Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Wilderness

TOURISM GROWTH in New Zealand, just like our other main export earner – dairy, which is blamed for fouling rivers – is proving to be unsustainable, at least from a national park user’s perspective. The underfunding of DOC, which is severe, can be seen in overloaded facilities, straining infrastructure and dubious decisions to allow greater incursions by private businesses into ever more of the conservation estate. And that’s just on the recreation side of the ledger. DOC’s primary purpose is conservation, but New Zealand’s woeful rate of species decline carries on. In our story ‘The parks, they are a changin’ (p34) we look at the options available to us to properly fund DOC and compare the way parks are run here to how they are run in America. We could…

Mountain climbing can be an exciting, rewarding and empowering experience – perhaps more so in New Zealand with its stunningly beautiful and remote mountains, untrammelled by masses of climbers. Lendenfeld Peak, 3194m, is an ideal choice for a novice alpinist taking on the challenge of that first 3000m peak. Situated on the Main Divide in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, it involves an 800m height gain from Pioneer Hut via Marcel Col (2987m) and will take around 8-10 hours to summit. Here’s how you go about climbing it. Getting the skills When you climb as a recreational alpinist you are responsible for all aspects of your expedition, and thorough preparation is essential for both safety and speed. There are no shortcuts, and in swapping walking poles for ice axes you…

Paper, scissors, rock called it: Tom and Anna would pitch their tent, while Hana and I got the two-person bivvy, set cosily in the scrub on the bushline of Browning Range. We were two days from the road now; two days into a post-Easter trip that we’d nearly called off due to record storms that had flattened sections of forest up and down the ranges. Encouraged by a passable forecast that suggested at least a couple of clear days, we’d begun up the Arahura Valley, its river still flowing high and the forest dripping and steamy. Our plan was to traverse from the Arahura to the Whitcombe Rivers over Styx Saddle, Lathrop Saddle, the Toaroha Range, Toaroha Saddle and Frew Saddle. An ‘extended mix’ of a well-trodden West Coast circuit.…

The heroes have left the building YOUR WRITER was lucky to find some solitude while paddling Abel Tasman National Park (‘Meeting your heroes’, March 2017). Unfortunately, the article touched only briefly on the impact of mass tourism in this beautiful part of the country. Having spent an extensive time recently in and around the many anchorages and small beaches of the park in a boat and sea kayak, I feel compelled to say the impact of tourism on this coastline is increasingly detrimental. Last Christmas, it was not uncommon to see flotillas of guided kayakers descend locust-like on beaches while local beach users tried to defend tiny patches of sand to allow their children access to the water or for space to play. When guides were asked if this overcrowding…

WE LIVE OUTSIDE TIME, IN A WAY. We only vaguely know what date it is, certainly not days of the week SEVEN YEARS AGO , Miriam Lancewood and her partner walked away from their home in Blenheim, opting for a more simple, stripped-down way of life in the wilderness. Lancewood, a 33-year-old from the Netherlands and her Kiwi partner Peter, 63, sleep in a tent most of the time, hunt wild game, and cook their meals over an open fire. The couple met while in India, and after traveling together for a few years settled in Blenheim. One day, Peter suggested they try living off the land “We went tramping every weekend, and Peter said, ‘why don’t we just live here, and organise ourselves well, and do it rationally and…

TUCKED INTO the southern Kahurangi, north of Murchison, is the famous Thousand Acres Plateau. This great tussock tableland is bounded by the Matiri Valley to the east and the deeply cut Larrikin Creek to the west. Sitting proudly and guarding the head of the plateau are two striking peaks: The Needle and The Haystack, each offering stunning 360-degree views. The summits of both peaks are easily accessed from the cosy four-bunk Larrikin Creek Hut, tucked beneath the mud-stone cliffs of The Haystack. From Lake Matiri, a steep 700m ascent accesses the Thousand Acres Plateau. On the way up, expansive views down the Matiri catchment can be glimpsed. After three hours climbing, the track breaks out of the forest and into tussock. Here, a poled route leads from the escarpment, across…

MSR WindBurner $299.99 All-in-one stove and cookware solution featuring radiant burner and heat exchanger, enclosed windproof design, internal pressure regulator, boils 1-litre in 4.5min. 432g. www.ampro.co.nz Bridgedale WoolFusion Summit $49.99 Expedition sock for extended use, cushioning throughout, combination of natural and synthetic yarns for dry, warm, blister-free feet. Composition: 47% New wool, 34% nylon, 18% Endurofil, 1% Lycra.www.ampro.co.nz Thorlos Mountaineering $54.90 Mountain sock with low profile seams, thermal insulating fibres, cushioned instep, arch shin and ankle, ventilation panel. Composition: 60% Worsted wool, 26% Thor-Lon acrylic, 11% nylon, 2% spandex. www.thorlos.co.nz Salewa Raven 2 GTX $599 Summer mountaineering boot with abrasion-resistant micro-fibre and suede upper, Gore-Tex lining, semi-automatic crampon-compatible, anatomical cuff, full rubber rand, nylon and fibreglass shank, climbing lacing, multi-fit footbed, 3F foot support system, blister-free guarantee. 1500g. www.bobo.co.nz Lowa…

ABRASION RESISTANCE Technical rainwear is made of two, two-and-a-half, or three layers. The outer face fabric is generally abrasion-resistant nylon. The fabric might be reinforced at high-wear points such as elbows, shoulders, knees and inside lower trouser legs. HOODS Hoods can remain fixed or roll into the collar. Most hoods have drawcords or Velcro so the volume can be adjusted to snugly encase your head. A reinforced, self-supporting brim can keep rain out of your eyes, ensuring good vision in all directions. ZIPS Water-resistant zips are common. Pit zips running under the armpit improve breathability and air movement. Zip sliders often tuck into a ‘garage’ to prevent rain entering through the top of the zip. On trouser legs, full-length or quarter zips allow for easy on and off without having…

THE FANTAIL or piwakawaka would have to be one of New Zealand’s best known birds due to its confiding nature, often approaching within a metre or two of people. They are widely distributed throughout the country and live in a variety of habitats – including native and plantation forest, scrub-land, farm shelterbelts, orchards and well-treed suburban parks and gardens. Their altitudinal range extends from sea level up to the snow line. There are two colour phases or ‘morphs’ with the more common pied morph occurring throughout its range and the black morph comprising up to five per cent of the South Island population. The black morph occurs only occasionally in the North Island. The pied variety has a greyish head, very obvious white eyebrows with a brown back and rump.…

ON NOVEMBER 14, 2016, the Kaikoura earthquake provided a jolting reminder that not even mountains are immovable. Not only were the Seaward Kaikoura mountains shunted skyward by an unknown height, but their faces were scarred by hundreds of slips. One rockslide in the Hapuku Valley resulted in a dam and new lake, burying both Barratts Biv and Barratts Hut. Earthquakes have played a major role shaping our mountain environment over millennia, affecting not only the topography, but also the vegetation. For example, when the magnitude-8 Wairarapa earthquake shook the region in 1855, so many slips resulted that the Rimutaka Range lost about a third of its forest. Many of the scars are still visible today. Here are four sites where trampers and walkers can see dramatic evidence of past quakes.…

FIFTY PEOPLE cramming into a 16-bed hut, toilet waste spread around a pristine lake, freeloaders – we’ve heard the gripes. When it comes to discussing pressures on the conservation estate, Te Araroa Trail walkers come in for a bit of flak. Is it justified? No, says Te Araroa Trail chief executive Rob Wakelin. “I see a lot of negativity and I don’t see the basis of that negativity. Walkers tend to move in a six- to eight-week ‘bubble’ down the country. This can put pressure on capacity in certain spots, for example when they all meet around the top of the South Island, but it’s only ever momentary. It lasts just a few weeks and the situation has been overstated by some. “The fact is, the trail is also taking…

MSR Trailshot MicroFilter $129.99 MSR’s Trailshot MicroFilter is a simple, lightweight water filter. It is small enough to fit into a jacket pocket and at 153g, it’s almost feather light. In fact, if weight is an issue, it’s a good alternative to MSR’s Guardian Purifier. And at this price, unlike the Guardian, it won’t burn a hole in your wallet. I used the Trailshot MicroFilter while camping at Kohaihai, where the Heaphy Track begins. The filter was efficient and it took me a little more than two minutes to fill a 1.5-litre bottle – a little longer than the time advertised. The filter gave me peace of mind in a relatively clean river like the Kohaihai, but I wasn’t brave enough to try it downstream of a dairy farm. The…