Innehållsförteckning för January 2017 från Wilderness

THE SILVEREYE (tauhou) is self introduced, making this delightful little bird a native to New Zealand. They are now one of New Zealand’s most abundant and widespread bird species. They are found throughout New Zealand from sea level right up to about 1200m altitude, inhabiting urban areas, farmlands, orchards and all indigenous and exotic forests and scrublands. They are less common in open grassland areas of Otago and there are only small numbers on all of New Zealand’s offshore islands. The silvereye is monomorphic – adults of both sexes look identical with olive-green on the head, lower back and upper tail and mid-grey around the neck and upper back. The underparts are whitish-cream from the throat right down to the tail, including the underside of the wings. The most distinctive…

Turk Ridge Directly south of the hut stands Turk Ridge, a high rugged dividing range between the Paske and upper Wairau, which has several crossing points at high cols to the Wairau, the best being just east of spot height 2009m. This drops to an unnamed feeder of the Wairau. The route is reasonably rough and care is required with finding the right way down – it is steep bluff country. High, gaunt mountains are all around and some will carry snow well into summer. Start the route at Lake Tennyson Campsite and head up the eastern side of the lake to cross the Crimea Range into the Wairau at the pass between Mt Maling and Crystal Peak. Rainbow Valley This is the easiest route into Paske Hut as it…

Camping in rabbit country Lake Tennyson and Clarence River headwaters LAKE TENNYSON and the surrounding mountains are the epitome of much north Canterbury high country. Peaks that top 2000m, valleys where the winds stir the tussocks, and glistening rivers and lakes. Rabbits once over-ran this country, and there’s an historic rabbit-proof fence still on site. It was futile; the bunnies weren’t halted, and now the marginal country is no longer farmed. Lake Tennyson, named after the English writer, occupies a basin between high, dry mountains, its blue waters providing a pleasant contrast to the gold tussocks and grey screes. From the shelter and camping area, cross the lake outlet, and follow a vehicle track around the southern shores to pick up a sketchy track on the western bank. This pushes…

KEY SUMMIT is one of the most popular day walks in Fiordland. It offers 360-degree panoramic views over Fiordland mountains and alpine lakes. Not many realise that an unmarked track continues along the ridge to reveal even more amazing scenery and also to provide access to McKellar Hut in the Greenstone Valley. I’d wanted to do this route for a long time, but it was two years before my friend, Liz, who had promised to show me the way, was able to join me. We parked at The Divide, the western starting point for the Routeburn, Green-stone and Caples tracks and marched, to the accompaniment of tomtits, bellbirds and fantails, up the well-trodden track to Key Summit. As we emerged above the bushline, the view of the Hollyford Valley opened…

A DAY TRIP to Eastern Hutt Hut is perfect for those occasions when the Tararua tops are clagged in. But because the tramp involves river travel, it’s enjoyable on a hot day, too. Eastern Hutt Hut (marked only as ‘hut’ on the map), lies in the Eastern Hutt River and is for emergency use only because it is in a water catchment area, the idea being that by only allowing day trippers the risk of water contamination is reduced. We parked our cars at the Kaitoke Waterworks Road end, but left them just outside the gate, as this is closed at 8pm each day and we weren’t sure if we would be out by then. It was a mildly drizzly day and we were slightly unsure if the river had…

Sea to Summit X-Set 31 $169.99 Collapsible set includes 2.8 litre X-Pot for camp stove cooking, two X-Bowls and two X-Mugs. X-Pot’s clear lid has an integrated strainer, pot collapses to 4.5cm with the bowls and mugs nesting inside. 609g. www.southernapproach.co.nz GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Dualist $159.95 Two-person cook set including two bowls with graduations, two telescoping ‘Foons’ (fork/spoon), two insulated mugs with sip-through lids, 1.8-litre boiler pot with fold-over locking handle and strainer lid, stove bag and welded stuff sack that doubles as a sink for washing. Integrated nesting for stowing stoves and fuel canisters. 612g.www.outdoorestore.co.nz Macpac Heat Exchange Pot $69.99 One-litre hard anodised aluminium pot designed to evenly disperse heat. Features folding rubberised handles, internal measurement guide, mesh storage bag. 190g. www.macpac.co.nz GSI Glacier SS Minimalist $69.95 600ml stainless…

A NOTE ON EATING RATS I certainly hope that Brando Yelavich (‘Wildboy takes on Stewart Island’, December 2016) has taught himself how to identify the different species of rat, which he says he is looking forward to eating. Most of the rats on Stewart Island/Rakiura are not ‘native’. All three rat species found in New Zealand (kiore or Pacific, Norway, and ship rat) are present on the island, with ship rats being the most abundant and most pervasive species. Ship rats are found in all vegetation types and are pretty much the sole rat species present in podocarp forest. Norway rats tend to be more common close to watercourses (coastal and freshwater), wet areas and subalpine shrubland, while kiore dominate in manuka and riparian shrubland and areas of wire rush.…

Find a subject Decide if you want to capture the whole river or isolate a part of it as your subject. If only a small part of the river is interesting, then a tele-zoom lens will pick this out. For those sweeping river vistas you will likely need to use a wide-angle lens to include everything. If using a wide angle lens, move around to find some foreground interest – an image can easily become boring with no foreground focal point. Think about your height above the river, as this will dramatically change the view. Get your feet wet Often the best view of a river is from standing in the middle of it! Try to fill the frame with water, a large rock or a bridge. These can also…

The announcement in late 2015 of a new Great Walk came as something of a surprise to the outdoor community. Even before the first tree was cut down, or the park’s management plan updated, DOC had created a brochure advertising the track – it would go ahead come hell or high water. The announcement was made after consultation with the families of the Pike River mining tragedy. Outdoor user groups were given no say on the route that crosses an untracked section of backcountry in the northern Paparoa Range. There was apprehension among these groups about the track’s location and type of use. Perhaps even more concerning was that instead of creating a low impact trail, the plan called for a well-graded track suitable for year-round mountain biking. It sounded…

“Public awareness is growing, but the truth is that (the spread of wilding conifers) is apocalyptic.” - Richard Reeve He first noticed the problem in the Mackenzie Basin while walking northbound or ‘NOBO’ on the Te Araroa Trail. Anthony Behrens thought it appalling. A few weeks later, he and his partner Fiona Burleigh got to the rich mineral belt of the Richmond Ranges in Nelson and noticed it again. An army of wild pine marching its way across the landscape. This time they thought it more than appalling. “Scary s***,” in fact. By the time the couple got back to their home turf – Ruahine Forest Park, where they do whio protection work – their eyes were trained and the Palmy Pine Pulling Posse was born. Trees are widely understood…

A 1931 advertisement in The Dominion newspaper inviting readers to invest in Big River Goldmines Limited, described it as ‘a worthwhile speculation’. This was somewhat of an understatement. Although it was one of the smaller mines in the Inangahua field, Big River was one of the richest in terms of returns to shareholders. Between 1907 and 1924, when the mine was most profitable, they received their initial investment back 188 times over. Intensive mining started at Big River in 1882 and operated for 60 years. This isolated environment, 30km along a difficult road from Reefton, was home to more than 100 people at its zenith. The mine closed in 1942, but the fascinating relics around its site are still a major attraction. An increasing number of people go to see…

WHEN NEW ZEALAND’S first national park was established at Tongariro in the late 19th century, access was long and difficult, and facilities practically non-existent. That didn’t stop a small trickle of intrepid tourists from visiting the famed volcanoes. By the early 20th century, with the number of visitors steadily growing, two public huts were built at Ketetahi and Waihohonu in 1903-04. In 1908, the Main Trunk Railway Line, gave rail access to Tongariro, and in the ensuing decades, development in the park shifted to the western side with the opening of the Chateau Tongariro in 1929. Ski field development gathered pace and during the 1960s and 1970s, the Department of Lands and Survey built several huts, and established the well-known tracks in use today. Now, with up to 2000 people…

To help clear up some misconceptions about water consumption, we spoke to Dr. Dan Exeter, sports and exercise physician from Axis Sports in Auckland. Tip #1: Drink to thirst. This, Exeter said, is the golden rule for water consumption. He said that despite what some people think, it’s not a good idea to drink gallons of water before heading out on a tramp. “If you try to preempt thirst, you can actually get yourself in trouble with exercise-associated hyponatremia, where if you drink too much, you might end up dropping your sodium level.” Warning signs of hyponatremia could be puffy skin or a sense of swelling, or odd behaviour. Hyponatremia can quickly become a dangerous situation, Exeter said, and a person should be evacuated if showing signs or symptoms. Tip…

Tart ingredients (serves four) 300g Christmas fruit mince 250g puff pastry Butter for cooking Flour for dusting Brandy sauce ingredients 1 miniature bottle of brandy 1 tsp ground arrowroot 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp brown sugar Method At home: Pack ingredients into separate bags. Carry the pastry separately to keep it cool. In camp: Find a clean surface and roll out the pastry (you might use an empty wine bottle discarded in the hut, or a clean piece of round log from the wood shed). Place some butter in the base of a frying pan and lay the pastry so that it hangs over the sides. Arrange the filling in the centre and fold the surplus pastry back over the top. Leave a hole in the middle for the steam…

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…

BETTINA GROTSCHEL, 34, GERMANY Start date: October 14 “It's been great overall with a few tough days in between,” Bettina Grotschel said just as she was about to start the Whanganui River Journey. After 1146km on the trail, she summed it up with this: “This country and its people are amazing.” After an easy-going Ninety Mile Beach she experienced the mud of Herekino and Raetea forests. But Grotschel found a positive among the muck: “ I was enchanted by the beauty of the trees, ferns, plants and the melodies of the birds,” she said. She said a common joke among TA walkers she encountered was: ‘This is so muddy it must be the trail!’. Grotschel used her time in Auckland to resupply with new footwear and socks, and reflected that…

MAPS ARE objects of wonder. You look at the depiction of rivers, peaks and passes, and try to form a picture of the country. A name – say Paske Hut – grabs you, and you examine possible routes. The map suggests something of the character of the Paske Valley: several high peaks, nudging over 2000m, large rolling expanses of sub-alpine grasslands, and patches of beech forest edging over the lower mountain slopes. Maps, thankfully, don’t ever fully do justice to a place, and there are always surprises when you see it with your own eyes. We’d chosen to reach Paske Hut by crossing Paske Saddle, near the head of the Clarence River, upstream of Lake Tennyson. Instead of climbing a steep, scrubby spur, we’d found good scrambling up a gorged…

As we hopped aboard the Oban ferry, someone called out, “Don’t forget your passport!” While they were joking, going to Stewart Island really does seem a world away from it all. New Zealand’s third largest island feels completely different to any other part of the country. In 2002, the majority of Stewart Island was gazetted as a national park; it is now the fourth largest national park in the country. The northern half is criss-crossed by an extensive track and hut network including the Rakiura Track (a Great Walk) and the North West and Southern Circuits, while the southern half of the park is a proposed wilderness area with no official tracks or huts. If you’re looking to spend one week on Stewart Island, the options are plentiful. Experience New…

For 16-year-old Cook Islander Tairi Kimi, the Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award is all about the positive vibes. “The vibe makes me want to keep doing it. It’s a good vibe, it’s a happy vibe, it’s a different vibe,” he says. Kimi, a student at One Tree Hill College in Auckland, had almost finished his second year of the award when he talked to Wilderness, and was gearing up for a three-day, two-night trip to Coromandel Forest Park. The Duke of Edinburgh is a three-year programme in which students take part in four areas of development: skills (learning a musical instrument, for example), community service, physical education, and outdoor expeditions. Kimi is an artist and an athlete: for his skill development, he paints. For the physical education requirement, he plays…

A 700-800M ascent looked like just the ticket for the kind of tramp I wanted: a quick, moderately tough tramp with the option to overnight, and hopefully good views. And after all, who needs Sunrise Hut when you could just zip up the Ruahines a little further to a less frequented hut and enjoy the same phenomenon? The best-laid plans, of course, begin with finger tramping on the topo map. I set off from Mangleton Road, on the eastern side of the Ruahine Range and west of Hastings, some time after lunch, with a full pack and an optimistic mindset. I’ve regularly been doing 800-900m ascents and the track to Parks Peak Hut promised 2-3 hours’ walk, with some punters reporting they’d done it in 1.5 hours. As it turns…

Fuel types Gas stoves are simple, convenient and inexpensive to run and maintain. Many models now have regulators or use inverted canisters to provide consistent output and improve efficiency in cold and alpine environments. Liquid and multi-fuel stoves burn almost any flammable fuel. Solid-fuel stoves that burn twigs are heavier, but the fuel source is plentiful and free. Ignition Piezo or similar ignition is convenient, but not infallible, so always carry matches or a lighter. Liquid fuel stoves often need to be primed and can take practise to light. Boil times There are many variables to take into account when testing boil times: air temperature, wind, altitude and burner size – even gas quality and quantity in the canister – have an effect. Advertised boil times can even be averaged…