Wilderness March 2017

Tramping with a purpose MORE AND MORE PEOPLE seem to be tramping with a purpose. Whether it’s the crews painting huts, cutting down wilding pines or members of the tramping clubs who have made it their duty to check traps in Ruahine Forest Park every other weekend (see our feature on p38), going for a hike while simultaneously improving the environment and infrastructure seems to be becoming as much a part of tramping in this country as is staying in a hut. Every month brings news of another group doing something to improve the recreational experience for others. In the old days, such work might have been called a working bee. But these days, because it’s happening so often and so regularly, some trampers have coined a term for it.…

On sleeping mats... IS IT JUST me, or are sleeping mats inferior to those that used to be available? My wife and I owned two Therm-a-Rests which both survived tramping trips, and camping and boating holidays for 20 years. In the end we took them on a cycle tour in which they were used every night for almost a year before they both gave up around the same time. The material on my wife’s was so thin, it split. Mine developed what we called a baby bump which grew bigger every night until there was no space left for me. That was four years ago. Since then we have had a succession of mattresses which have been hopeless for different reasons. One developed its own unbearable baby bump within four…

What did you get up to last weekend? Get your photo published here to receive an Opinel No.5 folding knife worth $20. Learn more about Opinel at ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

LIFESIZE MOA AND LIGHT SHOW PROPOSAL for OPARARA ARCHES IN AN EFFORT to enhance and promote the Oparara Basin on the West Coast, DOC is considering a design plan which may include building a walkway, creating a lightshow and installing lifesize moas in the Oparara Arches. The arches are along a system of tracks through the basin, and are about 15 minute’s walk from the road-end car park. “There’s a really great system of walkways, created by the Oparara Trust, linking the arches, and also taking you to two caves: Box Canyon and Crazy Paving Cave. Beyond there is the specially restricted area of the Honeycomb Hill Cave system, with the largest deposit of subfossil remains in New Zealand,” West Coast photographer, caver, and outdoor instructor Neil Silverwood said. “Going…

It’s pretty cool being a trail angel. You meet a lot of people, and they’re usually really nice For the Peppers, the summer months bring a steady parade of people from around the world to their farm near Taumarunui. At least once a week, Shannon Pepper sees a familiar sight: a thirsty, backpack-wielding thru-hiker who asks to spend the night. And because the Peppers are Te Araroa trail angels – their home is right on the trail – the answer is always yes. For four years, hikers have been stopping by their home. The numbers ramp up every year, Shannon said, with more and more foreigners every season. One of her sons, Sam, has become so interested in the hikers that he set up a “rest stop” in their front…

Bettina Grotschel, 34, Germany Start date: October 14 BETTINA GROTSCHEL is in the heart of the South Island, where continuous weather bombs have presented some challenges. She says she loved the final stretch of the North Island, “through the wild and beautiful Tararuas – one of the highlights of the trail.” Grotschel then met up with two friends from Germany for the start of the South Island on the “luxury” Queen Charlotte Track. She rested in Nelson and Golden Bay over the holiday, and jumped back on the trail in early January. “With its green water and pools it was beautiful - but the sandflies made it difficult to enjoy,” she said. The Richmond Range and especially Mt Rintoul provided the first challenge of the South Island. Then it was…