Wilderness April 2019

WHEN YOU SPEND more than 100 days in the wilderness each year, as many of the trekking and mountain guides who contributed to our ‘Secrets of the guides’ feature on p52 do, you develop a keen sense for what works and what doesn’t. For instance, you’re less likely to eat dehydrated meals and opt instead for fresh food because it’s more nourishing, fulfilling and more likely to put a smile on people’s faces. As Dave McKinley from Alpine Guides says, “I’d take three days of fresh food before I start sliding into the dark side” of dehydrated meals. McKinley’s number one tip for fresh food: spring onions, of which he says “there’s a lot of flavour for very little weight”. I’ve long been a member of the dark side, refusing…

GREAT RANGER ON GREAT WALK My wife and I had the pleasure of tramping the Heaphy Track recently. Everyone we met on the track was friendly and enthusiastic about having the privilege of experiencing this wonderland. However, the highlight for me, as far as human interaction is concerned, had to be the DOC Ranger – Vince – at Perry Saddle Hut on our first night. Vince was fantastic at mingling with the people enjoying the comforts of the hut (including those brave enough to camp outside on a very wet and windy night). He would meander around each group with a genuine interest in the people and what their intentions were while they were on the Heaphy. Later that night, Vince talked to the whole hut collectively about the Heaphy…

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 NEW METHOD has been developed to prevent kea being poisoned during 1080 operations by using the birds’ fondness for tahr meat. Kea are among the few native birds that have been inadvertently poisoned by 1080, but so far efforts to prevent them from eating the poisoned bait have had limited success. DOC has monitored nearly 200 kea during 1080 operations and about 10 per cent of the birds have been killed due to eating the poisoned pellets. While the number of birds killed is far outweighed by the breeding success following a 1080 drop, the death of endangered native birds has been contentious. DOC has tried using the bird repellents anthraquinone, which makes kea feel ill, and d-pulegone, which has an odour that kea dislike, but both have had…

IF YOU’RE LOSING track of huts you’ve visited, Hut Bagger NZ has got you covered. The online resource allows trampers to comprehensively record the huts they’ve stopped at on their tramping adventures. Auckland website developer Jamie Connor started the site as a memory aid in 2013. “I try to go to different huts each time I go hiking, but I sometimes lose track and think, ‘have I been there?’” The initial list of huts was provided by DOC, but users have taken it upon themselves to add huts and update the database with photos, information and history. “A couple of members, in particular, are religious about adding information and keeping it all in order,” Connor said. To get the word out, Connor left notes in hut books, and to his…

AN AREA TWICE the size of Egmont National Park is set to be added to Kahurangi National Park. In a victory for conservation, the Government announced the addition of 64,400ha of land – including the Mōkihinui River catchment – to New Zealand’s second largest national park. The park is now 517,335ha in size. Forest and Bird chief executive Kevin Hague is thrilled at the result, having campaigned as an MP and in his current position for the area’s protection. “In conservation, it often seems like you’re re-fighting battles you thought you’d already won, but seeing this land now incorporated into the national park – giving it the highest level of protection it could possibly have – feels like a permanent win,” he said. Hague said the area was not included…