After a sleepless night for campers and trampers hoping to bag a space on their great walk of choice, the Department of Conservation‘s Great Walk booking system is back up and more in demand than ever.

After twice being delayed by technical issues, and ongoing IT supplier woes since May, the most popular multi-day walks are back, with Tongariro and Rakiura Track/Stewart Island tracks having seen their first bookings for the 2023/24 summer season.

Department of Conservation (DoC) booking services manager Cameron Hyland says there have been no major issues reported and demand is well ahead of last year.

By midday, the Stewart Island Great Walk had over 700 bookings, which was already an increase on opening day last year.

 “We had no issues with the system today or yesterday, so we’re pleased that things are going smoothly,” said Hyland.

The first walk to open for bookings since the IT fix, the Tongariro Northern Circuit Great Walk opened with over a third more bookings.

Waihohonu Hut on the Tongariro Northern Circuit is an easy 1-3 hour walk from the road. The modern, solar-powered 28-bunk hut offers mountain views, a big log burner and good insulation.

“By the end of the day, visitors had booked nearly 9,400 bed nights - a 53 per cent increase on last year’s opening day,” he said.

International tourists were also back in force, making up 23 per cent of overnight bookings, although this is still well below pre-pandemic visitor levels for Tongariro, which has historically seen a 40-60 split with majority overseas trampers.

Still, Hyland was upbeat about the interest from Kiwi visitors.

“It is likely that much of this increase is pent-up demand following the delay in opening bookings, but it’s still a good sign for the summer ahead.”

The Paparoa Track is set to open at 9.30am on Thursday. The newest walk on the network, and already the third most in demand, it is certain to be popular.

DoC’s IT vendor Tyler Technologies, which acquired the booking engine last year, apologised for the snags which delayed this season’s booking window.

“We appreciate the partnership we have with the New Zealand Department of Conservation and have worked closely with them to ensure the booking site will function as intended,” a spokeswoman for the company told the Herald.

The Hump Ridge Track, which is scheduled to join the network in October, will use a separate booking system, operated by the Hump Ridge Tuatapere Trust.

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Great Walk Bookings for summer 2023

Great Walk bookings for the 2023/24 season open from this week.

Bookings open for the following trails at 9.30am, on these dates:

Tongariro Northern Circuit - Tuesday July 11

Rakiura Track - Wednesday July 12

Paparoa Track - Thursday July 13

Abel Tasman Coast Track - Tuesday July 18

Whanganui Journey - Wednesday July 19

Kepler Track - Thursday July 20

Routeburn Track - Tuesday July 25

Heaphy Track - Wednesday July 26

The Lake Waikaremoana Track is yet to announce booking dates, because of ongoing flood damage.

For more, go to doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/walking-and-tramping/great-walks/.