lonely planet ten best walks

[wayno]

not a fan of lonely planet when they do this...
the walks just get more overrun with people.
the tongariro crossing gets flooded with up to 1500 people a day that pour onto the track all going the same direction within a couple of hours because of all the publicity its having.
abel tasman national park get a lot of plugs, small park 40k's in length, 200,000 visitors in summer. i've counted 80 kayaks on a beach about a kilometre in length...
I've noticed the routeburn books out earlier and earlier each year now, the milford track needs to be booked almost as soon as booking becomes available as it will book out well in advance... so you either end up walking the walks in the fringe season or not at all to avoid the crowds...
isnt it time the lonely planet writers found some new places for their best walks than picking on the same old countries and tracks year after year?

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/t ... cles/76228

[roysta]

It's getting to the stage where you lock on to some of those second strata walks and hope like hell websites like Lonely Planet don't cotton on.

[icefest]

I'm happy it keeps walkers away from the more remote off track walks.
A sacrificial anode, of sorts.

[wayno]

rees dart cascade saddlle is another very popular walk, the huts will ahve to be booked in the coming summers because they are so overloaded

[GD4Up]

I'm happy it keeps walkers away from the more remote off track walks.
A sacrificial anode, of sorts.

+1
I'm all for a few sacrificial (iconic) walks

[Hallu]

Lonely Planet is actually damaging to the tourism industry, as they focus way too much on a couple of crappy touristy locations. Same with Trip Advisor. In Victoria for instance, they make it sound like the top 3 are Phillip Island, Puffing Billy and the Yarra Valley wines... You won't see much about the Aussie Alps, nothing on birdwatching spots (the Kerang Lakes aren't even mentioned), the Mallee country is summarized by the existence of the pink lakes, and that's it. They focus too much on cities, restaurants and hotels, which was their initial speciality, but now they think they can give advice on parks, bushwalking and wildlife in general, whereas they're mostly completely wrong. Top 10 like this are pointless, and so are the National Geographic "places to see before you die" and all that kind of stuff. It promotes a fast paced tourism that's completely pointless. People trying to squeeze as many things to see as they can in their itinerary while they should explore and take their time, which is what Australia is all about. Because guess what ? Sydney is suffocating, Cairns sucks and the Great Barrier Reef is in really bad shape, the Overland is crowded, muddy and very expensive, Aussie wines are mostly too industrial and full of pesticides, and the best part of the Red Centre isn't Uluru... I came in Aussie for work and was scared at the picture depicted by Lonely Planet, before realizing they're completely wrong.

[GPSGuided]

Without Lonely Planet and similar, Kathmandu and other outdoor gears companies will not see further growth in their revenue along with stagnating R&D dollars. Pick your evil.

BTW, I understand the Peruvian Inca trail is one of those high risk trails. Is that right?

[Lindsay]

Without Lonely Planet and similar, Kathmandu and other outdoor gears companies will not see further growth in their revenue along with stagnating R&D dollars. Pick your evil.

BTW, I understand the Peruvian Inca trail is one of those high risk trails. Is that right?

I walked the Inca Trail 5 years ago. It's high risk in the sense that there were some local villagers taking to robbing/extorting money out of walkers, especially on the more remote side tracks. When I walked it you had to have a local guide, who presumably had paid off the right people to ensure a hassle free walk. A great walk, fantastic scenery and interesting Inca ruins. Only problem is the fact that it is crowded and there is almost always other people in view.

[wayno]

the routeburn used to be a lot less well known, its a fantastic walk, fantastic mix of scenery in a relatively short distance, except for the holiday period you could easily get a space on the track,
But its getting plugged now and books out further in advance now over summer, the guided walking huts have just doubled the capacity of walkers they can take. i hope doc dont increace their capacity further... but at least there are limits on the not of overnight walkers.... the no od day walkers at either end has increased, massive groups of guided walkers. key summit can have dozens of people on it at any one time. as they make the track better, the day walkers go further along the track...

[roysta]

They've been "dumbing down" the Great Walk tracks for a few years now, so the obvious end result was going to be hordes of people.

[wayno]

theres a big stink on at welcome flat hut, doc have started adding small four person bunk rooms you book for $100 a night includes a wet back shower of its own... still have to share the loos....
people are divided about the increasing exclusivity of the services provided.
you're paying $50 a night for a great walks hut, if you've got a family you're in for big money plus the shuttle buses arent cheap..

[Happy Pirate]

They've been "dumbing down" the Great Walk tracks for a few years now, so the obvious end result was going to be hordes of people.

except for those that are GW's in title only.
Come and try some of the QLD "Great Walks". Trails overgrown with weeds (if the trails even exist), deep river crossings through crocodile territory, access roads destroyed and 2-3 years behind restoration...
"Walking trails?...oh no ... we just make marks on the map... you find your own way..."
'Huts' ? ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha uh uh uh - cough - cough

S

[Mark F]

Gee. Based on the NZ commentary, maybe the way the OT is run isn't too bad or expensive.

[wayno]

camping spots are pretty limited on the great walks in NZ compared to places in the huts...
although for pre booking for $55 a night you get a guaranteed bunk and gas cookers provided. and solar charged lighting.
guided walks staying in the guided huts work out at around $400 a day for the cheapest option, gives you hot running water, electricity, all meals and a four person bunk room. have your own double room for more ... the guided option is only on the routeburn, greenstone, milford and hollyford and eventually on the Kepler, plus if its bad weather you get a helicopter flight between huts or to evacuate you if necessary