Milford Track bookings sell out in three minutes
Hut bookings on the Milford Track sold out in three minutes, setting a new record for the Department of Conservation.
Accommodation bookings for the 2022-23 Great Walks season went on sale at 9.30am on Tuesday.
At that time there were 6000 customers logged on, ready to snap up the 7480 spaces.
‘‘Each year we think the Milford can’t sell out any faster and each year we are proven wrong,’’ DOC heritage and visitors director Tim Bamford said.
All available spaces were reserved within the three minutes. However, some were subsequently cancelled or updated.
This will be the first year since the 2019-20 season that international visitors will be able to experience the Great Walks.
Still, bookings data showed 80% of bunk space was secured by Kiwis, followed by Australians at 10% and Americans at 5%.
The remaining 5% was taken up by a mix of overseas customers.
‘‘I’m heartened to see New Zealanders continuing to book on the Milford in high numbers, alongside the return of international visitors which will be a boon for Te Anau and Southland,’’ Bamford said.
While there have been concerns in previous years about the use of bots for securing bookings on some of the more popular Great Walks, Bamford said there was no evidence of this being an issue.
‘‘Because of the way the booking process is designed and how inventory is reserved early in the booking process, there would be no advantage to using a bot anyway.’’
For those who had missed out, it was a case of ‘‘demand exceeding supply’’.
‘‘The good news is that there are nine other stunning Great Walks to choose from including Abel Tasman, Rakiura and the Heaphy.’’
Yesterday, the Lake Waikaremoana, Heaphy and Routeburn tracks became available to book.
Today sees the Whanganui Journey, Abel Tasman Coast Track and Rakiura Track become available online, while the Tongariro Northern Circuit, Paparoa Track and Kepler Track will be ready to book tomorrow.