The majority of people who snapped up a booking on the Milford Track are New Zealanders.
Festooned Beeches on the Milford Track Photo: Kennedy Warne
The iconic Fiordland track was the first of the Great Walks to open for bookings on Tuesday morning.
The Department of Conservation's heritage and visitor director, Tim Bamford, said the demand was incredibly high.
"It's been a great start with the Milford Track booking out in record time for the fourth year in a row.
"All the hut space was reserved within three minutes, and 80 percent of the bookings were Kiwis so it's great to see that enthusiasm for New Zealanders continue."
Of the remaining 20 percent, 10 percent of the bookings were from Australians, five percent from United States citizens and the rest were from 41 different countries, he said.
The Department remained hopeful New Zealanders would continue to enjoy the rest of the Great Walks even with the borders reopening.
The Great Walks all open for booking at different times this week with the Lake Waikaremoana, Heaphy and Routeburn tracks opening earlier today.
Whanganui River Journey, Abel Tasman Coast Track and Rakiura Track open tomorrow while the Kepler, Paparoa Track and Pike29 Memorial Track, and Tongariro Northern Circuit opened on Friday.
"I think we'll continue to see a strong contingent of Kiwis," Bamford said.
"But it will be interesting to see how it plays out. It's good to see a little bit of international interest and it will just be interesting over the next couple of days."
