Coromandel to the Kaimais
8 - 21 April 2024
Hello and welcome to the ECHO Walking Festival for 2024 Newsletter! We are so excited to deliver yet another excellent Festival year ahead, showcasing 29 stunning walks from around Coromandel to Kaimais and Mayor Island.
Our Festival kicks off on the Monday 8th April with the stunning Union Hill Walk in Waihi and spans over a two week period, finishing on the 21st April with the Orokawa Trig Walk out at Waihi Beach.
Our walks cater for all fitness levels and make sure we offer all grading levels. In this newsletter, you will be guided on how too look at appropriate walks for your fitness level, registration links and advice on preparation for the day!
Important Information 2024
Before planning your ECHO Festival walking plan, as mentioned, we pride ourselves on offering walks and experiences for all fitness levels.
It’s important you look at your level of fitness before registering for your walk, to make sure you are able to keep up with the group.
To help you understand grading levels (which we advertise for each walk), below is an indication on what you can expect on the day:
Track Grading:
Grade 1 - Suitable for most walkers. Essentially flat with maybe a few gentle rises such as on a footpath or on firm sand on the beach. Sweat is unheard of on these tracks.
Grade 2 - Flat to rolling with some easy short climbs on a well surfaced track.
Grade 3 - Some good climbs of moderate duration, sometimes with stream crossings and the odd muddy/slippery patch, but on well-formed tracks. Be prepared for a good cardio workout.
Grade 4 - More demanding sections of steep climbs and descents, although requiring care on slippery surfaces and stream crossings.
Grade 5 - Challenging tough, steep sections, rough uneven terrain, climbing and sometimes crawling on hands and knees. A high level of fitness is required.
2024 Highlighted Walks for the Festival
Considering your fitness levels and track gradings, here just are just some of the walks on offer, that have places available for walkers to register:
Wires Track Loop:
Grade 4 Walk - Tuesday, 9th April 2024 - Waihi Beach
A walk through Martha Mine Pit Rim:
Grade 2 Walk - Wednesday, 10th April 2024 - Waihi
Beach to Whenuakura Island:
Grade 1 Kayak Experience - Thursday, 11th April 2024 - Whangamata
Wharf St to Historical Maritime Park / Museum & River Boat Cruise 9am:
Grade 1 Experience - Friday 12th April 2024 - Paeroa
Pinnacles Walk:
Grade 5 Walk - Saturday 13th April 2024 - Thames
Waiorongomai Wander:
Grade 5 - Wednesday, 17th April 2024 - Te Aroha
Aongatete Short Loop Track:
Grade 2 Walk - Saturday, 20th April 2024 - Katikati
Registrations are now OPEN!
Check out this website to see the list of 29 walks and register your spot today, so you don’t miss out! The ECHO team look forward to sharing this experience with you!
Health & Safety - PLEASE READ
Weather:
This Festival is centered around the outdoors and as we know, the weather isn’t always in our favor. Your safety is held with the utter most importance to us and in the event of a walk being postponed or cancelled, we will be in contact with you with the decision before the walk commences.
Kauri Dieback Information:
With Kauri Dieback being part of the environment, some walks may be affected.
Please keep an eye on our website for details and further updates. We ask all participants to please make sure they clean their shoes and boots, walking sticks and anything else that comes into contact with the ground, before and after entering the bush, simply to help reduce the risk further. For more details: www.kauridieback.co.nz
Walks that require prior payment:
Please note: If you have registered your interest to be part of a paid walk on offer (Mayor Island, Wharf St River Boat Cruise and Marine Park and Beach to Whenuakura Island Tour) and payment hasn’t been made, this does not confirm your spot to attend the walk, this is just showing registration to want to attend.
You will need to contact the ECHO Walking Festival organisation on [email protected] to discuss this.
While on the walks:
For your own health and safety on the day, we ask you to please:
- Wear suitable shoes/boots and clothing.
- Bring your own wet weather gear.
- Bring a water bottle, snack food and any medication needed for all walks. For longer walks, please be prepared to bring warmer clothing, personal first aid kits and a torch.
- Stay with the group and follow any instructions given by your walk guides. They will be marked wearing high-viz jackets.
- Be mindful of the company you keep, as this is a brilliant opportunity to make some new like minded friends. Once you do one ECHO, we can guarantee seeing you again!