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The following is a list of common New Zealand tramping terms and kiwi phrases to help you form your own hiking glossary specifically for tramping in NZ.
Terms relating specifically to Thru Hiking are marked with an (*) asterisk.
/are-oh-hah/ : The Māori concept of love, sympathy and compassion. To show aroha for a person or place is to show respect and share in their love and affection.
A kiwi slang term for a holiday house, usually a small two or three bedroom shack in an historical holiday destination for that particular family (most commonly near a beach or other scenic holiday location).
Although not terms often used in NZ, backcountry and frontcountry refer to the accessibility of a particular track or hut/campsite to the nearest road or civilisation. The term backcountry is often used in NZ to refer to the wider wilderness area, and the majority of areas through which tramping tracks in NZ pass. However, you could say that the frontcountry area extends to anywhere within a 1-2 day walk of the road, and the backcountry area is anything further than a 2 day walk from the nearest road.
Kiwi slang for the summer backyard favourite, the barbeque.
A benched track has a well formed surface, usually cut horizontally into the landscape, with a bank on one side and possibly some kind of drop off or downhill slope on the other. More popular and frequently used tracks in the track network will usually be benched (or contain large portions of benched sections) making it easier for less experienced walkers, but the vast majority of tracks in the backcountry network are not benched.
A large pot used for boiling water or cooking up a meal over a campfire.
The bushline is the upper limit of tall vegetation in a landscape, and often marks the beginning of the alpine or high country landscape bringing harsher conditions. Taller vegetation struggles to survive up above the bush line due to harsher conditions such as strong winds, higher rainfall and lower temperatures, so heading up above the bush line requires additional skills and equipment to stay safe.
The act of arriving at a water source and drinking as much as possible in one sitting, so as to make up for not having carried enough up to that point, or not being able to carry enough for the next section.
Camping underneath the stars out in the open air, rather than under the cover of your tent or a hut. Usually undertaken on mild summer nights in bug-free areas, where a hiker’s tent or fly is commonly used as a groundsheet.
A small convenience store or market located in among the suburban environment designed to provide convenience items to surrounding residents. Also known as ‘corner shops’ in the UK, dairies were originally created to provide basic supplies such as milk, bread and newspapers, but now contain a wider variety of products. In NZ dairies may also have things like hot pies, flavoured milk drinks and fizzy drinks, ice creams, confectionery and potato chips as well as a small selection of other packaged foods.
The national organisation which looks over, manages and preserves public conservation land. As well as looking after our natural environment, DOC is charged with protecting New Zealand’s natural heritage and historic sites.
See long drop below.
A point on the trail which at first appears to be the highest point, but in fact later turns out to be below the true summit. Reaching one or more false summits on a hard day of hiking could have the effect of becoming very demoralising.
Completing a trail in a non-conventional direction or manner, usually by starting around the middle and first heading in one direction, then skipping (or ‘flipping’) back down to where you started and continuing your hike south. Usually used to get around seasonal weather changes or by hikers who prefer less crowded trails.
A national network of (at the time of writing) 10 of New Zealand’s most popular multi-day walking tracks, often through some of the most scenic regions of the country. Great Walks draw thousands of people to New Zealand each year, and are very popular with kiwi trampers also. They require bookings for huts and campsites and are often booked out for the upcoming summer season well in advance. Find out more about NZ Great Walks here.
Usually 8.30pm, the time at which all sensible hikers begin to quiet down or take themselves to bed, ready for a long day of hiking the next day. If you are staying in a hut and making an excessive amount of noise after 8.30 or 9pm, you are likely to be very unpopular the following day.
A common phrase among thru hikers, especially on worldwide long distance hiking trails, the general concept is to take care of yourself when out on the trail and not worry about what others think. Setting and adhering to your own goals, learning to be satisfied with your choices, and allowing others to do the same.
/hee-coy/ To stride or walk. The phrase tangata hīkoi means a hiker, tramper or trekker.
A backcountry shelter, usually looked after and managed by the Department of Conservation (although there is a network of private huts) often used as an overnight stop or place of refuge. Many kiwi trampers engage in the activity of ‘hut bagging’ (i.e. visiting as many backcountry huts as possible) and most often visiting a hut can be the main purpose of a tramping trip. DOC huts are categorised as ‘basic’, ‘standard’, ‘serviced’ or ‘Great Walk’ and have different levels of facilities and cost accordingly.
/ee-wee/ An extended kinship group, tribe, nation, people, nationality, race. Often referring to a large group of people descended from a common ancestor and associated with a distinct territory.
A kiwi term for a lightweight sandal worn on the feet, known in other places as a ‘flip flop’ or ‘thong’.
A kiwi term for an electric kettle or hot water boiler.
/kai/ A Maori term for food, with the term kai moana (/kai mow-ah-nah/) describing food that comes from the sea.
/kai-tee-ah-kee/ A guardian or caregiver, also a trustee, minder, keeper or steward. In Te Ao Māori /teh-ow-mowree/ (the Māori world) humans are supposed to be kaitiaki of the environment, looking after it so it continues to thrive and provide for us.
/kaw-hah/ A gift, present, offering, donation or contribution offered in return for a service provided or as a sign of gratitude for another person’s hospitality. Koha is the common name used for ‘donations’ or contributions made to trail angels for accommodation and/or food along Te Araroa.
A non-flushing backcountry toilet, ranging from a more modern containment vault (filled with chemicals), composting toilets and standard the standard hole in the ground. Usually elevated off the ground with a space underneath for waste to collect, there is usually a wooden bench with a toilet seat over the hole, or a proper toilet-style cassette over the top of the hole. It’s very important not to put anything but human waste and toilet paper into a long drop toilet, as rubbish can cause the pump to become blocked when the toilet is empty.
/mah-tah-go-ree/ A skin-ripping thorny bush capable of growing to great heights, exclusively found in the South Island. Falling into a matagouri bush will result in sometimes deep puncture wounds, so it is no surprise it has historically been used by Maori for tribal tattooing.
A day where close to zero positive trail kilometres or miles are hiked, often used where hiking into or out of a trail town after a resupply.
Hiking in a northbound direction.
Land which is designated as conservation land by the Crown, although it can be classified into a number of different categories. There are usually restrictions on what you can and can’t do on public conservation land (e.g. camping restrictions). Approximately one third of NZ’s land mass is classified public conservation land, with the majority of this being on the South Island.
Short for ‘pointless ups and downs’, a section of trail which undulates up and down over a considerable distance with no clear point to the elevation gain and loss (i.e. you end up at the same elevation you started, or there is a perfectly good, flat, alternative).
In the thru hiker sense, a hiker who hikes every single available or open kilometre of a trail, even if it means backtracking long distances to get around a closure. These hikers often don’t consider themselves a thru hiker unless they have ‘touched’ every kilometre, including difficult or sketchy sections like road walks.
A large mass of very small stones or gravel that loosely cover the side of a large hillside or mountain. Scree is very loose underfoot, but usually quite deep, so it is possible to descend quickly by digging the heels of your boots deep into it. Ascending scree is a much more difficult task, where it can often feel like it is one step backward for every two steps forward. Scree is common on New Zealand high country tracks and routes.
A common high-energy snack used in the backcountry, usually comprised of a mix of nuts, grains, dried fruit (such as raisins) and chocolate. Sold in supermarket bulk bins around NZ, it is very easily accessible.
A person who hikes a long distance trail in a number of sections rather than all in one go. Sections can be completed in a continuous manner (i.e. north to south) over time, or can be disjointed, with the hiker doing the sections that match their ability first before moving on to more difficult sections. An entire trail can be completed this way, or entire sections may never be completed.
A specific kiwi term for walking along the side of a hill or mountain, rather than up and over it. If looking at a topographical map, it would mean hiking along the same contour line for a period of time. Especially on rougher tracks, sidling can often be tricky as the track will slope down towards a valley or river below, may be high up and will usually have a steep drop off on one side. It’s common for sidle tracks to become washed out by slips in heavy rains, requiring a detour around.
A.k.a. ‘sketch’, a section of trail which is questionable or of potentially unsafe quality. May involve a higher level of skill to traverse or get through safely. Often attributed to steep or exposed sections, or descents/ascents across rough terrain or scree.
The act of reducing gear from your pack to only the necessary items needed for a day hike, whilst the remainder of your gear stays at another location or is transported by someone else to a new location. Often used on thru hikes where hikers have assistance from a support group or trail angel, or where they choose to stay in one location for a few days but still complete the surrounding sections in a continuous manner.
Also known as a landslide, an area of hillside or mountain which has slid down the hillside into the valley below, usually as the result of heavy rain. Historical or large slips are marked on map by a continuous semicircular line punctuated by triangles or marks facing in the downhill direction of the slip. However recent slips may not be marked on a map.
Hiking in a southbound direction.
As in, Question: “What’s this Track Like?” Answer: “She’s pretty solid.”
Meaning: Probably almost impossible for anyone who doesn’t have decades of experience in the backcountry or is not a mountaineer/mountain goat. Frequently used to describe things like 1,000m ascents over distances less than 500m-1km or tracks which involve ‘rock climbing’.
A form of suspension bridge linking the two banks of a river, these are plentiful throughout New Zealand and come in many different forms, from easy and basic wooden bottomed bridges capable of holding 10 or more people, to wire swing bridges with see-through mesh bottoms (punctuated by metal rungs to step on) which only hold one person at a time. The infamous ‘three wire’ swing bridges comprise just one thin wire for your feet, and two wires higher up for your hands to hold onto.
A switchback is a method of climbing steep or high hills or mountains with the least physical effort, by taking a longer zig-zagging route to the top with a shallower gradient. In New Zealand, switchbacks are virtually non-existent, with kiwi trampers preferring instead to hike straight up and over a hill or mountain, making both ascent and descent a lot steeper and in many cases more technical.
A method of hiking from one trailhead to another with continuous footsteps in one direction without taking an extended or cross-season break. Note that different trails recognise different definitions of thru hiking, for example the Appalachian Trail defines a thru hiker as anyone who has hiked the full length within a 12 month period.
A person who chooses to hike the entire length of a trail (long distance or otherwise) in one continuous footpath from end to end during the course of a single season. Most commonly applied to the world’s long distance trails i.e. the PCT, AT, CDT or TA, it can also apply to hikers on trails of much shorter length.
The shortened name for a topographical map, this a map showing the shape and location of all the relief features and natural features of a particular landscape, as well as man made features. Topo maps are zoomed in to either 1:250000 – Topo250 or 1:50000 – Topo50 and used for navigation and route finding in the wilderness. Online topo maps are available at www.nztopomap.co.nz and paper copies can be purchased at any DOC Visitor Centre or selected retailers throughout the country.
A track is the more common term used by kiwi trampers to identify the route they are walking on, known elsewhere as a ‘path’ or ‘trail’. Tracks have various grades depending on their difficulty, from easy walks to intermediate or tramping tracks, advanced tramping tracks and eventually ‘routes’ which require considerable skill. Walking tracks (including advanced tramping tracks) are marked by a dashed line on topographical maps, whereas much more difficult ‘routes’ are marked by dotted lines on topographical maps.
A person or people located along a long distance trail who either regularly or on a one-off basis provides assistance to a hiker of that trail (whether it be a thru hiker, section hiker or day hiker). Trail angels offer trail magic, often including a place to stay, and usually provide much-needed services on sections of trail which would otherwise be logistically difficult to complete.
Any form of assistance or support provided by a trail angel during the course of a long distance hike. The definition of trail magic is wide and far reaching, from someone who leaves a bag of oranges on the side of a trail for hikers to consume, to those who stash water caches, bring barbecues to trailheads, transport hikers between trailheads and/or provide accommodation to hikers along their route (and much more).
Used in place of the word ‘hiking’ in New Zealand, this is the term more commonly given to the activity of sauntering in or roaming the outdoors. The NZ outdoor environment is harsh and rugged, hence why we use such an abrasive term to describe our activities in it.
Very common in the high country and alpine regions of New Zealand, tussock grasses are small round clumps of bunched grass which carpet the landscape, often thickly making it impossible to follow a straight path. The presence of tussock usually marks an exposed high country environment with little shelter.
/faa-kah-paa-pah/ Literally meaning genealogy, reciting whakapapa was and still is, an important concept in the Māori world. It is reflected in the importance of genealogies in Māori society for leadership roles, land and fishing rights, kinship and status. It is central to all Māori institutions.
/fen-oo-aah/ The Māori term for the land or ground underneath our feet, allowing a person to strongly connect or deeply identify with their relationship to a place or people, especially vis a vis their birth and the birth of their ancestors.
The act of thru hiking a trail in one direction, then turning around and hiking back to the start in the opposite direction (therefore doubling your total distance).
A day where no positive trail kilometres or miles are hiked (specifically on a thru hike), otherwise known as a rest day.
