The most dangerous and deadly places to tramp in New Zealand

There are more than 14,000 kilometres of tramping tracks across New Zealand – some are well-maintained and relatively safe, others, when coupled with our changeable weather, are potentially deadly.

In the last 10 years there has been an average of 5.7 hiking deaths a year in Aotearoa, Mountain Safety Council (MSC) chief executive Mike Daisley said.

In just nine months in 2019 (between April and December) at least 11 people died while tramping in the Tararua Range, Arthur's Pass, the Remarkables, the Tongariro Northern Circuit, Nelson Lakes National Park, Mount Lancelot, and the Routeburn Track.

So which areas are the most dangerous?

From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2017, there were 57 fatalities across the country's tramping trails – 31 from falling, 12 from drowning, six from hypothermia, two from avalanches, two from glacial ice falls, and four from unknown causes, based on data from MSC's A Walk in the Park? report.

The most fatalities occurred in Southland, followed by Queenstown Lakes and Tasman, Westland, the Tararua Ranges, Aoraki/Mount Cook, and Central North Island, Taranaki and Auckland.

A recent analysis conducted by MSC found the Tongariro Alpine Crossing had the most safety incidents over nearly a decade. In total there were 293 incidents – a combination of fatalities, search and rescues, and injuries – compared with 52 on the Mount Taranaki Summit Route, and 47 on the Milford Track over the same period. The exact number of fatalities for each track wasn't yet known by MSC.

While the number of incidents on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was high, a MSC spokesperson said it was beginning to reduce, based on previous data.

Who is to blame?

The tracks or trampers? Both, according to tramping and safety experts.

The Department of Conservation's principal advisor for visitor risk, Don Bogie, said while popular tracks were well-maintained, there were several unmarked routes that required a high level of fitness and proved difficult to traverse depending on the weather.

"Some tracks and marked routes are rough, require a high level of physical fitness, can be difficult and at times will have windfalls, washouts, muddy sections, and require route-finding skills, particularly if the weather and/or the visibility is poor."

Various natural hazards – rockfalls, avalanche risks, dynamic weather and steep bluffs – attributed to injuries and deaths of trampers, but a lack of preparation was also a cause.

"The greatest danger is people being unprepared for their tramp, attempting tramps in poor weather conditions or underestimating the skill level required to walk a track," Bogie said.

NIWA principal scientist Chris Brandolino said New Zealand's weather was more changeable than unpredictable, and encouraged those embarking on hikes to thoroughly check the weather forecast, not just skim over the daily temperatures.

He believed New Zealand's "she'll be right" attitude wouldn't hold up when it came to choosing a safe day to tramp – "[If] you keep on saying that, you'll get burned."

Bogie said alpine tracks were generally the most dangerous, especially if people attempted to tackle them without the right equipment or the ability to identify risks.

He highlighted Cascade Saddle in Mount Aspiring National Park and Gertrude Saddle in Fiordland as two dangerous tracks.

"Both tracks have alpine hazards from falls on steep terrain when they are wet or have snow, they can also attract less-skilled visitors often driven by spectacular must-go-there photos on the internet.

Track grades were important to take note of, Daisley said. "Those graded advanced or expert are more suited to people with advanced or expert skills and experience, particularly in the skill sets of navigation, trip planning, risk assessment, ability to read the weather conditions and make safe choices in response."

There were 596 easy tracks across the country, 69 intermediate tracks, 459 advanced tracks, and 112 expert level tracks.

DOC data showed Aoraki/Mount Cook to be the most popular tramping area in the last year with an estimated 1.04 million visitors, up 11 per cent from the year prior, followed by Milford Sound/Piopiotahi with an estimated 840,000 visitors, and Franz Josef Glacier/Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere with an estimated 759,000.

Daisley warned tracks marked as difficult weren't the only ones with hazards. "Areas below the alpine zone are not without risk. With greater participation numbers, we see a higher number of injuries in these areas than on the more advanced tracks."

Of the 57 deaths, 21 occurred on advanced tramping tracks, 13 were on expert routes, six on intermediate tracks, four on easy tracks, and another 13 happened off track.

Daisley hoped the tragic deaths acted as a learning curve for others.

"Hopefully the good that comes of these incidents is that people realise tramping is not just a walk in the park. You do need to be well prepared for what can happen."

While it wasn't possible to eliminate the risks associated with tramping in New Zealand, there were precautions put in place to try and manage them. He said more prevention tactics would be rolled out in the future as the Safety Council learnt more about causation factors and found better ways to spread the message.

Safety advice for trampers

- Plan your trip

- Tell someone where you're going

- Be aware of the weather

- Know your limits

- Take sufficient supplies