The Story Behind Tiki Tours

What's in a Name?#

In Aotearoa New Zealand, a tiki tour is a wonderfully specific cultural concept. It describes a journey taken not by the fastest route, but by the most interesting one — a meandering trip that embraces detours, scenic stops, and unhurried exploration. It's the road trip where someone inevitably says "let's just have a quick look down this side road" and you end up at a waterfall you've never heard of. It's the tramping ethos distilled into a phrase.

That spirit is exactly what this app is built around.

The Problem I Kept Running Into#

I've been tramping and camping across New Zealand for years. The trails here are extraordinary — world-class, genuinely — and the Department of Conservation (DOC) has done remarkable work cataloguing them. But here's the thing: that data lives scattered across dozens of web pages, PDFs, and map layers. Planning a multi-day trip in the Kaimanawa Ranges or linking up lesser-known tracks in Fiordland means hours of cross-referencing DOC's website, hunting for hut booking windows, downloading GPX files from five different sources, and hoping the water sources you identified on a 2019 map are still accurate.

For experienced trampers this is manageable — annoying, but manageable. For families, newcomers, international visitors, or anyone wanting to explore beyond the Great Walks, it's a genuine barrier.

Tiki Tours exists to remove that barrier.

What the App Does#

At its core, Tiki Tours is a mobile-first trip planner for off-grid travel in Aotearoa. You can:

• Discover trails, huts, and campsites — search by region, difficulty, length, or feature
• Build multi-day itineraries — link legs together, assign huts or campsites to nights, get estimated walking times
• Save and share trips — keep a private library of ideas or share a read-only link with your tramping party
• Access DOC-sourced data — trail conditions, hut facilities, booking requirements, all in one place

The DOC data is published under a Creative Commons licence and pulled via their public API. Attribution appears on every trail detail page — it's their data and it deserves proper credit.

The Conservation Commitment#

Building an app that helps people spend more time in the wilderness carries a responsibility. The more people who visit these places, the more pressure those ecosystems face. Tiki Tours is committed to giving something back.

We donate 1% of paid revenue to Forest & Bird, New Zealand's leading independent conservation organisation. Forest & Bird has been protecting native wildlife and wild places since 1923 — from restoring kiwi habitat on offshore islands to fighting for better freshwater protections. It's not a large amount from a small app, but it's real and it's ongoing.

The 1% commitment is baked into the business model, not an afterthought. It's visible on the pricing page and in every billing confirmation email. If that matters to you, I hope it's a reason to choose Tiki Tours.

Who It's For#

The app is designed for anyone who wants to get off the beaten track in New Zealand — or who's thinking about it and wants to see what's possible.

• Day hikers exploring local parks and regional trails
• Weekend trampers planning overnighters with kids or first-timers
• Multi-day adventurers linking Great Walks with quieter backcountry routes
• International visitors who want more than Tongariro and Milford

If you've ever stared at a DOC map wondering where to start, this app is for you.

What's Coming#

Tiki Tours is in active development. The foundation — trails, huts, campsites, trip building — is live. On the roadmap: offline maps for areas with no cell coverage, weather forecasts layered onto trip views, gear checklists, and a community layer so experienced trampers can share local knowledge.

This blog will document that journey — honest updates about what's working, what isn't, and what's next. Subscribe to the newsletter if you want to follow along.

Kia kaha, kia tūpato — be strong, be careful out there.