Dean Barker

Skipper, Team New Zealand

“30% of New Zealand is covered by National Parks and I love to hike through these fantastic places, when I’m not training with Team New Zealand.”

A Stroll in the Park

Dean Barker, former skipper of the 2003 Team New Zealand America’s Cup yacht sometimes feels the need to escape the ocean. Along with wife Mandy, one of New Zealand’s best hockey players, he likes to ‘go bush’ and walk through the rain forested Waitakeres. It takes just half an hour to drive from downtown Auckland to the edge of the Waitakere Ranges, which are criss-crossed with more than 250 kilometres of walking tracks.

Bush walking in New Zealand takes in magnificent lush forest scenery
More about this image Email this image

	Interview
	DEAN BARKER Q: What is your favourite holiday spot in New Zealand? A: It’s a bit of a mixture actually. I really enjoy a lot of the beaches on the East Coast of the North Island, especially around the Coromandel. I find them really relaxing. And I just love to go down the West Coast of the South Island – anywhere through the Haast Pass, Wanaka and Queenstown. Read More

One of New Zealand’s newest walking experiences is the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track in Fiordland. Key attractions on the walk are the recently restored Percy Burn Viaduct and the Edwin, Sandhill and Francis Burn Viaducts - amazing wooden structures left over from colonial times. Walkers will also see unique wildlife, including seals, Hector’s dolphins and keas. There are two well-equipped huts on the track, at Okaka and Port Craig Village, to accommodate walkers during the 3 day/2 night hike.

FAST FACT: New Zealand has 14 National Parks. They add up to about a third of New Zealand’s total land area and provide huge scope for outdoor enjoyment. The activities available in each park depend on the nature of the terrain. In some you can water-ski, snorkel and kayak. Others offer snow skiing, snowboarding and mountain climbing, while others are popular venues for trout fishing, mountain biking and camping. Walking is the one activity that unites them all.

[ more about the Hole in the Rock]

All the National Parks in New Zealand are accessible to walkers. Some, like the Egmont National Park, have walks that only take a couple of hours. Others, like Fiordland National Park, offer extended walking opportunities – the Milford Track, the Routeburn and the Hollyford, to name just a few. You can walk through active volcanic valleys, along deserted beaches, beside rivers and over mountain ranges. Or you can simply follow a paved path through a city park.