The Best Hikes in Oceania

Sandstone and granite

The three Australian walks are short and built around rock. Grand Canyon Track near Blackheath in the Blue Mountains drops by steep stairs into a rainforest canyon along Greaves Creek and passes behind a small waterfall. Kings Canyon Rim Walk in Watarrka National Park starts with a climb of about 500 steps and then stays mostly flat along the sandstone rim, past rock domes and the Garden of Eden waterhole. Mount Amos in Freycinet National Park is a scramble on all fours over smooth granite to a view of Wineglass Bay.

Heat

Trails in central Australia close when it gets too hot. The Kings Canyon rim closes early on days with a forecast of 36°C or more, which pushes the walk into the early morning. Mount Amos is mostly unshaded as well, and its granite is slippery even when dry.

New Zealand's alpine routes

The New Zealand routes go higher: Gertrude Saddle in Fiordland, the Mueller Hut Route below Aoraki/Mount Cook, and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing over volcanic ground. They are longer and more exposed to weather than the Australian walks, and several become dangerous on wet rock.

Words on signs

Signs in both countries call a trail a track and give distances as return, meaning there and back.