Top Guides : Walking Legends Hiking Guides

Walking Legends: Home of the Top Hiking Guides in the North Island

When it comes to guided hiking in New Zealand’s North Island, one thing matters more than tracks, lodges, or gear — the quality of your guide. That’s where Walking Legends stands out. After all, you’ll be spending a lot of time with our team on your North Island hiking tour. Our guides facilitate the whole adventure from start to finish; they drive you out to the sights, they keep you safe on the track, they bring the area to life with stories you won’t find on Google, and they feed and water you at the end of the day. It’s a full-service hosting experience, in the New Zealand outdoors.

Walking Legends is known for having some of the top hiking guides in the North Island. We’ve worked hard to build a reputation for compassionate leadership, expert local knowledge, and unforgettable walking experiences across the most iconic hiking landscapes of the North Island. Over our 20+ years we’ve walked with every kind of walker there is and we’ve learned and adapted so we can provide the best hiking guides in the North Island.

Our guides real people. They are professional, compassionate, approachable and down-to-earth. You’ll notice our capable, but laid-back approach, and a cracking sense of humour that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The experience you have with us is our top priority. We want you to walk away with spectacular memories of your time in New Zealand, and the people you met along the way.

Why Walking Legends Is Known for the Top Guides in the North Island

Walking Legends doesn’t just hire guides — we cultivate them. Each guide is carefully selected for their experience, personality, and deep connection to the land, ensuring every walk is led by someone who genuinely elevates the journey. Google can’t tell you what you don’t know to ask, our guides love to spark that moment of curiosity that opens up a new door into the real New Zealand.

Our guides are widely regarded as among the top walking and hiking guides in the North Island because we combine:

• Decades of guiding experience in our precious ‘dinosaur forest’, under our very strong sun, through our very changeable weather.
• In-depth knowledge of local history, Māori culture, flora, and fauna. You’ll see an hear many species of plant and wildlife that only live in New Zealand.
• Strong leadership and safety expertise with an Adventure Mark endorsement and thorough safety procedures
• The friendly, approachable style that Kiwi’s are known for which brings groups together

This combination turns a good hike into an exceptional one!

Meet the Experts: What Makes a Top Hiking Guide

‘Top guide’ is an easy term to throw around, but what defines a top guide? At Walking Legends, it’s not just about knowing the track — it’s about understanding the environment and sharing it in a meaningful way. It’s also about understanding people. We know you don’t want to be chased up the hill. Sometimes the best thing about hiking, is the peace and quiet so we offer a ‘challenge by choice’ model. If you like to walk fast, you can go on ahead and meet up with us at pre-arranged points. If you like to plod away at the back, that’s great – there’s room for everyone.

Walking Legends guides are known for:

• Local expertise – we’ve spent years exploring the same regions we guide
• Storytelling skills – we bring landscapes to life through history and cultural insight
• Environmental awareness – we have strong conservation values and good sustainable practices
• Group care and encouragement – supporting walkers of varying abilities and ages

From volcanic terrain in Tongariro National Park, to coastal tracks and remote islands like Coromandel and Great Barrier Island, our guides consistently rank among the top North Island hiking guides for both an unforgettable hiking experience and personal connection to our land and its people.

North Island Walks Led by Top Guides

Walking Legends’ itineraries are designed to let the landscape shine. Each multi-day walk offers space for learning, discovery, and genuine connection with the local area and its people. We’ll walk tracks that are hard to get to and we’ll stay in places that are run by local people because we care about supporting small businesses.

Our hiking tours can take you to:

• Aotea/Great Barrier Island, near Auckland, known for its’ remote coastal tracks led by local guides with deep ecological knowledge. The island is home to a passionate contingent of environmental and sustainable advocates making life on the island a precious experience that you won’t quickly forget. Join us on the 4-day Great Barrier Island Escape.
• Coromandel Peninsula – also near Auckland, but with precious kauri tree forest, sheltered coastlines that contrast between the rocky inlets of the western side and the broad sandy beaches of the east coast, and pioneering kauri logging and gold mining history all woven together by your expert guides. Join us on the 4-day Coromandel Explorer, the 8-day Bucket List Walk, or the 12-day Bucket List Walk.
• Tongariro National Park & the volcanic Central Plateau – alpine and volcanic hikes through lunar-like landscapes, carefully guided by seasoned professionals. If there was one part of the North Island you should join a guided walk, this is it. The local environment is changeable and even the most seasoned alpine hiker can be caught out on occasion. Come with us, we’ll wrap a group around you and we’ll tackle it together. Join us on the 3-day Tongariro Northern Circuit or the 4-day Tongariro Hiking Tour.
• Lake Waikaremoana & Taranaki –  we weren’t kidding when we said we take you off the beaten track. These two regions are located in the far western and far eastern regions of the North Island. They are worth the trip. Most long-stay visitors travel in a straight line from Auckland to Wellington and they miss the BEST parts! Both areas have a fascinating history, including more recent developments into ‘personhood status’, a unique and politically refreshing transformation that you have to physically step into to appreciate. Join us on the 4-day Waikaremoana Discovery Tour, or the 4-day Taranaki Discovery Tour.

(We are fair-weather hikers with a medium appetite for risk so we don’t offer guided walks to the summit of Taranaki maunga (mountain). The summit of Mt. Taranaki is a strenuous alpine hike and should only be attempted with qualified guides, good-quality equipment and strong knowledge of local weather and alpine conditions)

Every walk is small-group and guest-focused, ensuring personal attention and a high-quality experience from start to finish. We keep our hiking tour groups small intentionally, not only because we like to learn your names, but we get no greater kick out of seeing you get exactly what you needed from your outdoor adventure.

Why Hikers Choose Walking Legends’ Top Guides

Our guests consistently highlight the guides as their standout feature of the trip. What matters to them most are things like:

• Confidence and trust in guide leadership: particularly when the weather isn’t what we wanted it to be.
• Insightful commentary that adds depth to every walk, but also allowing for long, quiet stretches so the forest can speak to you instead.
• A supportive atmosphere that keeps spirits high, because we all need that when the mountains are rising up in front of you.
• Guides who feel more like companions than tour leaders, because we’re not in school anymore and this isn’t a march through the bush, it’s a journey that should unfold organically, directed by you!

Experience the North Island with the Top Guides

Choosing Walking Legends means choosing to walk with people who know the land, respect it, and love sharing it. Our guides don’t just lead the way — they transform each journey into a richer, more memorable experience.

If you’re searching for top guides in the North Island, expert-led walking tours, or premium guided hikes in New Zealand, Walking Legends delivers exactly that — and more.

Are You Ready To Hike With Us?

We’d love to have you! Choose one of our New Zealand guided hiking tour itineraries and book now.

Or get in touch with our friendly team to learn more:

[email protected]

NZ Freephone 0800 925 569 (Walk NZ)

AUS Freephone 1800 646 584