Who are Hawkes Bay Hiking and Tramping?
Hi! My name’s Dan Elderkamp, and I’m the founder and owner of Hawke’s Bay Hiking and Tramping. I have a passion for New Zealand’s outdoors, and after years of sitting in an office dreaming of being in the bush, my wife and I moved from Auckland to Waipukurau, where I started turning my dreams into reality.
I have many years of hiking experience, both in New Zealand and in South Africa. Early on I discovered that a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled, and that I really enjoyed introducing friends and acquaintances to the joys of hiking in the outdoors. This led to arranging and leading hiking trips for church groups, which led me to thinking about turning it into a business venture. This moment finally arrived in February 2008, and now, after receiving a concession from the New Zealand Department of Conservation, we are able to offer you a great selection of guided hiking trips with varying levels of difficulty and exertion, from a really easy (but still far from civilisation!) 1 to 1.5 hour ramble to a two night/three day hike where you’ll emerge from the bush with a sense of having had a good, satisfying workout.
Our mission is to share the awesome beauty, isolation, ruggedness and uniqueness of New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay back country with you – we get our kicks from doing this for anyone who shares our love of the outdoors, and we’ll do our utmost to ensure you have a really great time. It’s our aim to get you passionate about it too, and to share our desire to conserve and protect this huge asset for future generations.
Because we care so much about conservation, for every booking received we donate $7 to New Zealand’s Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. Also check out our links to other websites connected with accomodation, Central Hawke’s Bay, conservation, volunteer work and the outdoors – well worth a read!
In conclusion – we’re very particular about, and concerned with, your safety. It goes without saying that a safe hiking experience is an enjoyable experience, and because of that, we’ve developed a comprehensive Safety Plan, which is available to every customer on request. It’s been through a rigorous independent audit process to ensure it’s up to scratch. Your health and safety is extremely important to us, so if you have any concerns whatsoever, please ask to see our Safety Plan.
We look forward to sharing our beautiful patch of New Zealand’s North Island with you.