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Maps
Added 21 June 200221 June 2002 by MatthewMatthew.1 revision 20 April 201020 April by MatthewMatthew. View history
Maps: What to look for and where to get 'em!
When you are tramping you need to be able to interpret the surrounding terrain using large scale topographical maps. New Zealand topographical maps are produced by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), while the Department of Conservation has taken over production of Parkmaps and Trackmaps. Both sets of maps are available at libraries, large bookstores, information centres, outdoor equipment stores, and online.
There are a number of map series useful for tramping and walking. These series include:
- Topo50
General purpose, large scale (1:50 000). Because of their scale, these are usually the best maps for tramping purposes. The contour lines are drawn at 20m intervals which gives a clear idea of the shape of the land. These maps superced the older NZMS 260 series.
- Parkmap (273/74)
Each sheet covers one national park or forest park, so the scale varies from 1:50 000 for Paparoa to 1:250 000 for Fiordland. Good for planning, but only the the large scale sheets are usable for tramping.
- Trackmap (335, 245, 300)
Each map features a major tramping track. Some of those available are Heaphy, Milford, Routeburn/Greenstone, Hollyford and Kepler. Limited in detail, although the high usage of these tracks means that more detailed maps are not necessary. Popular as souvenirs.
Check the LINZ website for retailers.
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Popular tags"Here's a site that stitches all of LINZ's topo maps into one big map for you to use online: http://www.topomap.co.nz/" — gavinharriss 2 August 20102 August
"i found this site recently its a bit slow but good for free maps http://www.nztopoo...nz/terms-nzmg-full/" — brenthen 16 July 200916 July 2009
"I have found that all of the maps I have used are so far out of date. A trip planned into the Ruahines has got lots of marked tracks but upon inquiry have found about 6/15 are gone now.
A recent trip found a track that did not even exist and DOC did not even know about it.
Hopefully the new maps in a couple months have actually been field checked."
— www.freewebs.com/hellmission/ 19 July 200819 July 2008
"Agree with Taranaki that Clearwater Tarn link is useful for checking out maps, books,...
I also like terramap, 1:50,000. There is one in front of me right now, Tararua Recreation Area. It is very practical because tracks are printed on both sides. Think of purchasing "Greenstone & Routeburn" for my next trip in 2008.
LINZ's NZTopoOnline service neither works well on my system, nor provides topo maps needed for my plan. Memory-Map Topos scale 1:50,000 (ed.2004) are great, specially they can be moved around. Haven't tried Toastmaster software (Aug 2006) yet."
— DzungN 19 March 200719 March 2007
"I looked in the Clearwater Tarn link and found everything I need, when I need to buy maps etc in the furture,
Thanks a lot"
— Taranaki 27 January 200427 January 2004
"May I add that our (Terralink's) own maps available from http://www.maps.co.nz. These are 1:50 000 scale providing both the DOC and LINZ map detail. There are 6 availble with 4 more about to be launched. 1 map covers the entire recreation area." — JulianG 23 October 200323 October 2003
"For trip planning purposes I found it useful to use the NZTopoOnline service on the LINZ webpage (http://www.linz.govt.nz). A complete detailed NZ topographic map is available there online for free. It is possible to find landmarks such as huts, peaks etc using the search facility. Also, it gives the NZ map grid coordinates for the main features, that can be plugged into a GPS." — donorkebab 20 October 200320 October 2003
"Make sure your map is relatively recent, as huts shift and slips will often appear." — nzpilgrim 7 July 20037 July 2003
"Visit your local outdoor centre - you'd be surprised at the local knowledge from us" — Nancy 7 August 20027 August 2002
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