The Greenstone-Caples Track is deemed safer and more accessible to a wider range of people as a 10-year upgrade by the Department of Conservation (Doc) nears completion.
Doc Wakatipu works ranger Richard Struthers said improvements to the track were aimed at attracting more family groups and novice trampers. The easy three to four-day valley walk, 86km from Queenstown, was ideal for people who did not want to tackle anything too strenuous or were new to tramping, Mr Struthers said.
The track also linked to the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks.
The four huts along the Greenstone-Caples were often full to capacity during the peak period of January to March.
The McKellar and Greenstone huts were replaced and the 40-year-old 12-bunk Mid Caples hut would be demolished and replaced with a new 24-bunk hut this winter, Mr Struthers said.
Accommodation would not be available at the site for most of the winter during construction, but the Upper Caples hut, a 90-minute walk further along the Caples Track, would remain open.
Once the new Mid Caples hut was finished, the Upper Caples Hut would be decommissioned.
The section of track between the upper Greenstone and the upper Caples valley had been rebuilt over the past three summers, a major project that involved rerouting the track to create an easier walk over McKellar Saddle. This raised the section to the standard of the remainder of the track.
The upper Greenstone bridge was replaced and several bridges installed in the Caples Valley over critical stream crossings. The car park at the start of the track would be upgraded and enlarged.
Meanwhile, on the Routeburn Track, a day shelter would be built at the Routeburn Flats Hut to accommodate the high number of day walkers to the hut. Construction was due to begin during the winter.
Two bridges on the track were upgraded this season and the Routeburn Flats suspension bridge was now being replaced. The track would remain open during work but there might be short delays at the bridges, Mr Struthers said.
The track between the Routeburn Flats and the Routeburn Falls huts would be upgraded, as would the septic sewage system at the Routeburn Falls Hut.
Upcoming work on the Rees-Dart Track included relocating 1.6km of track in the Dart Valley, building a new bridge across 25 Mile Creek in the Rees Valley, and upgrading the Chinaman's Bluff car park at the Dart road end.
