New Zealand has some of the world's best hikes.

From the volcanic landscapes of the North Island to the grand peaks and creviced glaciers of the Southern Alps, New Zealand offers some of the world's best hiking (or "tramping" as Kiwis call it).

No snakes, no deadly spiders, no hungry bears and no giant cats. In fact, there's nothing in New Zealand to rain on your parade, except perhaps the rain itself and the blood-hungry sandflies on the South Island's West Coast.

It would be extraordinarily remiss to visit New Zealand and not get intimate with its astonishing wilderness via the thousands of kilometres of well-signposted walking tracks.

Many multi-day hikes traverse national parks and provide walkers with basic huts to sleep in. If you don't fancy carrying all your food and worldly possessions, you can always join a guided tramp on one of the well-trodden paths such as the Milford Track or the Abel Tasman Coastal Track and be fed gourmet meals every night in luxury lodges.

One committed group of trampers are even attempting to establish a 2900km continuous track from the northern tip of the country to the bottom of the South Island.

New Zealand's Department of Conservation has classified nine of the country's tramps as "Great Walks". In the North Island these are the Tongariro Northern Circuit (three-to-four days), the Lake Waikaremoana Circuit (three-to-four days) and the Whanganui River Journey (five-day canoe or kayak adventure).

In the sparsely-populated South Island, the Milford Track (four days) lives up to its reputation as the "finest walk in the world" but is closely rivaled by the Kepler Track (four days), the Routeburn Track (three days), the Abel Tasman Coastal Track (two-to-four days and can be done by kayak), the Rakiura Track (three days) and the Heaphy Track (four-to-five days).

Walking season is between October and April, with the best weather usually from Janaury to March. The South Island is cooler and wetter, and when it rains, it's not unusual for walking tracks to transform into raging waterfalls within minutes.

When you're done with the Great Walks you could always try the Catlins Top Track, the Hollyford Track, the Nudia Track, the Queen Charlottle Track, the Greenstone Track, the Dusky Track, the Cascade Saddle, the Whirinaki Track, the Rees-Dart Track, the Inland Pack Track .... the list goes on and on.