I would describe myself as a keen rambler and I like nothing better than to put on a pair of well trodden hiking boots and get out into the countryside to explore. Although I had spent many a summer walking in the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia as a child, it was during the eight months that I spent backpacking around New Zealand that I really developed my passion for trekking.

I arrived in New Zealand in winter 2006 with a brand new pair of walking boots, intending to wear them in on the Great Walks and in the dramatic and diverse scenery of the national parks. My favourite of the Great Walks is the Routeburn Track, which begins in Glenorchy in the heart of the Mount Aspiring National Park and takes you through to the Divide and the edge of Fiordland National Park. One highlight is the climb up from the Harris Saddle to Conical Hill, from where you are rewarded with spectacular views over the Hollyford Valley and across to the Tasman Sea.

Although the Great Walks traverse some of the country’s most dramatic scenery, some of my favourite walking experiences were enjoyed on the less trodden paths. One particularly memorable experience was the journey up to the Welcome Flats Hut on the West Coast of the South Island. The walk begins 26km south of Fox Glacier and is the beginning of the old Copland Track, which was first used in 1895 as a crossing over the East-West divide. The main reason for making this journey today is to spend a night enjoying the hot springs at the Welcome Flats Hut. There are four hot pools here, and there is nothing more rewarding after a 17km walk than to soak your aching limbs in the thermal waters, surrounded by the stunning snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps.

The walk itself was not only exciting but very diverse; my companions and I scrambled over rocks, picked our way through dense forest and waded across rivers, and when we arrived at our destination we were certainly not disappointed. We cooked a hearty meal and washed it down with a glass or two of wine, then waited for the sun to go down and the sandflies to disappear before immersing our tired bodies in the hot thermal waters. The dramatic mountain scenery was spectacular in the moonlight, and after a couple of minutes in the hot pools we decided that we would be staying for more than one night in this magical place.

Although the ever-changing scenery is the country’s biggest draw, for me it was the people that I met along the way that inspired me to explore further and to stay in the country much longer than I had originally intended. The kiwis are adventurous by nature, and are passionate about and protective of their environment. As a single traveller I was always invited to join other trampers for a cup of tea, be it on the side of a mountain or in one of the many walkers’ huts in which I stayed, and their stories were often the inspiration for my next adventure.

The kiwi passion for tramping and the great outdoors, and their often crazy sense of adventure, has certainly rubbed off on me and since returning from the land of the long white cloud I have taken every opportunity to put the boots back on and continue my explorations.