NZ

New Zealand has nine multiday excursions officially labelled ‘Great Walks’ — Lake Waikaremoana, Tongariro, Whanganui River (actually more of a paddle), Abel Tasman, Heaphy, Routeburn, Milford, Kepler and Rakiura. Only the first three are in the North Island and the last is on Stewart Island.

This book, by Dunedin-based husband-andwife tramping enthusiasts, is all you need to bone up on and complete any of these diverse, spectacular and wellmaintained walks. Each one comes with maps, elevation profiles, highlights, track details, section-bysection descriptions, and planning advice — not to mention a tempting overview just to get you excited.

The book also offers practical general advice and helpful websites. What could possibly go wrong? Buy some new tramping boots just in case. — Peter Shand