It's just become a whole lot more expensive to walk in New Zealand.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) has released a new pricing structure for all of Aotearoa's walking tracks and many have been hit by substantial increases in fees.
Fees for a hut on the Milford Track will increase from $70 to $110 during the summer for international visitors, and from $70 to $78 for New Zealand residents.
Prices for booking many of DoC's other huts have also gone up by around $5 to $20 per night.
An online booking system will release accommodation availability at huts and campsites in stages, starting with those in Otago on May 11, with locations round the rest of Aotearoa becoming available over the following few days.
New Zealand's Great Walks will be available to book with an online payment from mid-June.
DoC says the new pricing structure is to spread the cost of maintaining the walks across the year with the introduction of new shoulder season pricing.
The changes also reintroduce different pricing structures for those coming from overseas, compared to those from New Zealand.
The department also said the price increase for sole occupancy huts was to "better reflect market rates".
A full schedule of new fees is available through the DoC website, but some of the changes are detailed below.
New Great Walk hut summer fees:
Milford Track
- International: $110 (an increase of $40)
- NZ resident: $78 (an increase of $8)
Kepler Track
- International: $102 (an increase of $37)
- NZ resident: $68 (an increase of $3)
Routeburn Track
- International: $102 (an increase of $37)
- NZ resident: $68 (an increase of $3)
In a statement released on Monday with the new price list, DoC said it costs approximately $46 million every year to maintain its more than 900 huts and 300 campsites, with current user fees only covering a quarter of that multi-million dollar expense.
