Latest news with #GreatWalks
Time Out
29-05-2025
- Time Out
This stunning coastal hike in NSW has reopened after a huge $14.9 million upgrade
Calling all hiking fans: One of the most stunning coastal hikes in NSW has just received a major $14.9 million upgrade, including the addition of two elevated campgrounds and new stretches of boardwalk. The Light to Light walk – named for its route from the historic Boyds Tower to Green Cape Lighthouse – traces a beautiful, dramatic stretch of the NSW Far South Coast through dreamy eucalypt forests and coastal heathland. The walking route has been a favourite in the area for decades, but the new upgrades have made it even better – with two new purpose-built hike-in campgrounds and improved tracks connecting walkers with rock platforms and taking walkers further onto the cliff edge for spectacular views. The two new campgrounds are located by the ocean at Mowarry Point and Hegartys Bay, each home to 10 elevated hardwood sleeping platforms and toilet facilities. The positions of the new campgrounds make for the perfect three-day, two-night hiking adventure, with day one involving a nine kilometre hike, day two taking in a 10-kilometre route and day three taking hikers on a final 13-kilometre hike to the beautiful Green Cape hikers can just book their camping spots and set off, but if you'd like some extra support, local operators offer tour guides, gear transfers and meals so all you have to worry about is putting one foot after the other. Don't have the time or strength to take on the whole thing? You can choose to just tackle sections of the route – choose your journey here. The Light to Light Walk is one of seven NSW Great Walks, with others including an incredible 42-kilometre hike in the Byron hinterland and a breathtaking 19-kilometre trail in the Blue Mountains. You can learn more about the NSW Great Walks over here. These are the best hikes close to campsites in NSW.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Milford walk sells out in 30 minutes
McKinnon Pass on the Milford Track. PHOTOS: ODT FILES It takes up to four days to walk it, but 30 minutes is all it took yesterday for all Milford Track tickets for this season to sell out. High demand was expected for a chance to traverse the track and it was. Department of Conservation (Doc) visitor services manager Cameron Hyland was pleased with the interest. 'The opening of the Milford Great Walk has been a success, continuing the run of successful openings of all Great Walks bookings beginning May 13,'' he said. He said the booking system for the Milford Track worked well yesterday morning with 11,800 people queuing in the lobby at 9.30am to make bookings for just 7100 spots. ''The Milford Track effectively sold out around 10am - with 2000 bookings made - an average booking is for two to three people. ''Inevitably some people miss out given the high demand and limited supply for Milford Great Walk. ''We recommend checking back regularly - cancellations mean new spaces sometimes become available.'' Bookings also went smoothly yesterday with Lake Waikaremoana, Abel Tasman Coast and Paparoa Tracks, with 3300 bookings made in the first hour of opening and about 6000 users joining the queue. A new Great Walks booking system had reduced waiting time online to a few minutes, Doc said last week in a statement. The booking system had been plagued with issues in recent years, with system crashes, false starts and booking dates pushed back following high demand and technical glitches. - APL
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
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.
Otago Daily Times
23-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
New system to improve wait times
The Kepler Track — Doc has opened bookings for some of the Great Walks tracks. CREDIT: LAURA SMITH (SOUTHLAND EXPRESS) A new Great Walks booking system has reduced waiting time online to a few minutes according to the Department of Conservation. The booking system has been plagued with issues in recent years with system crashes, false starts and booking dates pushed back following high demand and technical glitches. Doc heritage and visitor director Cat Wilson said she was very happy with how the new booking system had performed since it was launched recently. "We've implemented an industry-leading lobby system similar to systems used by concert booking companies to smooth the customer experience and manage very high demand at peak times. "The upgraded booking system and new lobby function worked well on opening day with over 2000 users waiting in the lobby at 9.28am. We had processed 1200 bookings by 10am." About 8300 people were waiting when bookings opened last Thursday morning but that dropped to about 1200 by 10am, she said. "By 12.30pm, 4600 Great Walks bookings had been made and we're expecting bookings will continue to come in throughout the day." Great Walk bookings queue wait-time was also now down to four minutes, she said. Bookings for Tongariro Northern Circuit are on hold while Doc assesses plans for replacing Oturere Hut. Opening dates May 13: Back country huts, lodges, sole occupancy facilities May 15: Heaphy Track, Kepler Track, Rakiura Track, Hump Ridge Track May 20: Conservation campsites, except Tōtaranui, Momorangi, Anaura Bay campsites May 21: Momorangi campsite, Anaura Bay campsite May 22: Whanganui Journey, Routeburn Track, Tongariro Northern Circuit May 27: Lake Waikaremoana Track, Abel Tasman Coast Track, Paparoa Track May 28: Milford Track June 4: Tōtaranui campsite — Toni McDonald
NZ Herald
20-05-2025
- NZ Herald
New DoC camp website draws more than 1000 to book holidays as revamped system launches
'There have been no technical glitches or issues and demand has been strong with over 1000 bookings processed 45 minutes after opening this morning.' After a surge in demand last year resulted in repeated website crashes, DoC overhauled its booking system and introduced staggered booking dates for their Great Walks, campsites and other facilities. The new lobby system, similar to those used by event ticketing companies, involved users logging into their DoC account, being redirected to a booking lobby and assigned a number. At 9.30am the queue started to move into the booking system. Hyland said today's queue was finished about 15 minutes after opening. Spots at Tōtaranui, Momorangi and Anaura Bay campsites will open tomorrow morning. Hyland earlier advised that whether you were booking a hut, campsite or Great Walk, it was worth getting prepared early. 'Give yourself the best chance of securing your spot by creating an account on the booking system and making sure your login details work. 'Familiarise yourself with the booking system. You can even practise making a booking – just empty your cart at the end rather than paying. 'Bookings open at 9.30am each opening day. We recommend logging on around 9.15am, there's no benefit to doing it any earlier.' All bookings are first-come first-served. DoC says it does not have waiting lists for bookings for future seasons or facilities that are already booked-out. There will be a price increase for some facilities next season, ranging between 5% and 15% for the Milford, Routeburn, Kepler, Abel Tasman Coast Track and Paparoa Great Walks and several high-demand huts and cottages. DoC announced this month that the Tongariro Northern Circuit would no longer be available to book for the Great Walks season due to plans to replace Oturere Hut. Opening dates for Great Walk accommodation bookings (for stays from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) 9.30am NZST May 15 – Heaphy Track, Kepler Track, Rakiura Track, Hump Ridge May 22 – Whanganui Journey, Routeburn Track May 27 – Lake Waikaremoana Track, Abel Tasman Coast Track, Paparoa Track May 28 – Milford Track Opening dates for all other accommodation bookings (for stays from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) 9.30am NZST May 13 – Backcountry huts, lodges, sole occupancy facilities May 20 – Conservation campsites, except Tōtaranui, Momorangi and Anaura Bay campsites May 21 – Momorangi campsite, Anaura Bay campsite
