Innehållsförteckning för March 2019 från Wilderness

THE OLDEST HUT in Fiordland is one of many to receive maintenance during a productive season for the Backcountry Trust. Stage one of the rebuild of the 1928 Hankinson Hut was completed in early February by a team from Fiordland Wapiti Foundation. The floor, subfloor and piles of the 14 bunk hut were redone, the framing was fixed and the hut re-clad around the original iron. It was discovered during maintenance that much of the interior linings will need replacing, and grooved plywood reconstruction is planned to retain the aesthetic of the historic hut. Backcountry Trust manager Rob Brown says the hut is back functioning, but a completion date is not known. A rebuild of Upper Nina Bivvy in Lake Sumner Forest Park was another highlight for the trust, with…

THE REVIEW process for the Aoraki/Mt Cook and Westland Tai Poutini national park management plans has been put on hold. DOC announced the decision on February 4 – the same day submissions on the draft plans were closed to the public – and follows the Supreme Court’s December 2018 ruling in support of Auckland iwi Ngāi Tai, which sought the right to re-apply for exclusive rights to concessions for commercial activities on Rangitoto and Motutapu islands in the Hauraki Gulf. Both Aoraki/Mt Cook and Westland Tai Poutini national parks are within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā (district), and effects of the Ngāi Tai ruling on the management plans are unknown at this stage. The hold on the review process was requested by Ngāi Tahu. DOC’s director planning, permissions and land Marie…

TOSSING YOUR FRUIT CORES into the dense undergrowth might seem harmless – it’ll just break down, right? Many of us understand the difference between degradable and biodegradable. A plastic bag degrades into micro plastic, whereas an apple core turns into soil. However, just because it’s organic, doesn’t mean we should toss it into the bush. Decomposition takes several weeks and it’s likely that hungry wildlife will nab the organic waste first. Human food scraps aren’t native to the environment, and while they may be a valuable source of food, they can harm native fauna and disrupt their natural foraging habits. More problematic is the effect on opportunistic pest species such as possums, rats and stoats. Providing these species with resources boosts their population, and when those scraps aren’t readily available,…

MENTION THE ‘DUSKY’ to those in the know – those intrepid adventurers who have penetrated its dark forested interior, or stolen across its misty, tarn-studded mountain passes – and you’ll hear tales of knee-deep mud, voracious sandflies, and non-stop rain. Doing the track – New Zealand’s most difficult – is not straightforward. Road transport and boats to access the trackheads must be organised. The journey includes crossing 21 three-wire bridges that require balance and a head for heights. Heavy rain is a given, so you’ll need a good raincoat. Wet boots are par-for-the-course in Fiordland; it’s famous for being the wettest place on the planet. But when you break it down, there are positive aspects to this bittersweet adventure: the lush vegetation and delightful birdlife; unrivaled views across colossal mountainscapes;…

More Princess and the Pea than Sleeping Beauty, I’m a bit of a softy when it comes to sleeping in the backcountry. Without a decent pillow and a thick sleeping mat, I might as well sleep on a bed of gorse for the amount of shut-eye I get, so, as idyllic as hammock camping sounded, I admit I expected a restless night. It’s been on my to-do list for a number of years, but slips by the wayside every summer as I opt for the convenience and safety of my tried-and-trusted tent. Having camped every summer since I was born, I feel much more at home on the ground than above it. Procrastination and excuses finally ran out on a summer weekend trip to the Bay of Islands, when the…

CONDENSATION FROM humidity in the air or even your own respiration can be enough to soak your tent so thoroughly, you’ll think it has sprung a leak. It can be a hard problem to eliminate entirely if weather conditions aren’t on your side, but there are precautions you can take to reduce the amount of moisture condensing on your tent fly or canopy. Don’t leave it too late to ventilate Ventilation is key for a drier night of camping, so try and keep the tent as open as can be, wherever possible. Keep the vents open, and if it’s not too cold, unzip the tent’s inner doors or use mesh doors if the tent has them for maximum airflow. The tent fly can capture moisture evaporating from the ground too,…

WHITEHEADS (POPOKATEA) are gregarious songbirds that live in noisy groups of up to eight members and are often heard before they are seen. They are only found in the North Island. CONSERVATION STATUS Endemic species classified as ‘declining’ FEATURES Whitehead/popokatea are a small songbird with a compact body, short tail and bill and long legs similar in size to a sparrow, but weighing a tad less. Their head and under parts are white and the upper parts, wings and tail are brown-grey while the bill, legs and eyes are dark. Females and juveniles are similar to the males but have a light brown colouring on the nape of the neck and top of the head. Nesting Popokatea are ‘cooperative breeders’, living in groups where others within the group help with…

“It’s not about hardiness, it’s about the joy” Why did you do this challenge? My husband and I took our teenage sons on a backpacking trip through Italy. It was December, middle of winter, and I didn’t swim at all, but I kept thinking about it as summer was underway in New Zealand. I thought, when I get back, the first thing I would want to do is go for a swim, but I didn’t and the summer slipped by. And then suddenly it was winter and I felt like I had lost a summer in my life. I had such a sense of grief and I thought next summer, I’m not going to let it happen again – I don’t want to be that dusty old adult standing on…

BUYING A GIFT subscription to Wilderness paid off in a big way for one lucky subscriber. Chris Beech of Blenheim is the winner of the Wilderness 2019 Super Summer Subscription promotion, walking away with more than $5000 of top-of-the-line tramping gear from MSR, Therm-a-Rest, Bridgedale, Vasque, Light My Fire, BioLite, Bushnell and Silva. A long-time subscriber herself, Beech’s name was drawn for the gift subscription she bought for her daughter and her partner. The email informing her she’d won was “a complete surprise”. “Initially I thought it was spam, so I called the Wilderness office and it was confirmed straight away,” she said. “Usually whenever we’ve ‘won’ something on an email, it comes from Nigeria or Thailand.” Beech and her husband have had a lifetime of farming and tramping in…

A FREE SHUTTLE bus trial has eased parking pressures during a busy summer season for Mt Taranaki. The weekend-only shuttle runs hourly from 9am to 5pm between Volcano View Cafe and North Egmont Visitor Centre – a 10km trip. Jointly funded by New Plymouth District Council and DOC, the trial will run until the last weekend of April. “More and more people are coming to our region and this service helps people get out and about on our maunga without causing traffic congestion on Egmont Road and at the visitor centre car park,” council infrastructure manager David Langford said. “We’ve been delighted with the response to the service – so far it seems to be working well.” The North Egmont Visitor Centre provides access to Maketawa Hut, Holly Hut, the…

IF THERE’S ONE sound I’ve come to associate with blisters, it’s the cringing gasps which accompany the removal of a damp sock at the end of a long day. As wrinkled and pale skin is slowly revealed, so too are heels rubbed raw by the bite of boots and toes swollen to the size of grapes. A curious crowd often materialises out of nowhere to inspect the damage and offer sentiments of sympathy and revulsion, unable to look away from the most relatable of tramping ailments. As horrid as blisters can be, they can be treated and – better still – prevented by a bit of know-how and preparation. Know your enemy Knowing how and why a blister forms is the first step to prevention, and while there are many…

DRIVING THROUGH the Karangahake Gorge, it’s difficult to keep your eyes on the road. There’s the Ohinemuri River, the towering Karangahake mountain, old building ruins and curious riverside walks carved into the rock face all competing for attention. Passing drivers might find a car park in the huge, but most often full, roadside rest area and walk among the remains of stamper batteries. But walk on a few minutes more and you’ll leave the busy SH2 behind and find yourself transported through time, on ledges and tunnels cut into the mountainsides, where awaits a weekend of discovery and outdoor adventure that few people are aware even exists. “The whole area is really understated,” says Anita Roest, the host at Karangahake’s Riverside Accommodation. “I’m still discovering new walks and I’ve lived…

THE CORE REFERS to the sheath of muscles that surround your abdomen. This includes muscles at your stomach, your back and the sides of your torso. Better core strength helps with balance and the ability to wear and comfortably move with a heavy pack. The many variations of sit-ups are just one way to strengthen the core. But there are other movements that help strengthen the core, particularly targeting the side and back muscles. The plank is the position at the top of a press-up, before you lower down. The forearm version puts the weight in your elbows and forearms. It’s easier on your wrists and requires more core strength than holding a normal plank position. Forearm plank Start on elbows and knees Place elbows under your shoulders or wider…

MSR Hubba Hubba NX $859.99 / 1720g / 2.7m 2 Features: A single ‘unified’ pole with hubs allow the pole to branch out to the corners and across the centre. Two fly vents and mesh panels on the inner ceiling. Ten pegs and four pre-attached guylines. The fly fabric is rated to 1200mm and the floor to 3000mm. 4/5 Pitching: The tent has one pole with three hubs where poles branch off to the corners and another creates a centre width pole. There are eight clips on the canopy that attach to the pole giving the tent good shape. The 10 pegs are strong and unlikely to bend and there are enough for the guylines. 4/5 Comfort: There’s enough mesh to provide decent ventilation and star-gazing opportunity, but…

Fill power This is directly related to the warmth and weight of a sleeping bag. The higher the fill power, the more air – warmth – an ounce of down can trap. A high number also suggests the bag will be lighter because less down is needed to keep the user warm. Sleeping bags typically have a fill power of between 500 and 900. INSULATION Water-resistant or hydrophobic down is common and promises to insulate in wet conditions, or at least dry more quickly than untreated down. All down is compressible and lightweight, with goose down being of higher quality than duck down. Synthetic insulation is comprised of layered sheets of man-made fibres. These bags are affordable, durable and maintain their insulating properties when wet. They also tend to be…

GET YOUR PHOTO PUBLISHED HERE TO RECEIVE A TUB OF STORM LEATHER CREAM TO WATERPROOF, CONDITION AND SHINE YOUR TRAMPING BOOTS. Learn more about Storm at ampro.co.nz . Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

A TE ARAROA Trail app designed to improve walker experience has been released. The Trail App is the first to be developed for the 3000km thru-hike, and is available for free on Android and iOS devices. Wellington software developer Landon Breidenstein designed the app after walking the trail in the 2016/17 season. Breidenstein said it was his way of giving back to the trail, which he described as “the best thing I’ve done in my entire life”. Including annotated route navigation, full trail notes, elevation profiles, and links with both Google Maps and topomap.co.nz, Breidenstein hopes the app will help walkers make informed choices about their daily distances, campsites and utilities. The app also allows users to receive alerts on track updates. Te Araroa Trust chief executive Mark Weatherall is…

WHEN IT COMES to pre-tramp food prep, I’m more of an aimless aisle wanderer than a calculated consumer. I’m clueless on calories, poorly-informed on proteins, and my trail mix tends to be 80 per cent gummy bears. And though I rarely go hungry on tramps and often overpack in the food department, with a bit of fine tuning I should be able to get more for less. Know your needs A basic understanding of nutrition goes a long way to keeping you energised and well fed on a tramp, as well as giving you direction in the supermarket. “The key thing is to have a combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats,” says Mission Nutrition dietician Jessica Moulds. “Carbs give us the energy, which is most important, but eating proteins and…

Karangahake  The namesake peak in the region offers incredible views in all directions from its 555m summit. But it's also a tough walk, requiring half a day. The Mt Karangahake Walk begins beside an unmarked stream, then joins a mine road for about 1km before heading into the bush on a wide track. Be sure to look over your shoulder for ever improving views of the township and beyond. At a junction, a goat track heads in a more direct line to the summit, offering a quicker and steeper approach. Alternatively, the Mt Karangahake Walk sidles around to the southern side of the hill before climbing to the summit. From the highpoint you'll enjoy views that extend to the Firth of Thames, the Coromandel Peninsula and east to Waihi and…

Things I learned recently about Ruapehu: A plane crashed on the Mangatoetoenui Glacier in 1952, and took 31 years to reappear, 600m from its crash site; the aforementioned Mangatoetoenui Glacier used to be known as the Waikato Glacier, because it’s considered to be the highest beginnings of the Waikato River and one of its principal sources; and three, if you climb to the intersection of the Summit Plateau and the Mangatoetoenui Glacier in summer, you’ll have the chance to see a small meltwater lake, bright blue and mesmerising. Local mountain guide and photographer Zhi Yuen Yap shared images of the lake on Instagram. “The hot summer so far has resulted in the early formation of this glacier meltwater lake on Mt Ruapehu,” he wrote. “At around 2600m above sea level,…

PROFILE Serves ThreePrep time 30minCook time 5-8minCost $10–$14 INGREDIENTS 1 packet thin dumpling wrappers 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp sesame oil 1 cup diced mushrooms 1 cup grated tempeh or tofu 1 cup diced broccoli 1 large clove garlic, crushed 1 small chilli, finely chopped Half tbsp grated fresh ginger 2 tsp soy sauce (plus extra for serving) 3 tbsp teriyaki sauce METHOD In a pan, sauté mushrooms and tempeh in olive oil and sesame oil for 3-4min. Add broccoli, garlic, chilli, and ginger and cook for a further 5min. Add soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and stir through. Remove from heat and allow to cool (now is your chance to watch a clip on how to fold dumplings). Take a tablespoon of the mixture and place into the centre…