Freeze Dried Meals & Camping Food

From day hikes on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to week-long tramps along Te Araroa, the right food keeps you moving, fuelled, and looking forward to every meal. At Backwoods, we stock a carefully selected range of lightweight camping and hiking food for New Zealand adventurers — freeze-dried meals, trail snacks, energy bars, and nutrition supplements that are easy to carry, quick to prepare, and genuinely delicious.

Your Complete Guide to Camping & Hiking Food in New Zealand

Choosing the right food for the trail is just as important as choosing the right gear. Every gram you carry counts, but so does every calorie. Whether you're planning a quick overnight hike or a multi-day backcountry mission, your food strategy can make or break the adventure. Here's everything you need to know about fuelling up in the New Zealand outdoors.

Freeze-Dried & Dehydrated Meals

Freeze-dried meals are the go-to choice for Kiwi trampers, and for good reason. Modern freeze-drying preserves up to 97% of a meal's nutritional value while reducing its weight to a fraction of the original — all you need is boiling water and a few minutes. No pots to scrub, no complex cooking, and no compromise on nutrition.

New Zealand has some of the world's best freeze-dried meal brands. Back Country Cuisine has been perfecting outdoor food since the 1960s, producing a wide range of lightweight pouches covering breakfasts, dinners, desserts, and smoothies. Real Meals uses premium natural ingredients and a cold freeze-drying process that retains exceptional flavour and nutrition. Radix Nutrition takes a performance-focused approach, with high-calorie options designed for serious athletes and multi-day adventurers. For those seeking gourmet flavours on the trail, The Outdoor Gourmet Company delivers restaurant-quality meals in a lightweight pouch.

Our freeze-dried meal range covers a wide variety of dietary requirements including gluten-free, vegetarian, and high-calorie elite options for demanding expeditions. Most meals serve one or two people, and many can be eaten straight from the pouch — fewer dishes, more time enjoying the view.

Trail Snacks & Energy Bars

Smart snacking is the secret to sustained energy on the trail. Rather than waiting until you're exhausted and hungry, seasoned trampers graze steadily throughout the day — keeping blood sugar stable, energy levels high, and morale strong. The ideal trail snack is calorie-dense, lightweight, pack-friendly, and something you'll actually want to eat on day three.

Our snack range includes popular NZ favourites and internationally trusted brands:

• Energy Bars: Clif Bars, OSM (One Square Meal) bars, and Bumper Bars offer a solid balance of carbohydrates and protein for sustained energy release on the trail
• Freeze-Dried Fruit Snacks: Back Country Cuisine's freeze-dried fruit range is 100% fat-free, packed with natural sugars for a quick energy hit, and feather-light in your pack
• Trail Mix & Nuts: Scroggin (the classic Kiwi trail mix) is hard to beat — calorie-dense, endlessly customisable, and no preparation required
• Jerky & Salami: Protein-rich, long-lasting without refrigeration, and a welcome savoury change from sweet snacks on long hikes
• Nut Butters: Single-serve sachets of peanut or almond butter are calorie-dense, high in healthy fats, and pair perfectly with wraps or crackers

Nutrition Supplements & Electrolytes

Long days on the trail mean significant energy expenditure and fluid loss. Electrolyte supplements help you stay properly hydrated and avoid cramping, especially on hot summer hikes or steep alpine ascents. Protein powders are an often-overlooked addition to the trail food kit — a single 30g serve mixed into your morning porridge or evening couscous adds 20+ grams of protein and makes a real difference to recovery between big days.

We stock electrolyte tablets and powders that dissolve easily in your water bottle, along with energy gels for those who push hard on technical terrain or trail running missions.

Planning Your Hiking Food: How Much to Carry?

Getting the quantities right takes the stress out of food planning. As a general guide, active trampers burn between 2,500 and 4,000 calories per day depending on pack weight, terrain, and conditions. Here's a practical framework:

Day Hike (1 day): Pack a substantial lunch, 3–4 snacks, and carry your favourite treat for the summit. Fresh food is fine — sandwiches, fruit, and bakery items all work well when you don't need to worry about weight or spoilage overnight.

Weekend Tramp (2–3 days): Shift toward packaged food. Freeze-dried meals for dinners, energy bars and trail mix for daytime fuel, and an instant oat or muesli breakfast. Target around 500–700g of food per day.

Multi-Day Expedition (4+ days): Every gram matters. Prioritise high-energy-density foods (fats and proteins over simple carbs), maximise freeze-dried meals, and pack one more day's food than you think you'll need — New Zealand weather can pin you down unexpectedly.

Dietary Requirements on the Trail

The days of the outdoors being off-limits to dietary needs are long gone. Our range includes clearly labelled options for common requirements:

• Gluten-Free: Back Country Cuisine, Radix, and Real Meals all offer certified gluten-free meal options
• Vegetarian & Vegan: From vegan lentil dahl to vegetarian curry, plant-based trampers are well catered for across our range
• High-Calorie Elite: For winter alpine missions or ultra-endurance events, high-calorie variants (800kcal+) are available from Radix and Back Country Cuisine
• Kids' Meals: Smaller-portion freeze-dried meals designed for younger adventurers make family camping easy

Packing & Preparing Trail Food: Pro Tips

A little preparation before you head out saves time and hassle on the trail:

• Remove excess packaging at home to save weight and reduce rubbish in the backcountry
• Repack snacks and loose items into zip-lock bags, labelled by day — no rummaging at the bottom of your pack when hunger strikes
• Keep your day's snacks in an easily accessible hip belt pocket or top lid so you don't need to stop and unpack
• Always carry at least one extra day's food as emergency backup — NZ weather is famously unpredictable
• Store food in odour-proof bags in bear/stoat-proof hut lockboxes where required
• Most freeze-dried meals only require boiling water — a lightweight gas canister stove or integrated system like a JetBoil is all you need

Shop Camping & Hiking Food at Backwoods

At Backwoods, we've hand-picked our food range based on what actually works in New Zealand's backcountry — from the bush-clad ranges of the North Island to the exposed high country of the South Island. Whether you're a first-time overnight tramper or a seasoned Great Walk veteran, we've got the trail food to keep you fuelled and happy out there.

Browse our full range of camping and hiking food above, or get in touch if you need advice on meal planning for your next adventure. Pair your trail food with our camping gear and camp kitchen equipment for a complete outdoor setup.

Free shipping on orders over $100 throughout New Zealand. Fuel your adventure with Backwoods.