New Zealand is a country made for walkers. Open spaces, beautiful coastlines, golden tussock valleys and towering mountain peaks lure people on to the tracks leading to the wilderness lands. The choice of walks varies - from gentle 30 minute trails winding through bush to tough long-distance alpine tracks.
Issue information
New Zealand tracks offer an astonishing diversity and choices of how to tackle them. The self-sufficient tramper, equipped with food and tent, can hike independently. Others with a hankering for more organised walks can join parties which provide guides, shelter, food and accommodation. No matter what the preference, the tracks await all comers.
The four stamps of this issue depict photographed landscapes from the Milford, Heaphy, Copland and Routeburn Tracks.
The miniature sheet forming part of this issue incorporates the $1.30 Routeburn Track stamp and depicts the Mount Aspiring National Park in which the track is located.
Product listing for Scenic Walkways
Click on image to enlarge.
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
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Single Stamp |
Single 70c 'Milford Track' gummed stamp. Known as the "finest walk in the world", Milford Track, situated in the south-west of the South Island, affords the visitor excellent views of mountain scenery. Low altitude sections of the track are through native beech forest and relatively easy to walk. At the bush line and at river crossings the terrain is rough and the weather can be rough too. The track is not an easy walk and takes up to 4 days to complete. |
$0.70 |
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Single Stamp |
Single 80c 'Heaphy Track' gummed stamp. One of New Zealand's most popular tramping routes lies in Nelson Forest Park on the north-west tip of the South Island. The Tasman mountains, chains of steep, broken rugged ranges, coastal forest and red tussock dominate the landscape. The track is popular with family groups and, for full enjoyment, the recommended duration for this walk is 5 days. |
$0.80 |
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Single Stamp |
Single 85c 'Copland Track' gummed stamp. Warm clothing, boots, crampons, rope, ice axe and adequate food are essentials that are required to successfully complete the Copland Track. The best season to attempt the pass is from early December to mid-March. Some of the track is on permanent snow, crevasses need to be crossed and some gullies become icy after snow or cold weather. A true alpine pass, Copland crosses the main South Island divide at 2149 metres above sea level and covers 50 kilometres from Mt Cook National Park headquarters to the main West Coast highway. |
$0.85 |
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Single Stamp |
Single $1.30 'Routeburn Track' gummed stamp. Taking 3 days to walk, the Routeburn Track is a good way to sample both Fiordland and Mt Aspiring National Parks. Thirty nine kilometres long, the track links the Milford highway with the Routeburn shelter near the head of Lake Wakatipu. A popular tramp enjoyed by young and old, but as with most mountain walks, needs to be treated with care and planning. In the forests of red, mountain and silver beech, draped with mosses and lichens, riflemen, bellbirds, tuis, tits and fantails sing. Above the bushline New Zealand's mountain parrot, the kea, may be seen. The track is closed during New Zealand's winter. |
$1.30 |
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Miniature Sheet | Mint, used or cancelled miniature sheet. | $1.70 |
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First Day Cover | First day cover with stamps affixed. Cancelled on the first day of issue. | $1.87 |
Technical information
| Date of issue: | 8 June 1988 |
|---|---|
| Designer: | H Thompson, Wellington |
| Printers: | Leigh-Mardon, Australia |
| Stamp size: | 30mm x 35mm |
| Miniature sheet size: | 123mm x 99mm |
| Sheet size: | 100 stamps per sheet; Miniature sheet of one stamp |
| Process: | Lithography |
| Perforation gauge: | 14.25 |
| Paper type: | Unwatermarked |
| Period of sale: | These stamps remained on sale until 8 June 1989. |