New Zealand,

<p>Hello everybody,</p>

<p>I've been asked if I wanted to join somebody on a hicking trip in New Zeealand in january 2012.<br>

Has anybody got any experience with what kind of equipment is worth carrying, considering there won't be a car available to do the carrying for me :)<br>

Any experiences would be greatelly appreciated. I'm sure New Zeealand is an awesome place for landscapes, nature, rivers, reserves etc.<br>

i should find out more about the locations we'll be travelling to.</p>

<p>I personally haven't been there myself, but I think it depends a lot of where you are going. Many of the famous treks (especially on the south island) get a TON of rain. Think deep mud and sharp grasses. So good footwear, waterproof gear is probably a good start. </p>

<p>If you are doing one of the treks you should probably be thinking about being light. And I would imagine unless you are into bird photography you should think mostly about wider lenses, 12-50mm range on a digital body. I don't think there would be much need for a longer lens. Personally I would find a way to include a tripod, but that's me.</p>

<p>I'm not much of a walker, but the South Island is definitely the place to go for gorgeous landscapes. I am not sure if you are aware but January is the height of our summer so it can get pretty warm, don't know if that bothers you. If you were to come in April you would have the gorgeous autumn colors, if you came later still there will be snow on the mountains.</p>

<p>A couple of notes to help you when doing google searches - here we don't call it hiking, we call it Tramping, and also you've spelled New Zealand wrong in your post, that won't help with googling.</p>

<p>Our tramps are probably much longer than you are expecting, we are an outdoors country and people here think nothing of going for a week's tramp, so I'd assume you would want light as possible camera gear. Also we often have four seasons in one day, so be prepared for getting wet, you might want to consider some rain protection for your camera gear.</p>

<p>As I said, I'm no tramper, but it's common for overseas tourists to set off unprepared and ignoring the advice of locals, please come prepared so you don't become a statistic.</p>

<p>Hi Nila,<br>

New Zealand is really no different from many other places that get regular rainfall and have an oceanic climate. The landscape varies wherever you go from volcanoes (North Island), coastal scenery (everywhere), pastoral scenes and mountains (mainly South Island except for the volcanoes). If you intend doing the tourist walks, you must have a good raincoat, sturdy footwear, and warm layers of clothing. In the mountains, it can be blisteringly hot in the Summer, but it can be teaming with rain or snowing a few days later, so you must be prepared. It is an excellent idea to have a light pack if you want to enjoy the walking, so I would recommend a minimum in camera gear. Even the body and only a single, good quality zoom might suffice. Do you really need to burden yourself with a tripod with modern digital cameras? I do, but photography is my main reason for walking and if the walk itself was the main goal, I wouldn't bother with one. Feel free to ask other questions if you would like to.<br>

Cheers, Alan</p>

<p>Thank you gentlemen, shall take carefull notes of those above.<br>

I'm soon getting the 70-200 Mk ii....:) Hard to resist not to take those along :)</p>