Wilderness April 2016

Those of you who can’t bear it when I write editorials are in luck; this will be my last. This is also my last issue as a full time member of staff. Into the breach steps the wonderful Meghan Walker. Fresh from both the foothills of Seattle and the tropical beaches of the Kenyan coast, Meghan is a keen adventurer and is sure to quickly wipe away the cobwebs of her predecessor. So as I hold back tears of nostalgia, I take great solace from the fact that it’s remarkable I’ve ever worked for a magazine like this in the first place. Back in the UK – my country of origin with a population of 60 million – there were just two magazines that represented trampers; one of which appeared…

SNUBBED NO MORE LIKE MANY AUCKLANDERS, I have been guilty of snubbing Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park in the Bay of Plenty for grander things further south. That changed recently when a couple of friends and I spent a long weekend traversing the range along the North-South Track. In true backpacker style, we used Intercity buses to avoid a long car shuttle at each end. it took us 71 hours to make our way from Lower Kaimai to Paeroa. It was great tramping and most of the track is well marked, thanks to the volunteer hours being poured in by local clubs. One great thing about the North-South Track is the variety. Every couple of hours the nature of the bush changes completely. From lush rain forest to mamaku stands and…

SEND YOUR PIX Get your photo published here to receive a set of four Light My Fire Sporks – one for you and three for your friends! Learn more about Spork at ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

DOC ‘KEA PROOFS’ STOAT TRAPS IN FIORDLAND The notoriously cheeky kea is perhaps too smart for its own good: DOC has had to ‘kea proof’ hundreds of stoat traps in the Murchison Mountains this summer after seven birds died while trying to extract bait from the traps. The traps are housed in solid wooden boxes, meant to withstand the parrot’s prying talons. However, DOC said the birds were gouging out the lid screws in order to get the egg and meat bait inside. The kea didn’t stop there; they even dug up the trap footings and rolled traps downhill, sometimes over bluffs and into Lake Te Anau. The traps have been modified before, but they’ve made further upgrades to 700 traps, installing longer screws and a specially designed metal bracket…

Wilderness readers have spoken, and the nominations have been compiled into a stellar list for this year’s Outdoor Awards. Each nominee was chosen from a lengthy list of entries, whittled down by the persuasiveness of the nominator. We think you’ll agree the finalists on the following pages represent the most inspiring outdoor enthusiasts, the most beautiful huts, and the most reliable and trusted brands and retailers. Cast your vote online at wildernessmag.co.nz. Voting ends Monday, April 11, and the results will be revealed in the June issue alongside our Editors’ Choice Gear of the Year awards. Here are the finalists along with a sampling of reasons why they were nominated. BRAND OF THE YEAR Aarn Packs “The most comfortable packs I have ever worn. Light, functional, well balanced and super…

If patience is a virtue, then Mark Nee-son and his team at the Walking Access Commission (WAC) must be virtuosos. To become involved in something as potentially tedious as negotiating land access requires staying power of geological proportions. Nothing happens overnight. Like waves wearing down a cliff, the commission slowly permeates an important message into the culture of relevant authorities: that access to the outdoors is part of our heritage – part of who Kiwis are. The required patience can be the most difficult part, explains Mark Neeson, who retired at the end of February from his role as the commission’s first chief executive. “The biggest frustration is the time it takes to achieve results,” says the 65-year-old. “We find there’s a 2-3 year time lag, so cases we started…