These are the best off-the-radar walks in NZ

What’s the best walk in New Zealand? Most people will rightly start listing off experiences like the Milford Track or Abel Tasman.

But there are thousands of other hikes around the regions that are just as spectacular in their own unique way. How about a cloud forest home to endangered takahē? Or a Jurassic valley filled with geothermal wonders?

These are the best off-the-radar walks where you can also escape the crowds. And best of all, most of these can be done in just a few hours.

History is unfolding in a spectacular little valley 30 minutes outside Rotorua. Waimangu Volcanic Valley is the only geothermal system to be created in modern times (after the Mount Tarawera eruption), and that means it’s full of life.

The valley has a magnificent walk linking many of the features, including the largest hot spring in the world by surface area. It’s roughly the size of five rugby fields. One of the other popular features is Inferno Crater, which is bright blue, and home to an underwater geyser.

The walk continues past more geysers, hot water streams and dozens of other bubbling features before reaching Lake Rotomahana's steaming shores. There, you can board a boat which tours the lake. This includes sailing over the location of the now-buried Pink and White Terraces.

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To get a glimpse of how New Zealand looked before humans arrived, head for a leisurely stroll around a magnificent cloud forest near Dunedin. It’s officially known as Orokonui Ecosanctuary, and you’ll often find its peak shrouded in a wispy cloud.

The predator-free sanctuary is also home to some of our rarest birds, reptiles and plants – like kiwi and tuatara. When I visited, a pair of takahē wandered straight up to me for an inspection. It was a special and rare sight; it is thought there are fewer than 500 left on the planet.

The sanctuary has several short and multi-hour walks. Make sure to ask staff for the best tips on spotting wildlife.

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One of Taupō’s treasures is found 30 minutes’ drive from the central city. It’s a volcanic Jurassic Park.

After the winding drive, you’re rewarded with a spectacular sight at the carpark. Across the Waikato River is a valley that’s steaming, boiling, hissing and mushrooming plumes of smoke into the air.

You’ll first board a small boat to head across the river, then follow a snaking boardwalk that passes more than 20 geysers, hot springs and mud pools. There's even a rare geothermal cave; one of only two that are known to exist in the world. This walk is also dog-friendly – just make sure to have them on a tight leash. Many of the hot pools are boiling.

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One of Whanganui’s most beautiful walks is found at the little-known Paloma Gardens. It’s a private property tucked away in Whanganui's rolling hills, and has been awarded Garden of National Significance status.

If you’re a garden lover, you’ll want to set aside a few hours to explore and perhaps bring a picnic. Each part of the property is themed, with such places as the Palm Garden (home to almost 130 species), a bamboo forest and even a ‘God’ Garden. This stands for Garden Of Death, and has some pretty poisonous varieties to view.

The property is owned by Nicki and Clive Higgie, who have spent more than 30 years curating their piece of paradise.

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Most Kiwis know about Coromandel’s famous Cathedral Cove, but few realise there is a South Island version.

You’ll find this hidden gem in the Catlins, a rugged paradise where forest meets the sea. The caves are only accessible at low tide after a gentle 15-minute walk through lush native bush.

Along the beach are two dramatic caves that have been sculpted by the ocean over thousands of years. The caves join up deep underground and together measure more than 200 metres. Explore as much as you dare, but bring a torch if you intend going right in; penguins occasionally use the caves, and you don't want to disturb them.

The caves are open between October and May, with a $10 access fee to walk across Māori land.

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If you’re fit and aren’t afraid of heights, you can’t miss the Kāpiti Coast’s Escarpment Track. It’s located on steep coastal hills and involves more than 500 steps and steep cliffs. It also has very few guard rails.

At first glance, it looks like only mountain goats could get up there, but the designers have done a remarkable job zigzagging a track along the steep terrain. I think it’s one of the best short walks in the country.

The trail runs either way, but I’d recommended doing it from Paekākāriki, where you can park your car at the train station. Just over nine kilometres of hiking later, you’ll arrive at Pukerua Bay, where you can take the train back to Paekākāriki.

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One of Tairāwhiti’s best hidden gems has a fascinating story. Douglas Cook spent more than five decades amassing an enormous collection of trees and plants from around the world in case of some sort of apocalypse, like a nuclear war. Today, it’s known as the Eastwood Hill Arboretum.

The sprawling estate has more than 25,000 different species of trees, shrubs, and climber plants – and is believed to hold the most extensive collection of Northern Hemisphere trees in the Southern Hemisphere. It is even home to 16 critically endangered species.

For tree and plant lovers, this 135-hectare property is a garden of eden – with a variety of short and longer walks to explore the property.

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It’s hard to imagine that shark-toothed dolphins and four-legged whales have been found in New Zealand, and the epicentre of these remarkable discoveries can be found in Waitaki. It’s the little region with lots to offer between Canterbury and Otago.

Start with a visit to the Vanished World Centre in Duntroon, half an hour's drive from Ōamaru. This community-run centre has created the "Vanished World Trail", which is a self-guided drive to a series of historical places around the region. The stops include early Māori rock art, the iconic Elephant Rocks, and the Valley of Whales – where bones that are tens of millions of years old have been located. Many of these stops have fascinating short walks.

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