Food Options

Food will often weigh the most in your pack. If you are keen to get some ideas of what to take on a Great Walk, check out some options for each meal below. But before we get into it, let's talk ready-made hiking meals first.

Ready Made Hiking Meals

Ready-made hiking meals are generally dehydrated or freeze dried so they are light to carry. They come in a single serve making planning easier and are usually quick to make needing only water. The downside is they are often a bit more expensive than grabbing items from the pantry.

If you are travelling or don't have a lot of time & energy to plan your hike, ready-made meals might be for you. If you are cooking for a large crew these can be costly or if you have special dietary requirements these may not suit. Sometimes dehydrated meals can be hit or miss taste wise, so check our recommendations below and consider trying them out before your hike.

Most of the hiking meals in NZ are available in outdoors stores, online, and at some supermarkets in towns close to the Great Walks. Check out the main hiking meal options available in NZ below.

Go Native World Meals

Go Native meals are our go to for hiking and are super easy to cook. These meals are real food so weigh more than dehydrated meals, but the extra weight is worth it as they taste way better. Super easy to heat up, throw it in a jet boil or pot of water for 2 mins and use the boiled water for the mash or rice. Don't forget to purchase the mash potato packets from Go Native which are outrageously good. Approx cost is $17 for a meal + mash/rice.

Go Native also offer 24 hour food packs which will contain all your food for a day. If you don't have time to shop these can be a great hassle-free option. Grab and go.

Dehydrated Meals

Dehydrated / Freeze Dried meals - are very light to carry and all you need to do is add water and wait 10-15mins before eating. Bowls are not required for these meals and you can rehydrate and eat straight from the packet. These meals are worth considering to help reduce the weight of your pack, particularly on longer Great Walks. The breakfast options are good but recommend you try some dinner meal flavours before heading off. Approx cost is $15 per packet.

Meals available in NZ

Back Country - Most readily available dehydrated meals.

Real Meals - Have a youth range available. Not as widely available as other brands.

Radix - Focused on meals that are nutritionally balanced and healthy. Offers Keto, low FODMAP, and Ultra Meals for those with dietary requirements.

Omeals

Omeals are fully cooked and self-heating so do not require a cooker. Just add water to the heating liquid and stand back while the food heats up in 3-5 mins. Some options have not been that filling, but they are a great hot lunch option for colder days or if you aren't carrying a cooker.

Breakfast

Start the day off with a hearty breakfast that keeps you full to get your morning started right.

1. Instant Oats - Uncle Toby's comes in lots of flavors and nice single serve sizes. Simply add hot water and any toppings of your choice. Some Suggestions - coconut flakes, brown sugar, cinnamon, dried of fresh fruit, peanut butter.

Alternatively, at home throw in a ziplock bag some quick ready oats (1/3 cup), milk powder (1 tsp), and other toppings of choice.

2. Granola is also a great light weight option. Mix with milk powder or dehydrated yogurt for a tasty start to the day. Real Meals has a Boysenberry Yoghurt that is easy to hydrate with some water. Tip - use less water initially and mix well in a bowl to avoid mouthfuls of powder.

3. Smoothies are delicious, filling, and really easy to make with water in the mornings. Available from outdoor stores and some supermarkets. Backcountry has a large range of smoothies - chocolate, berry, iced mocha, banana.

4. Dehydrated Breakfast Meals are lightweight and easy to make by adding water and waiting a few minutes for the food to hydrate.

5. Breakfast bars are quick and easy if you are short on time and need to head off early to catch track transport. OSM bars are a healthy nutritionally balanced meal replacement bar. Keeps you very full and great when you don't have time to stop.

6. Breakfast Burritos/Quesadillas are a good option for a hot breakfast and easy to make. Throw some tortillas in your pack and choose your fillings:

Dehydrated eggs
Cheese - take a hard cheese like parmesan or gouda
Capsicum
Onion
Jerky or shelf-stable salami
Omeals Hashbrown Potatoes

Lunch

Make your lunch before you head off in the morning for less fuss on the trail especially if the weather looks iffy. Double walled containers are great to store hot food until you are ready to scoff it and can double as your dinner bowl.

1. Sandwiches and wraps are a great option for the trail. Wraps take up little room and keep well on the track. For sandwiches look for harder bread like sourdough that will carry well in your pack and will last a few days without getting stale or mouldy.

2. Soups and instant noodles are a great option for cold days on the track, just add boiling water. Add some peanut butter to increase the calories for those harder days and create a tasty satay noodle bowl. Miso soup is also a great option for some salty goodness.

3. Crackers and cheese are a favourite, after all cheese is life. Cabin Bread crackers are hard, filling, and travel well. Plus, the toppings are endless. Kapiti Pakiri Aged Cheddar is our go to cheese. It comes in a hard black wax which protects the cheese as you hike, available in most supermarkets. Otherwise go for hard cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, gouda, and manchego.

4. Tuna Pouches - are great for lunch and dinner on noodles, crackers, or in sandwiches.

Dinner

1. Go Native - If you are not a fan of dehydrated meals then Go Native meals are hands down some of the best hiking dinners in our opinion. Really easy to cook quickly without fuss and takes the hassle out of meal planning. The meals are not dehydrated but are worth the extra weight, are filling, and taste delicious. Don't forget to get the mash potato and/or rice.

2. Dehydrated meals are popular with hikers because they are light to carry, only need hot water, and you can eat straight from the packet. Backcountry, Radix, or Real Meals are some of the most popular meals and are available in most outdoor stores.

3. Omeals are precooked and self-heating so carrying a cooker is not required. We found some of the meals are not that filling but are great lunch options when you want something hot and are not carrying a portable cooker. Available online or at Hunting and Fishing stores.

4. Ready to Eat supermarket options - check out these options available at most supermarkets:

Moana - Similar to Go Native, these are not hydrated. These are heavier at 300g and available in five flavours incl a vegetarian option. These don't cook well in the pouch and are better heated in a pot. In our opinion these are not as tasty as Go Native but are much cheaper.

Only Organic nourishing bowls - If you are looking for some plant-based meal pouches these may suit but come in 300g packets so will be heavier than dehydrated meals.

Continental Pasta Meals - These pasta meals are cheap and cheerful. Just add water, milk powder, and fresh or dehydrated vegetables.

5. Make your Own - If opting to make your own, there are so many recipes out there. And if you are super keen you could even dehydrate your own meals.

Snacks

Don't forget snacks for the track. Hiking burns a lot of calories, and you will need to have easily accessible snacks to keep you going. Our snack game is strong, so check out some of our must haves below:

1. Trail Mix or Nuts - A classic for the trail and great to add to your oat or porridge breakfast. If you find that the trail mix is never eaten, mix it up with these mixes from Graze.

2. Jerky - A good source of protein and great as an addition to add in sandwiches or on top of noodles. Off Piste Provisions make great plant based jerky options for any vegans out there.

3. Muesli/Protein Bars - Great as a snack on the go. Nothing Naughty makes great protein bars that fill you up, don't contain lots of bad stuff, and taste really good. Nothing Naughty bars also have gluten free and vegan bar options.

4. Chocolate - Because chocolate. Make some friends.

5. Peanut Butter - Peanut butter slugs are great as a snack or for sammies and crackers. Add it to noodles to make satay meals or to smoothies for more energy. If you are a fiend it's possible to get bigger squeezable pouches.

6. Fruit or Dried Fruit - It wouldn't be a hike if someone didn't bring dried apricots. Mandarins, apples, and oranges travel well.

7. Energy Balls - High in calories and easy to carry and consume on those big ascents. Tom and Lukes balls are pretty tasty.

8. Popcorn - Super light and perfect for a hike. But keep it safe from being squashed.

9. Fruit Leathers - If you don't want the weight and mess of real fruit then fruit leathers are a great option and do not take up a lot of room.

10. Peanut Butter Pretzels - Combining pretzels and peanut butter is a total winner and gives you a nice crunch to snack on. Find these in the bulk bins at most supermarkets.

Great Walks of New Zealand

Food Options

Ready Made Hiking Meals

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snacks

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Ready Made Hiking Meals

Go Native World Meals

Dehydrated Meals

Omeals

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snacks