After almost two years hiking our way around the South Island of New Zealand, it’s fair to say we have trodden on a lot of day hiking tracks. We’ve done over 40 day hikes on the South Island and from those hikes we have compiled this list of the 10 best south island day hikes in Aotearoa. We truly believe one of the best ways to see a country is to get out into the wild natural spaces of it.
These South Island day hikes will help you to do just that! Pick just one or tick off all ten to really see the best the South Island has to offer. Just make sure you have some good hiking shoes, a well-packed bag and a sense of adventure for these epic day hikes.
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We aren’t any good at ranking things from 1-10, so we have ordered these hikes from the top of the South Island down to the very bottom. We have included little notes on who favoured what hike and why they all made the list. We just couldn’t rank them because in our minds they are all sitting firmly at the top!
Abel Tasman Day Hike
Location: Abel Tasman
Distance: 25.5 kms
Duration: 8hrs
Local iwi: Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rārangi and Te Ātiawa
Tiff loved this walk more than Nathan did. Perhaps that’s because she loves to swim, and cold water won’t stop her. There are so many great swimming spots on this hike, with an abundance of beaches and a couple of fresh water spots, too.
Don’t miss out on Cleopatra’s Pool! Whether you swim or not, it’s a stunning slice of paradise with crystal clear water and lush greenery surrounding it.
You’ll need to catch a boat from Marahau to Bark Bay and then follow the Abel Tasman track all the way back to the town of Marahau. It’s a long walk, the longest one on this list, but well worth it! For more info on the track, check out our detailed blog post on the hike here.
Maitai Cave Track
Location: Nelson
Distance: 10.4km
Duration: 6hrs
Local iwi: Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rārangi and Te Ātiawa.
A hidden gem of a hike! We got put onto this track by some of the hiking people at Tiff’s locum job in Nelson. We aren’t sure we would have found it without the nudge to look at hikes around the Maitai Dam, just 20 mins out of Nelson.
This walk has it all, a proper bush hike, stunning waterfalls, and an awesome cave. It does get somewhat technical as you veer away from the dam and the main river track, but that makes it all the more fun! We took forever to complete the track because we stopped about every 100m to take photos of all the different and incredibly cool mushrooms growing there.
Pack some lunch and take your time getting out to the cave. There is a great spot just outside the cave to sit with your food and take in the view of the forest below. You can’t walk too far into the cave, but it’s just cool to get in there and have a look with your torch before heading back along the same trail to complete your day.
Avalanche Peak
Location: Authurs Pass
Distance: 8kms
Duration: 7hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
This hike is TOUGH! It’s a back country trail which means you do need to have a fair hiking fitness, good navigational skills and to carry all the essentials with you. Check the Department of Conservation website here to make sure you are prepared to tackle this trail. The climb up is hard, you’ll use your hands almost as much as your feet to get to the tree line of this hike.
From here you still have a decent ascent to the top, but you’ll be faced with sheer drops instead of tricky climbs. The view from the top is breathtaking though, and you have a very high chance of seeing some Kea here too! The climb down is a gentler gradient but still tricky on your legs. You get great views all the way down, so just stop a bit to take them in. The view of Devil’s Punch Bowl falls is particularly nice, if the sun is in the right spot you may even get some rainbows from the falls!
Woolshed Creek Hut
Location: Mount Somers area
Distance: 15kms
Duration: 8hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
This walk took us so long because we kept stopping to admire the views, swim in the pools and check out the cool little side tracks. It made it to Nathan’s favourite hikes list for this reason. Because we took longer than expected we ended up catching the sunset from the top of the last peak along Rhyolite Ridge Track.
Woolshed creek is a lesser known track with a hut in the middle of the loop giving you the option to turn this one into a multi day hike if you want to. We took the miners track out to the hut, detoured up to the water caves and then followed the Mt Somerset Track and then the Rhyolite Ridge Track to complete the loop.
If you are doing it as a day hike make sure you give yourself plenty of daylight hours, or pack your head torches if you want to catch the sunset! For more info on the track check out our detailed blog post on the hike here.
Mueller Hut
Location: Aoraki (Mt Cook) National Park
Distance: 11kms
Duration: 9hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
The hike up to Mueller Hut is another back country trail that is tough going! It’s so worth it to get up to this popular hut, though. You are highly likely to encounter some kea when you get up here, and the views from the hut are magnificent. If you have the gear to stay in the hut, make sure you book in advance.
We did this as a day hike and think It’s just as good! We got to come back to our comfy bed in our van parked conveniently at the start of the hike at White Horse Hill Campsite.
The hike starts with just a truck load of stairs! You’ll climb stairs all the way up to Sealy Tarns. From here, make sure you take the side track to check out the tarns before you continue on the track up to Mueller Hut. Here is where it turns to a true back country track, and you’ll soon be missing the stairs from the start as you scramble over rocks and scree.
Follow the yellow markers all the way up to the ridge above you. Take the detour to the right for great views into the valley and all the glaciers on the surrounding mountains. Back on the main track, you still have a bit of a walk before you start to see Mueller Hut. Once it comes into view, it feels like ages before you actually get there! Make sure you spend some time at the hut enjoying the view and eating some well-earned lunch before you carefully head back down.
Rob Roy Track
Location: Matukituki valley, Wānaka
Distance: 10kms
Duration: 5hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
We almost didn’t get to do this hike. In fact, if it was up to Nathan, we wouldn’t have done it. Not because the hike is hard or not worth it, but because there was a 30 km drive on a horrible gravel road to get out here. Like HORRIBLE gravel road, potholes, river crossings, cattle grates and super narrow kind of horrible. Nathan wanted to stop and turn around multiple times, but Tiff REALLY wanted to do this hike. She had heard it was amazing and didn’t want to miss it. Thanks goodness we did do it because it is now a firm favourite of both of us! A fact that saved Tiff from getting in too much trouble for insisting we keep driving our beloved motorhome on a road we probably shouldn’t have taken it on. Sorry Vandalf!
The waterfalls and glaciers found at the upper view point of this track are simply breathtaking. It’s so incredibly peaceful up there, it honestly feels like you are in the Swiss Alps or something. It’s just magic. Give yourself plenty of time to sit and admire these views. Soak up the tranquillity of flowing waterfalls, singing birds and sunshine. If you only have time for one hike in the Wānaka region, make it this one! It’s a million times better than Roy’s Peak and a million times less crowded too.
Routeburn Track Day Hike
Location: Glenorchy
Distance: 23kms
Duration: 7hrs including snack and lunch stops
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
We’ve never really been tempted to try a multi-day hike. But all that changed when we did the day hike portion of the Routeburn Track. We just wanted to keep on walking and never stop!! This section of the great walk starts at the Routeburn Shelter Carpark and takes you up to the Routeburn Falls Hut, which is often the first hut people stay at on this multi-day great walk.
Have lunch at the falls hut and then walk up a little further into the valley to see the waterfall! We chose to walk further uphill and above the waterfall where the views out over the valley you walked through are epic, and you can see further ahead into the higher valley behind you. It’s a day walk that we won’t forget anytime soon!
Ben Lomond Saddle
Location: Queenstown
Distance: 9kms
Duration: 4.5hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
We did this one in August with a tone of snow all around us! If you do the same, make sure you are equipped for alpine weather and have good shoes for the snow as the track gets icy and slippery. Always check the weather and track conditions before heading out to make sure it is safe.
The views from the saddle are breathtaking, especially with all the mountains covered in snow. Perhaps the best part of hiking up to the saddle of a mountain sitting directly behind Queenstown is you don’t have to hike the entire way up! You can take the gondola up and down, missing the first part of the hike entirely. This is what we did. If you choose to walk the entire way up, you’ll be adding an extra 2.5kms and 500m ascent onto your climb. Not to mention, you then need to walk back down again.
Hidden Falls Track
Location: Fiordland National Park
Distance: 18kms
Duration: 5hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
We did this hike in ALOT of rain, so it goes to show just how good it is that we LOVED it despite getting soaked on the walk. Yeah, we had rain gear, but you can only stay so dry when it’s raining on you for 5hrs non-stop.
This hike is part of the Hollyford track, with the first section taking you to the impressive 31m hidden falls. You’ll encounter many other waterfalls along the track as you walk along the river in the Hollyford Valley. It’s a simply gorgeous walk through lush bush, surrounded by little streams and the main river. Whilst you are out this way be sure to check out the Humboldt Falls which is a 30 min walk from the same car park as the Hidden Falls Track.
Rakiura Track Day Walk – Port William to Oban
Location: Rakiura (Stewart Island)
Distance: 17kms
Duration: 6hrs
Local iwi: Ngāi Tahu
You’ll need to get a ferry or a plane down to the little island of Rakiura at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand to do this walk. Trust us when we say you should spend a few nights on the island, seeing everything it has to offer. We have a blog post dedicated to Rakiura here to keep you covered for a few nights on the island.
This day hike is part of the multi-day walk on Rakiura, and you’ll need to catch a boat to the start of the track. From Port William, the track hugs the coastline for a beautiful almost tropical walk back to the town. Pack your bathers and make the most of swimming at these pristine, secluded bays. Bird song will accompany you through most of the walk, with a few historical sites to see as well.
Please Leave No Trace
As always, when out in nature, be sure to practice leave no trace. Anything that goes into the park with you comes out as well (this includes apple cores, any type of food scrap, wrappers etc). Be sure to keep to the trails so you don’t disturb the fragile ecosystems off the trail and leave rocks, sticks and plants as you find them. Please don’t take anything but photographs and leave with nothing extra but memories. We like to go one step further on leave no trace by making sure we pick up any rubbish we see along the trail, sometimes people slip up and forget to pick up after themselves, so if you see something that doesn’t belong and are equipped to pick it up and correctly dispose of it please do!
To help you leave no trace on these incredible day hikes, we have a few blog post you should read! We share our tips on how to pack for an eco-conscious day hike and what to do on the trails to protect the land you are hiking on. It’s always good to know whose land you are on, too! We’ve provided that here to the best of our knowledge but recommend you do your own research too, making sure you respect the wishes of the traditional landowners at all times.
Keen for more inspo? Be sure to check out:
- Navigating Aotearoa: Essential New Zealand Travel Apps and Websites
- Queenstown Must Do: A Different Side To The Adventure Paradise!
- 6 Day Itinerary For Rakiura (Stewart Island)
