The best hikes for beginners

Absolute Beginners

From the Deep South to the Far North, Aotearoa is crisscrossed by tracks and trails for easy day and half-day hikes.

Many are on well-formed and maintained tracks not too far from the nearest dairy.

Mt Manaia, only 30 minutes from downtown Whangārei, is a good place to start because it means we can immediately point you in the direction of DOC Short Walks, an online guide to many of the country's easy-to-access, great for families, nature escapes. On this one, it's a steep, two-hour hike to the 420m summit; the payoff is the panorama, an ocean swim or post-walk bevvy at the Parua Bay Tavern.

Maungawhau / Mt Eden and Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill are two of the most visible sights and sites in Tāmaki Makaurau. Their freshly upgraded formal tracks make them suitable for people of all fitness levels. At 196m, Maungawhau is the highest of the city's mainland volcanoes, easily conquered on foot or bike. With more than 170 terraces based around three pā, Maungakiekie has been claimed the world's largest prehistoric earth fort.

Coromandel vacationers should head for Mt Pauanui, a 30-minute climb for the fit beginner, longer if you're sensible and take time to peep through the bush to the white beach below. Great view from the trig at the top, and you can return by a less-steep route to the carpark.

In the Bay of Plenty, it's a crime not to take one of the two 40-minute tracks to the 232m summit of Mauao (calling it Mt Maunganui is just plain wrong) but you'll need to be relatively fit. Plenty of options in this easy-going part of the country, too: the 45-minute Papamoa Hills track leads through bush and farmland to several pā sites and spectacular coastal views; the first stretch of the Tuahu Kauri Track winds through kauri and rimu forest; and the 90-minute Ōtanewainuku Trig loop track is a steep climb to the 640m summit but worth the effort for views from East Cape to Tarawera and Ruapehu.

Speaking of… the sleeping volcano may have a fearsome past and sometimes brooding presence but the Tarawera Trail is one of our most beautiful day walks. From the Buried Village it runs mostly along the lake edge for 15km: past historic sites and forgotten settlements; trout streams; beneath rata, pohutakawa and ferns; stop and picnic at isolated bays and glimpse steaming Rotomahana. Make a day of it – most people take 4-5 hours, ending with a soak at Hot Water Beach.

Overlooking Ruapehu, the 2.5km, 3-hour trail to the top of Mt Tauhara (1088m) is a favourite hike for views of the lake and Tongariro National Park's volcanoes. OK for beginners with reasonable fitness levels. If you're staying at Chateau Tongariro or Whakapapa village, the Taranaki Falls Walking track is on your doorstep, a 6km, easy loop track with spectacular mountain views and the 20m waterfalls.

Climbing Taranaki's maunga is not for first-timers but the North Egmont Visitors Centre will put you on the path to several expertly curated DOC tracks, such as the one-hour, 1.2km Ngatoro Loop Track and a great option for beginners, the 90-minute Waingongoro Hut Track through the eerie Goblin Forest, past Dawson Falls and across Kapuni Stream via the 24m-high Waingongoro Swing Bridge to the hut.

There are few places in New Zealand where you can drive 12 minutes from a major city and immerse yourself in ancient bush and wildlife, steeped in legend. Outside Palmerston North, Te Āpiti – Manawatū Gorge Track (11.2km) winds through native bush high above the river valley that divides Manawatū and Hawke's Bay, to the song of tui and bellbirds, past the river, trees, railway and windfarms. There's a shorter 4.1km loop at Ashhurst. In the area, check out the Sledge Track and Rangiwahia Scenic Reserve Walk.

Never afraid to admit our ignorance, we hadn't heard of Shine Falls, but Hawke's Bay boosters tell us this is one of New Zealand's most spectacular waterfalls – a 58m beauty about an hour's drive north of Napier, admired after a 90-minute return stroll past farmland and towering sandstone bluffs. Expect a few uphill sections and safe stream crossings.

Tararua Forest Park is easy to get to, with starting points for hikes just a few minutes' drive from Masterton, Carterton, Greytown or Featherston. Mt Holdsworth (1470m) was my Boys' Bridge Expedition Badge test; for less time-consuming adventures, the 40-minute Donnelly Flat loop and 90-minute return to Rocky Lookout. The Gentle Annie Track is an easy 3-4 hour walk.