie Basin ski areas including Mount Dobson and Roundhill - all set to open later this month, or in early July. Ski fields in the Queenstown Lakes Area - set to open on 14 June - were all in line for a smaller dusting of about 10 - 15 centimetres on Friday. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Predator Free 2050 committed to 'professional' transition as it hands over years of work to DOC
A stoat caught on a monitoring camera in Miramar Peninsula. Photo: Supplied / Predator Free Wellington Predator Free 2050 says it's committed to a "professional and smooth transition", as it hands over its responsibilities to the Department of Conservation following news of its disestablishment. A Crown-owned company, Predator Free 2050 Limited was set up in 2016 after the government set the ambitious goal of removing mustelids, rats and possums nationwide by the year 2050. For nearly a decade it co-funded large-scale predator elimination projects and supported science to achieve this goal by providing funding, resources and expertise to predator removal projects around New Zealand. But its disestablishment was announced on Budget Day last month, and science director Dan Tompkins said the company would be handing over its 18 active contracts by mid-August. "We'll take our time, we want to make sure that nothing is lost, we're ensuring all our learnings and understanding and insights into the way we have been running to achieve the advances that we've made to date [are passed on]." It was yet to be decided whether jobs at Predator Free 2050 Limited would go, or be amalgamated into DOC. He said the company's disestablishment had "not really" come as a surprise. "We've been working for seven to eight years now, and what we've been doing is we've been building a national mission. "I think our work, alongside that of DOC and the PFNZ Trust, has been really successful. We've shown it can be done, we've developed lots of new tools available for the job, we've got some good research coming along in the background for future tools to make it even more achievable." Did Tompkins have faith that the predator-free-by-2050 goal was achievable? "Completely," he said. "Already I think it's totally achievable - it's just whether we can afford it ." Chief executive Rob Forlong said many projects had proven eradication was achievable, and lately it had been focussing on how to make them cheaper, through new tools and solutions that could be scaled up. "We're committed to delivering a professional and smooth transition of contractual responsibilities to the Department of Conservation. This includes sharing proven strategies, roadmaps and insights." Predator Free 2050 chief executive Rob Forlong. Photo: Susan Botting / LDR DOC's deputy director-general for public affairs, Sia Aston, said the agency was committed to honouring all existing contracts. It already had a large existing programme of predator-free work and would "absorb the cost of managing the company's projects and contracts within its baseline". The remaining Crown funds of $2.3 million that PF2050 Ltd was allocated would be transferred to DOC and continue to be invested in predator free projects and contracts to avoid disruption. DOC is currently consulting with the public on its predator free strategy, with submissions closing on 30 June. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
RNZ-Reid Research poll: Most New Zealanders don't think Trump's presidency been good for NZ
United States President Donald Trump. Photo: ANNA MONEYMAKER / Getty Images via AFP Just 8.9 percent of New Zealanders feel the second Donald Trump presidency has been good for New Zealand, according to the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll. Supporters of every political party in Parliament took a more negative view of the presidency than positive, though there are still many who are neutral on the man in the Oval Office. On a foreign policy front, Trump's second term has been dominated by the stop-start tariffs, as the US seeks to rebalance what it says has been an uneven trading playing field. New Zealand has not been immune from the tariffs , though whether they are as reciprocal as the White House says has been a source of frustration for the government. In the latest poll, 1008 respondents were asked: "US President Donald Trump has recently completed 100 days in office for his second term. How do you think his presidency has been for New Zealand?" In total, 44.4 percent of voters said the presidency had been bad for New Zealand, while 8.9 percent said it had been good. However, many do not have a view either way, with 35.8 saying they were neutral, while 10.9 percent said they did not know. Broken down to party allegiances, the gap between good and bad was even wider for Labour and Green supporters. Half of Labour voters said it had been bad, compared to 3.3 percent who said it was good. Almost 59 percent (58.7) of Green voters said bad, 4.8 percent said good. In April, Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on New Zealand goods , on top of existing tariffs. Officials swiftly worked to understand how the tariff was calculated, given New Zealand's rate is 1.9 percent. The government's response in the meantime has been to keep its head down, saying a trade war is in nobody's best interests. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the Trump presidency had not been good for small trading nations like New Zealand. "I think an international trade war between the US and China is bad for countries like New Zealand." Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said it was partly why the Greens had put together an industrial strategy. "To show that with the international headwinds being what they are, and Donald Trump's punitive tariff measures, that we can take steps locally to build our own economic resilience so that we're not relying on international shareholders, which seems to be the strategy of this government," she said. While 13.6 percent of Te Pati Māori voters said Trump had been good for New Zealanders, those who said he had been bad and those who were neutral were relatively evenly split. While more supporters of government parties also said the presidency had been bad for New Zealand than good, the gaps were tighter, with many also staying neutral. Of National voters, 8.4 percent said it had been good, but more were slightly more neutral than negative. A quarter of ACT supporters were positive, but the remainder were also closely split between bad and neutral. While more New Zealand First voters said bad than good - 28 percent vs 22 percent - the majority take a neutral view. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The party is vowing to 'Make New Zealand First Again'. But leader Winston Peters is also the Foreign Affairs minister - and on this, he's also staying neutral. "I'm the foreign minister. I don't talk about other countries' politics, particularly when doing so might harm our country's trading interests," he said. The Prime Minister was also staying diplomatic. "Look, it's not for me to say. I'm just focused on what New Zealand needs to do to sail its boat in what are more turbulent waters, for sure, to make sure that we can realise all the great potential we have in this country. That's what we're focused on," Christopher Luxon said. This poll of 1008 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 23-30 May 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The report is available here . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
