Wilderness May 2025

WHO IS THE 2025 Wilderness Outdoor Photographer of the Year? No spoilers here: turn to page 28 to find out. We received a whopping 2600 entries this year. Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners. On page 34 Ray Salisbury writes about the classic Five Passes route. Every time I’m asked if I’ve done this trip, I cringe. A decade ago, I flew over from Australia with my partner to tackle it, but due to a series of stuff-ups, we had to turn back on the third day. It was a lesson in what not to do. I was a newbie tramper and left the logistics to my experienced partner - who downloaded a GPX that turned out to be a variation on the route, which we…

MAKE YOURSELF SMILE I am from the prairies of Winnipeg, Canada - almost smack dab in the middle of the country. I didn’t grow up with tramping, but after moving to Aotearoa in 2014, it is something I now love. I began with small day tramps and soon multi-day hikes became my idea of fun. I knew I wanted to walk Te Araroa the minute I heard about it. I thought, ‘If I can walk for one day, I can walk for two, if I can walk for two, I can walk for three.’ I asked for a sign that I should put work on pause and hit the hills. And a sign from the universe came. I was showering, conditioning my hair, scrunching my eyes shut as soap suds…

Get your photo published here to receive a meal from Real Meals worth $18. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz. LEARN MORE ABOUT REAL MEALS AT www.realmeals.co.nz.…

If you blink, you may just miss him. He’s speedy, he’s infamous, he’s had a song written about him, and he’s just become the oldest person to hike Te Araroa in the 2025 season. At 82 years old, Ernst Schweizer didn’t plan on breaking any records. He’s just a fella who loves a big hike. Schweizer “knocked the bastard off” and touched the Stirling Point signpost on March 20. He had set out from Cape Rēinga on November 2. “I surprised myself,” he said. “I can still walk those young ones into the ground, especially on the flat.” During the hike he met Elliot Williams, at six years old the youngest person on Te Araroa this year. Elliot was hiking with his parents and three siblings. Elliot’s mother, Courtney, said…

Nick Allen has dedicated his life to challenging the notion that a neurological diagnosis is the end of one’s ability to get outdoors. This year he is climbing 52 peaks higher than 1000m. In his mid-20s Allen was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder and confined to a mobility scooter. He spent the next five years in rehabilitation, eventually climbing a 6000m peak in the Himalayas. Following that, in 2015 he set up Mastering Mountains Charitable Trust, an organisation supporting people with neurological disabilities to get outdoors. “Getting into a green space, hearing the sound of water or wind in the trees, smelling the forest and engaging our senses in nature has the effect of calming our central nervous system,” he said. “Outdoors is where I feel the most freedom from…

The popular walking track connecting Stony Bay and Fletcher Bay at the northern tip of Coromandel Peninsula may soon re-open. A 670m section of the Coromandel Walkway was closed after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the region in 2023, when landslides made parts of the track impassable. “We appreciate the community and visitors have been patient as they wait for us to reinstate this track,” said DOC Coromandel supervisor Matt Flynn, “and we’re glad they will soon be able to enjoy a wonderful Coromandel coastal experience again.” DOC has cleared some of the smaller slips and commenced work on the main slip at the end of March. It is hoped the track will reopen in mid-April. “We’re conscious this is a popular and picturesque asset that draws visitors to the northern peninsula,…