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NZ Trek
Adventures
Take the road less travelled. We guide only small groups (max 5) on our New Zealand trekking adventures. Let us take you on a true NZ wilderness trek - where no one else can. From seriously tough multi-day alpine treks to easier, family-orientated hiking and camping, we provide a true wilderness experience.
The wild and remote nature of New Zealand's landscape and weather means that, for most people, backcountry travel is limited to a few well established walking trails. While these popular tracks are often called "The Great Walks" they are not necessarliy the best walks - just the most well known ones!
Based out of Wanaka and Queenstown, our Treks explore the lesser travelled corners of the Mt Aspiring National Park and the South West World Heritage Area - where the scenery is always spectacular, and the challenges many.
Come and join us for a Trek in the unique NZ wilderness - join a scheduled trek or book a private trip now!
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Let’s go to the peak of adventure.
This is the real world. Come and see it for yourself—dip your toes into adventure and sink your teeth these incredible places.
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Venture
beyond the
beaten track
Professional care leads the way
Let us take care of the logistics so you can enjoy the thrill of the adventure knowing you’ve got professional, experienced, and qualified guides alongside you every step of the way.
Curating memorable experiences
Uncover an appreciation for the environment that you’ll want to hold onto with both hands, and never let go. Descend from the crux ready to go again—we’re here for your next adventure; have this moment again and again. We promise you; this never gets old.
What our Customers say
about us?
Hear directly from the adventurers who’ve joined us. Their stories of success and transformation highlight the extraordinary experiences that await you with Aspiring Guides.
Brilliant Gillespie-Rabbit guided trip in Mt Aspiring National Park over the New Year. The logistics managed by Aspiring Guides was superb... enabling big adventures with mainly fresh and delicious food, without huge heavy packs. We had a small group with lots of laughs. Despite our wide experience we all learned heaps from our talented and chilled guide, Adam. His local knowledge and experience is superb especially around river-crossings, navigation and delicious cooking :). Thanks team!
9 of us traveled via helicopter..stayed at Siberia Hut, 3 days, 2 nights. Our guides, Frankie and Adam were top-notch. We had different abilities and all were accommodated. Last day we hiked down to the Wilkins River and jett-boated out to Makarora! Stunning views, amazing guides, great food, great fun! Highly recommend!
My wife and I embarked on a 21-day adventure to New Zealand, dedicating a full day and two nights to the charming town of Wanaka. We had booked a private hiking tour in Mt. Aspiring National Park with Doug Beech, the knowledgeable owner of Aspiring Guides. Despite the challenging weather forecast for higher elevations and our own reservations about our physical readiness, Doug reassured us the evening before with his adaptability and alternative plans.
The next morning, we set off from our hotel in a new direction, guided by Doug’s expertise. It was reassuring to have a guide who could seamlessly adjust to changing conditions. Our journey took us through local trails and to hidden gems away from the usual tourist routes. A memorable lunch by a trout-filled stream captured the essence of New Zealand’s unique allure.
The day was filled with joy and a deep appreciation for Wanaka’s natural beauty and the quaintness of its lake and town. Although Doug’s technical skills far exceeded the demands of our excursion, his warm hospitality and engaging conversation enriched our experience. This day stands out as a highlight of our journey through the South Island.
I did the Gillespie Pass walk and it was incredible! It was a challenge but that challenge was doable because of how well supported we were by Aspiring Guides from the beginning to the end. The pre-walk support was exceptional - information, follow-up emails, website info about the walk, what to pack, how to prepare. The walk was amazing! Not easy, but the challenge was made so much easier by Ross, our patient, kind and encouraging guide. We were also very well fed (even though I am Coeliac this was managed easily by Ross). It was an inspiring, challenging and beautiful walk, I highly recommend it. Thank You!
Walked the upper Wilkins and Gillespie pass in Mount Aspiring National Park as part of a group of 3 men who wished they had taken up back country walking as younger men! We were guided by Pat Gray. We were lucky with weather and had an epic 6 days of walking in a special part of the world. Our guide Pat was very well organised and knowledgeable and we were confident we were always in safe hands - many thanks Pat you are an outstanding young man! Aspiring guides have the walking experience maximised for enjoyment with “stashs” along the way to minimise pack weight. The backcountry huts we stayed in are well appointed and the Siberia hut in particular has a stunning location and epic views. Backcountry walkers are a fun bunch, and the evenings are a great opportunity to sharpen card playing skillls. The helicopter flight in and jet boat ride out at beginning and end of our walk were icing on the cake! Many thanks to Pat and Aspiring guides for a wonderful adventure.
I had a fantastic experience with Aspiring Guides, tackling the Gillespie Pass & Rabbit Pass route. While I have hiked extensively before, I was glad I chose to go guided for this trip. Our guide, Adam, was very confidence inspiring and generous with his knowledge. Plus he was a great chef! I was also fortunate that my trip companions were like minded people and we had a wonderful time together. I'll definitely be back to do more trips with Aspiring Guides.
I had an amazing experience hiking with our guide Grace from Aspiring Guides on the Upper Wilkin and Gillespie pass trip. I had my first time on a helicopter and jet boat which was a blast. The scenery, native plants, birds, weather, and food was great. If you're hiking fit, I really recommend Aspiring guides if you want to go on a new adventure in the mountains. Thank you
We use Aspiring Guide for the Gilliespie Pass and Lake Crucible. We have a wonderful time with our experience and very patience guide Emily, helping us to accomplish both the tough tracks. Highly recommended Aspiring Guide, very helpful and professional.
We used Aspiring Guides during our honeymoon for a 4-day Gillespie Pass trek. As avid backpackers, it was such a luxury to have an experienced company handle all of the logistics. Our guide Frankie was knowledgeable not just about the terrain but about flora and fauna we passed, was fun to hike with, and cooked amazing meals at camp! Having a guide took all the stress and thinking out of our trip to where we could just enjoy being outdoors and exploring a new place.
HIGHLY recommend this incredible small business! We’d love to go back and book another trip with them.
My first time tramping in New Zealand ( and first multi-day trip after an absence of many years ). And so it was with a little trepidation, I turned up to the Aspiring Guides offices in Wanaka to start the 6 day Upper Wilkin valley and Gillespie pass trek in early March. To top it off, the weather forecast for the Makarora region was 63 mm rain on the first day; I began to wonder what I had signed up to. My doubts began to evaporate when I met our guide (and other members of Aspiring Guides staff ). They were very professional and thorough in pre-departure checking and situation assessment. We got underway pretty much on schedule and without too many changes to our itinerary despite the inclement weather conditions.
Our fantastic guide, Grace (and Aspiring Guides planning ) looked after us very well, and took care of every detail on the trip. And despite, challenging nature of this trek, I felt completely at ease and confident in all the situations I encountered. The skill and attentiveness of our guide played a large part in this. The only part left then was to immerse in and enjoy this incredible part of the world and share it with my 2 fellow trampers.
There were many fantastic memories on this trek, the ascent and descent of Gillespie pass in light snow conditions was one of them. The trek in the Upper Wilkin valley when the mountains opened up into a panorama as we rounded the corner, was another. Of course there was the unforgettable up and down climbing of the infamous "tree ladders", a treat that awaits. And as a finale ( and bonus), we had the "airy" helicopter ride back to Makarora.
6 wonderful days of tramping in the Makarora region of the Aspiring National park came and went. An outdoor experience that was so enjoyable, an experience I will not forget. I highly recommend Aspiring Guides. Thank you Grace and Aspiring Guides.
Join the Aspiring Club Newsletter
We’re at our best when we’re scaling rock, ice and snow but we give this email thing a crack every so often (Monthly-ish). If you want to hear about new adventures and updates, then join our newsletter.
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Our Partners
Aspiring Guides is a guiding company based in Wānaka, New Zealand. We help people form a real connection with the outdoors. Whatever your adventure aspirations, we’re here to get you there. Here are the partners that help us make your adventure possible.
