Ready for your next overnight hut adventure in Te Waipounamu? What's the BEST kid-friendly overnight hikes in the South Island?
The My Overnight Adventure Journal - Te Waipounamu South Island is your ultimate tramping companion for tamariki aged 5–12 (and the young at heart!). Whether it’s their very first night in a hut or their tenth, this interactive, kid-friendly journal turns every trip into a fun memory to look back on for years to come.
Written by the family that's been to the most NZ backcountry huts with young kids in tow (230+ and counting!). This journal has been written with so much personal experience and knowledge to get tamariki confident, knowledgeable, and excited about going tramping!
This book helps kids take charge of the trip, yet there's enough info to help parents feel confident hitting the trail as a whānau, even if this is their first overnight tramp!
What’s inside:
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24 of the most kid-friendly South Island huts with helpful info, tips, and hut facts for each hut
- Day tramp suggestions by region
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Packing lists tailored for tamariki as well as the whole whānau
- Easy, healthy meal ideas
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Games for walking time and hut downtime
- NZ bird and tree identification guides
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Scavenger hunt, colouring-in, and fun journaling pages (plus space for 8 extra huts)
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Icebreaker questions to connect with other hut users
- Colouring-in images throughout
- Bonus resource links for curious explorers!
📏 Perfectly sized (A5) to fit into your tramping pack without taking up precious space.
🌿 Printed locally in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) on eco-friendly paper.
🎁 Sibling discount auto-applies - grab a second (or 3rd or 4th) journal for a friend or another tamaiti in the whānau.
🪄 Sticker sheets available separately to decorate and personalise each adventure!
Give your tamariki the tools to build memories, confidence, and outdoor skills—while learning about Aotearoa’s beautiful ngahere (forest) and whānau-friendly huts along the way.
And while designed for the kids, they'll also give parents the confidence to head out tramping even if they've never been on a trip before with the full family packlist and FAQs.
People often say they didn't realise quite how much info is packed into these books till the had them in hand. I can't share many of the full pages online because I want to protect the work that's gone into them - but trust me (and the reviews) - they're full of practical tips, info, and hard-earned experience that you won't find anywhere else.
Sibling discount: Buy 2 books - get 10% off. Buy 3-4 - get 20% off. Buy 5-9 - get 30% off. Buy 10+ get 40% off. Discount applied automatically. Across both North & South Island books.
If you'd like extra info about these huts, check out our Child-Friendly Overnight Hikes of New Zealand Map. This contains all the extra info that couldn't fit into our journals, such as how our kids actually found the hikes, and so much more info on over 100+ different overnight trips to do with the kids, and I'm adding more constantly. We've been to over 200 huts with kids in tow already!
