Off the Beaten Track: 20 Multi-day Walks on New Zealand Farm and Backcountry Tracks(Bird's Eye Guides)

Off the Beaten Track is a tantalising guide to 20 multi-day walks across New Zealand farmland, through forest sanctuaries and along stretches of coastline - from the kauri-fringed bays of Great Barrier Island to the alpine tarns of Southland. While not all the walks featured here are over private land, what they do have in common is that in exchange for a modest payment, enthusiastic walkers can tramp or amble through New Zealand's hills and backcountry without a heavy pack, with a comfortable bed at the end of the day and fine dining if they wish. Suitable for people of all ages, these walks are proving popular with family groups, work groups and, particularly, baby-boomers who want to get out in the hills but do it in comfort and with minimal hassle. Each walk has its own distinctive character, whether it's coastal views, subalpine high country or rolling tussockland. Well illustrated with evocative photographs, each chapter also includes an informative bird's eye map, an ideal way to view the route and terrain in three dimensions. Off the Beaten Track is a must-have guide to an increasingly popular form of recreation and an attractive souvenir of a great experience.

Table of Contents:
North Island Walks : 1 Glenfern Sanctuary walks, Great Barrier Island -- 2 Dundle Hill Walk, Waitomo, King Country -- 3 Walk Gisborne, Gisborne -- 4 Whana Walk, Hawke's Bay -- 5 Walk Westridge, Ongarue, near Taumarunui -- 6 Eastern Taranaki Experience, Stratford -- 7 Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Other Walks in Tongariro National Park -- 8 Kawhatau Valley Walk, Mangaweka -- 9 Weka Walks, Mt Huia farm, Ruahine Rd, Ruahine -- 10 Tararua Walk, Masterton, Wairarapa -- 11 Tora Coastal Walk, South Wairarapa -- South Island Walks: 12 Cape Campbell Walkway, Ward, Marlborough -- 13 Awatere Tussock Track, Marlborough -- 14 Kaikoura Coast Track, North Canterbury -- 15 Hurunui High Country Track, Hurunui, North Canterbury -- 16 Banks Peninsula Track, Akaroa, Canterbury -- 17 The Akaroa Walk, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury -- 18 Ryton Station High Country Walks, Lake Coleridge -- 19 Four Peaks High Country Track, Geraldine, South Canterbury -- 20 Hump Ridge Track, Tuatapere, Southland.

About the Author :
Colin Moore is a print journalist and author of several outdoors books, and has vast experience of tramping around New Zealand. Currently Travel Editor of Wilderness, New Zealand's monthly outdoor recreation magazine, he was previously Travel Editor at the New Zealand Herald, a Qantas Media Awards' best travel columnist, outdoors columnist for North and South, and is a regular contributor on adventure travel and outdoor recreation for the Herald on Sunday.