Innehållsförteckning för August-September 2024 från Great Walks

THE last person to claim to have seen New Zealand’s famed giant moa was a seven-year-old girl who lived on Fiordland’s west coast in the late 1800s. Alice McKenzie kept a diary of life in one of NZ’s most remote settlements and in her 1947 memoir she says as a child she once saw a large blue bird unlike anything she’d ever seen before. Alice examined its curved feathers and noted it had no tail. When she tried to tie it up the bird grunted, and when it stood up Alice claims it was taller than her. The bird left footprints 28cm long, far too big for any known living bird in NZ. There’s been much speculation about Alice’s sighting but if you’ve ever explored parts of Fiordland on foot…

THE unforgiving rain lashed against our backs as we embarked on a six-day pilgrimage into the heart of the wild, untamed Western Arthurs. This wasn’t a leisurely stroll; it was a baptism by fire. Towering quartzite peaks, their shoulders glistening in the fleeting sunlight, promised a challenge unlike any other. Lush carpets of emerald moss stretched hopefully toward the horizon, a stark contrast to the rugged beauty that awaited. Baptism by Fire Years of dreaming have brought us to this very moment. Arriving at Huon Campground, our baptism by fire began. Anticipation crackled in the air, laced with a touch of nervous excitement as walls of water hammered down, a steady rhythm that seemed to mock our preparations. The previous day’s deluge, a full 30mm, had turned away many –…

WORLD Heritage listed for its cultural significance, the Kumano Kodo is an ancient network of trails that criss-cross the rugged mountains of the Kii peninsula, with the Nakahechi, or Imperial route, being the most popular. Known as the land of the gods, for over 1000 years, emperors, nobles, and pilgrims, hiked this route that combines the belief of two religions, Buddhism and Shinto,both revering nature. At small shrines called Oji, pilgrims stop to pray, and lining the route are small statues called Jizo, thought to have spiritual powers that guide you on your way. After several days exploring Osaka’s attractions, funky neighbourhoods and department store food halls with their staggering array of artfully presented food, it was time to begin my journey. From Namba Station, the 9.01 Nankai Rapid Express…

AMANDA: “So I met my hiking buddy 40+ years ago, since she gave birth to me, yep, it’s my mum. She is also the one who introduced me to bushwalking in the first place and got me involved in the local club. We have walked all over the Top End together, mostly Kakadu and Litchfield national parks. As well as a smattering of other places such as BC and Alberta in Canada, the Grampians in Victoria and some others. I get along really well with my mum and it’s good to have her company just chatting about everything, and in a large group when I am leading it’s great to have her support watching the rear and helping more inexperienced walkers. My mother really appreciates the little things and after…

NZ SPECIAL PAPAROA TRACK THE Paparoa Track, NZ’s 10th Great Walk, weaves through the Paparoa Ranges, staring down onto the West Coast back from the town of Greymouth. Greymouth in Grey District on the banks of the Grey River, is a gritty, real town with few pretensions – a town built on fishing, logging and mining. With access via slow, winding mountain roads, west coasters are renowned for their self-sufficiency and a stubborn spirit hewn from the mountains to their west and distilled from the wild Tasman Sea to their east. Monteith’s Brewery, in Greymouth since 1868, is a West Coast institution, glowering at pubs nearby that have the temerity to offer Speights (Est. 1876), that modern upstart from Invercargill. A West Coast IPA washing down whitebait fritters, the local…

4-SEASON TENTS NEW Zealand may be a hiking wonderland, but its mountains can turn into a meteorological maelstrom at the drop of a beanie. If you’re camping along one of the country’s fabulous multi-day walks, you’re going to need to be able to trust your shelter to protect you in some pretty wild weather. That’s why in this issue, Great Walks is investigating 4-season tents, designed and built to withstand high winds and low temperatures. In addition, because a little extra room when forced to spend days tent bound due to a blizzard can be the difference between divorce and wedded bliss, we’re looking primarily at 3-person tents, but from a 2-person perspective. Aah, so much more comfortable! So, from snow camping and ski touring to mountaineering base camps, these…

A new walking route stretching from the UK’s Peak District to the summit of Ben Nevis has been launched with the aim of encouraging walkers to explore the spine of England and Scotland – whether it be in one 40-day burst or done in different sections over a series of months or even years. The Northern Trek is a whopping 900km that will treat those who tackle it with the most breathtaking scenery the two countries have to offer – taking them through four national parks, three UNESCO World Heritage sites and from the east coast in Northumberland to the west coast in the Scottish Highlands. The brains behind The Northern Trek, Ken Heptonstall says the idea for it was born from a desire to see both the Pennine and…

MOST nights out on the trail, I fall asleep with a roof over my head. As night approaches I am either inside a rustic hiker’s hut or sheltering beneath a robust piece of nylon in my tent. However, whilst hiking in the South Australian outback I slept under a million stars in a swag. Sleeping in a swag was something that I had always wanted to try. So, as I drifted off to sleep in the bushcamp with the Milky Way swirling silently above me, I was in celestial heaven. My friend Kristine whispered that this was not a 5-star hotel, but a million-star hotel. Each year, my walking buddies and I select a guided multi-day walk. This year it was Rachel’s turn to choose the hike and she had…

THE Milford Track is NZ’s most famous walk, hands down. The vast, sprawling walk through the South Island takes you from Te Anau Downs to the ethereal Milford Sound in 53km over four days. Through mountains and fiords[Microsoft1] , the track takes you not only through the Fiordlands of NZ, but through its history. Since the 14th century, the area was used by Maori[Microsoft2] who trekked along[Microsoft3] carrying greenstone or ‘kokotakiwai’ between settlements. Greenstone is of major importance to Maori; the name of the South Island, ‘Te Wahipounamu’[Microsoft4] , translates to ‘The Land of Greenstone Water’[Microsoft5] , the only place greenstone is located. Communicating prestige, these stones are handed down through generations, referred to as treasure or ‘taonga’. Milford Sound, the track’s end, is also known as ‘Piopiotahi’, meaning ‘a…

THE climb is relentless, getting steeper, colder, gnarlier. I’ve been going for six hours already, gaining nearly 1000m in elevation from ocean towards the summit and the day is taking longer than I expected. Patches of snow start to dot the track and old-man’s-beard moss drapes from twisted tree trunks as I hike further into the misty heights. An icy wind bites into my bare hands and even though I’m exerting myself, my body is getting uncomfortably cold. I stop to pull on a jacket and gloves. When I think it can’t get much harder, it does. I use my arms and legs to haul myself, and my food-laden pack, up sizeable rocks and ladders of tree roots. Where is the flat sunlit boardwalk I saw in all the adverts?…

WE have been volunteering for National Parks in Queensland and Tasmania to expand our flora and fauna knowledge, whilst ‘giving back’ to the parks we hiked. Shannon and I love our hiking and we heard about Bush Heritage Australia (BHA) who were offering more outback opportunities, supported by ecologists and opportunities to learn new skills working with the environment. This is an overview of a trip we did to four of those reserves and our experiences as volunteers. Edgbaston Reserve The horizontal shift red glow of the rising sun greets you as your coffee pot begins to boil. Then the soft chirping of finches, accompanied by the exploring gazes of pee wees looking for who knows what, are your few early companions. Thinking that you’re the only one eating breakfast,…

NAVIGATION WHEN it comes to map and compass navigation, true north is the least useful of the ‘three norths’. But if you consider the metaphorical context of the phrase, which refers to the authentic self or purpose, then the definition of this north being ‘the fixed point in a spinning world’ seems priceless, given that trying to learn navigation puts many of us into a spin. Think about any new skill you’ve tried to learn like driving a car, playing an instrument or speaking another language. It takes time, and frankly, we’re all a bit crappy at first. If we want to master something we set aside years of focused work – think school, university or tertiary study. Once we’re headlong into being a grown-up, it seems a luxury to…

GRW: How did you prepare your daughter for the walk? We started with a practice hike, from our own back gate (we live by a dirt road in rural SA) for about 8km to a local campsite at our nearest town. She knew it was her ‘test’ before I would take her out on anything longer, and in spite of it being a hot day, she was determined to prove she could do it. After that I took her for a couple of longer two day hikes in the beautiful Deep Creek Conservation Park. While I am careful that she never carries more than is reasonable for her body weight and size, she is responsible for as much of her own gear as possible. Sometimes we have walked with other…

DEB, my co-pilot on our Woodlane guidebooks, and I are winter walkers – we gladly dispense with the heat, sunburn, flies and snakes in exchange for crisp autumn and winter days, a bit of rain, occasional biting winds, and ice on the inside of the tent at night. Luckily, these seasons coincide with peak hiking season for the Flinders, when the days are generally very pleasant. In fact, many of the walks in the Ikara Flinders Ranges National Park (the well-known central section of the Flinders Ranges) are closed for safety over the hotter summer months. Oh, and when I say ‘peak hiking season’, that translates to not seeing another soul on many of our walks. This is remote and spectacular Aussie walking at its finest – you really can…

GUIDED GETAWAYS MURRAY RIVER TRAILS GRW: What’s your earliest bushwalking memory? On a geology tour of New Zealand in 1979 our group from Roseworthy Ag College in South Australia were on a 15km walk through Tongariro National Park when the idea arose to climb Mount Ngauruhoe as a sidewalk, so we did and it took 2 hours to climb up the scree of an active volcano onto the rim, and it took 15 minutes to run down. We felt great. However, this made the remaining 12km back to Park HQ in Ohakune a real challenge, and despite the spectacular surrounds I soon realised how under-prepared we were as pain crept into every downhill step. Everything from our shoes, clothing, the amount of water and food we carried were inappropriate and…

ON the 1st of February we said goodbye to our flat in Sydney, packed our bags and boarded a flight to Auckland. This was to be the beginning of our great adventure, walking nine of NZ’s Great Walks. This would involve walking and paddling (one of the walks is in fact a canoe journey) 550km over nine weeks. The seed of the idea had been around since visiting New Zealand over 15 years ago and walking some day sections on a couple of the Great Walks. The beauty of the landscape completely blew me away and it was the trip that started my lifelong love of hiking. On leaving the country I vowed one day to come back to walk the tracks in full. On deciding to take a career…

Banks Track If you want to know what the Banks Track luxury walk is like read one guests story: “Exploring Banks Track was an unforgettable adventure. The breathtaking scenery, encounters with local wildlife, and charming accommodations made the journey truly remarkable and left us with memories to last a lifetime. Our journey began with a short bus ride from the little picturesque town of Akaroa to Onuku Farm, where we spent our first night in a tramping hut with panoramic views over Akaroa Harbour. After being greeted by a chorus of beautiful bird songs in the morning, we embarked on our first day of the walk. The steep climb up to Trig GG provided breathtaking views of the lush countryside that the Banks Peninsula is known for, making the challenging…

GRW: What’s your earliest bushwalking memory? I remember going on school camping trips when I was younger and being exposed to the forest. Hiking in the New Zealand bush is always going to have a lasting impact. For me it was the feeling that there was life on every level, from the mosses and lichens on the ground, the vines and epiphytes, all the way up to the towering trees themselves. GRW: What got your into the walking tour business? These things always start small and then snowball. While doing the Heaphy Track in my early twenties I remember saying to my friend “if I could do this for a living, that would be my dream job”. For me then, starting as a hiking guide 20 years ago with barely…