Wilderness January 2021

HOW LUCKY ARE WE TO BE KIWIS? In a year that kept so many indoors, Aotearoa sure dodged a bullet or two in 2020. Reflecting on the difficult year, I was thrilled to count more than 40 days spent tramping, including three Great Walks and 13 new huts bagged. I’m sure to some of our more intrepid readers, 40 days is a disappointing effort, but for me it’s a record – and all achieved despite lockdowns, full-time work, and living in suburban Mt Wellington. I don’t think we appreciate how lucky we are, and thru-hiking filmmaker Elina Osborne agrees. In December, she set out to walk Te Araroa Trail, meeting the locals, sharing huts and staying with trail angels (see Walkshorts, p10). She says she was walking for her friends…

THE PROBLEM IS PEOPLE, NOT POUAKAI TARN The article, ‘Is Pouakai Tarn an asset or a liability?’ (December 2020) attempts to ask important questions on what happens at this highly instagrammable spot. But to me, the story heading is extremely problematic. The tarn is not the issue, instead people’s behaviour is risking harm to the environment (a main point of the article). In my world view, Pouakai Tarn is a living being. How can it be a liability (or an asset for that matter)? While I do not whakapapa to that part of the motu, I know several people who do. To them, it may be likened to asking, “Was my mother an asset or a liability” when what you really wanted to explore was how your behaviour as a…

A SPECTACULAR PERCH INDEED  The story, ‘A spectacular perch’ (December 2020) kindled memories of my first-ever climbing trip. I joined my first climb in 1971 with seven others from the Canterbury University Tramping Club rather apprehensively due to my limited outdoor experience. Weeks earlier, we had some alpine instruction on one of the local ski fields where I learnt to self-arrest, but we had not practised any rope techniques so I was relying on the experience of the others. It was an achievement for me reaching Waimakariri Falls Hut with my heavy pack – it was the camaraderie of the group that got me there with constant laughs and ribaldry, and of course spectacular panorama at the Falls hut on arrival which I well remember. I wasn’t just carrying my…

Get your photo published here to receive $30 Silva Pocket Thermo Compass for accurate wayfinding and temperature-sussing. Learn more about Silva compasses at e.ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

NEW ZEALAND GEAR distributor Outfitters is aiming to become carbon neutral. The move follows a commitment from two of its top imported brands, Rab and Lowe Alpine, to be carbon neutral and net zero by 2030, meaning they will reduce carbon emissions and balance any remaining emissions through carbon credits. Achieving net zero means the company will not release more non-avoidable Greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere than it neutralises with actual carbon removal. Outfitters owner Neil Stichbury said environmental initiatives should continue all the way through the supply chain, from production to delivery. “We’re starting on a long journey of doing all we can to be net zero by 2030,” he said. “If any brand goes carbon neutral or is aiming for net zero, and local distributors aren’t doing the…

A NEW, FAMILY-FRIENDLY cycle trail has opened in Westport. It’s the first leg of a 55km coastal trail that locals believe will attract a wider range of people than the riders currently flocking to the region’s advanced mountain bike trails. The 5km Pūwaha section of the proposed, 55km Kawatiri Coastal Trail runs from Westport to Carters Beach and wends its way through wetlands, coastal forest, a wildlife sanctuary and historic Maori and European settler sites. A 45m suspension bridge is a standout feature on the track, which was ridden or walked by several hundred locals within days of opening. Pūwaha is the first of nine stages of the proposed walking and cycling heritage trail that will link Westport with the communities of Carters Beach, Cape Foulwind, Tauranga Bay and Charlestown,…