Wilderness July 2022

When we asked skilled outdoors people for their advice on getting outdoors in winter (see, p46) we weren’t sure what they’d say. But that most suggested avalanche awareness and upskilling shouldn’t be surprising. Winter is, after all, a more challenging time to be outside, especially in those areas where there’s snow. Teacher Joe Nawalaniec’s comment on why he took his students into the hills during winter struck a chord with me. He says: “I think doing something outside their sphere of experience – something they would never normally do – gets them hooked. Winter tramping and climbing is the ultimate in adventure…. And for many, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.” When I think back over all the trips I have done, it is the ones in winter that seem to stick…

KIWI SAVES KANGAROO On a recent trip to Wānaka, we encountered one very upset Australian. We had just returned from walking to the Rob Roy Glacier and while in the car park a middle-aged smartly dressed woman burst out of the long-drop. She was hysterical but finally managed to convey the problem: she had dropped her smartphone – her life – down the dunny! I had earlier noticed the level of waste was about two metres down and was reasonably dry and solid. Knowing this I said, “not a problem, I will get it out”. She looked at me weirdly. Checking the phone was indeed not floating I asked her to take the laces from her boots. Tied together and attached to an empty modified tissue box complete with stone…

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Mum-and-daughter walking duo leave lasting legacy Victoria Bruce and her eight-year-old daughter Emilie are hoping all Kiwis will benefit from their fundraising efforts after walking Te Araroa Trail. They have donated $10,000 to both the Federated Mountain Clubs and the Mental Health Foundation. “We hope these funds will go towards ensuring all New Zealanders can enjoy the mental health benefits of spending time in our wild places,” Bruce said. She and Emilie arrived in Bluff on April 14 after walking 2200km over six months, including the length of the South Island and a good chunk of the North. ‘I won’t lie, at times it was a long and lonely journey as we were damp, smelly, sore and tired, but you believed we could do it and we did!’ Bruce wrote…

SINCE 2001, Lumix, by Panasonic, has been developing powerful cameras for mobile content creators. A partnership with renowned German camera manufacturer Leica has allowed Lumix to produce innovative cameras by combining Panasonic’s technological skills and optical technology with Leica’s lens designs. This partnership has led to many world-first developments that are now considered standard camera features. Lumix has also led the way in miniaturising zoom technology. In 2002, the FZ1 was the first digital camera with 12x optical zoom. The FZ series now has up to 60x zoom. In 2006, the TZ1 was the smallest camera with 10x zoom. TZ cameras now have 30x zoom. In 2008, Lumix introduced the world's first mirrorless camera with the DMC-G1. Mirrorless cameras now dominate the interchangeable lens market. Fast forward to 2022 and…

I’M DOING IT TO GET FIT AGAIN What started as a challenge for Alison Silcock has become part of her daily life. Alison Silcock is happy to have walked more than 1200km in less than 12 months. She compares it to her euphoria after finishing her first Great Walk, the Heaphy Track, in February 2021. This was at the start of a health kick that has seen her lose 40kg so far. “I remember feeling quite overwhelmed, extremely proud and on the verge of tears,” Alison says of passing the 1200km mark in May. The Cromwell office manager used Walk1200km as a way to get back into walking after severely injuring her knee in a fall on her second Great Walk, the Routeburn Track, in March 2021. Feeling robbed by…