Innehållsförteckning för November 2024 från Wilderness

This month I curled up on the couch with Shaun Barnett’s new book, A Wild Life: Photographs from the backcountry of Aotearoa. His exquisite images span three decades and depict not only a life’s work but also the extraordinary diversity of our natural landscape. There’s a quiet grace to the photos, and as I turned the pages I was left in awe of all there is still to explore. I also had a chat with Shaun’s long-time publisher and friend, Robbie Burton, about the book and their collaborations (see Track Chat, p80). Earlier in the month I attended the funeral of a friend’s father. Like Shaun, he was devoted to his family and community, found his life’s purpose early on and never deviated. He was a volunteer firefighter for more…

There’s hope for Aotearoa’s largest known living kauri tree, Tāne Mahuta, in Northland’s Waipoua Forest. DOC’s Kauri Coast operations manager Stephen Soole says proactive and sustainable measures are essential to protect Tāne Mahuta and the other rākau rangatira (chiefly trees) of Waipoua from the irreversible spread of kauri dieback disease, a soil-borne pathogen that attacks a tree’s root system. The Tāne Mahuta Walk has been temporarily closed as DOC and Te Iwi o Te Roroa collaborate to rebuild a bridge, a boardwalk and a viewing platform surrounding the ‘god of the forest’. The new structures will provide greater protection for Waipoua Forest while also allowing more people – up to 200,000 visitors a year – to see the magnificent kauri safely. The walk is expected to reopen in October in…

These three fun #microchallenges will help you to better appreciate your surroundings and have fun on your walks. Our favourite six #microchallenge completers receive a Walk1200km badge, and the best entry for each challenge receives a prize from our partners. #microchallenge34 Share your walking wallpaper The most important walking photo is the one you choose as your phone’s wallpaper. Share a screenshot and tell us what it means to you. #microchallenge34 Partner prize: A pair of Bridgedale Midweight Merino Performance Fit socks. #microchallenge35 Find a bargain These days we’re all on the hunt for the cheapest of everything – lunch, fuel, walking kit. Find something you think is a bargain (but not free), show it to us and tell us how you rate it. #microchallenge35 Partner prize: A $100 Further…

SIGNS AT THE CAR PARK suggest 5hr to the summit, however it can be reached in about 3.5hr if you’re moderately fit. Check the forecast before setting out as the summit is often shrouded in cloud. Head north for the first couple of kilometres along the well-maintained Pukaka Valley Track, which follows Pukaka Stream through mixed native forest of podocarps, tree ferns and beech. A DOC sign identifies the start of the climb to the ridge. There is no water beyond this point. The track narrows here and is unformed in parts as it climbs steeply for about 300m through beech forest. The gradient eases for the last 100m of ascent and reaches a junction with the Mt Robertson Loop Track on the ridge line. Turn left along the broad…

I REVELLED IN THE SUNSHINE, taking in the breathtaking Pelorus River and the towering kahikatea from the campground kitchen patio. It was my first day cycling the South Island on Tour Aotearoa, and I had mixed emotions about this, my first bikepacking trip. Meanwhile, Marc, a Belgian geologist, was heading south on his 70th day of walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa. “I felt a bit insecure initially, but I kept moving forward,” he said. Marc told me his feet had blistered badly while walking Ninety Mile Beach. He was offered a place to stay in Kaitāia for four days to recover and had been overwhelmed by this act of kindness. “Meeting people along the trail has been the most magical experience of my life,” he told…

ARRIVING AT THE CAR AFTER a weekend tramp, you can sip the last drop of water, peel off sopping socks and revel in your accurate calculation of snacks that you consumed without carrying excess food weight. An hour later you’re dehydrated because you drank all your water on the trail, breakfast feels like a long time ago and petrol station snacks are still ages away. It all shows that the weekend journey isn’t over until the post-trip big meal and shower. Here are some tips to make the ending as pleasurable as the tramp. "Wet wipes, deodorant, and a change of clothes can ease your transition back to civilisation" STRETCH In the car you’re tired but limber. Two hours later, stepping from the car at toilet break time, you find…

CAPACITY If you’re buying just one daypack, make sure it’s roomy enough for all your waterproof clothing, food and water along with other outdoor essentials. Capacities range from 10l to around 32l. SHOULDER STRAPS The most comfortable packs have contoured shoulder straps and a sternum strap, which helps keep the pack firmly attached. Straps with perforated foam or a mesh component can provide ventilation. Load stabilisers on some shoulder straps draw the load close to a wearer’s back. VENTILATION Some daypacks feature a ‘breathable’ harness that creates an air space between the pack and a wearer’s back. Others use a combination of perforated foam and mesh. Such harnesses reduce pressure points and provide additional comfort in hot weather. HIP BELT If it’s planned to carry heavier loads or run with…

ANTIHISTAMINES A GAME-CHANGER It was good to see the article ‘Five tips to save you from sandflies’ (Walkshorts, September 2024). Namu (sandflies) were a true bug bear in my first few years of tramping. I was that person whose bites would result in large, itchy welts, 2–3cm in diameter and last a miserable five days. It made me somewhat paranoid about namu entering a tent or hut if a door or window was left open. Stops for breaks were always short-lived with me moving around frantically to try and avoid being bitten. I tried Dettol and baby oil, which seemed effective, but my partner said it was like walking alongside a public toilet. I have used the other tactics suggested, but they don’t make for a relaxed trip and all…

Many huts that are used as tramping accommodation today were historically used by shepherds and musterers working isolated areas of farmland. Here are some that are easy to visit. Kaweka Forest Park Early Māori living in the eastern Kaweka foothills gathered food from the nearby forests. Ngāti Mahu and Ngāti Hinepari set up transient camps near the Mangatutu and Mangatainoka hot springs, and the Upper Mohaka River was an important source of tuna or eels. European colonists modified the area considerably and grazed merino sheep over the entire range. Some of their early huts remain. Iron Whare is a small hut made from vertical slab tōtara and is thought to have been built in the 1870s by musterers who carried the materials in to the site. It is the oldest…

WALK SHORTS International visitors to New Zealand will now be charged a levy of $100. A $35 fee was introduced in 2019 as a tool to ensure international visitors contributed to the infrastructure they use, including that linked to conservation such as the Great Walks. The levy was originally forecast to raise roughly $80 million a year. Despite the Covid-19 border restrictions, it has generated $170 million to date and funds are split evenly between tourism and conservation projects. Around seven per cent of DOC’s annual funding currently comes from the international visitor levy. Tourism projects already funded by the levy include enhancing visitor access to Fox Glacier and Arthur’s Pass, as well as developing i-Sites across the country. Conservation projects include the long-term Kākāpō Recovery Programme and upgrades that…

Inhaling the rich aroma of damp leaf litter and wet earth is one of the health benefits of going for a walk when it’s raining. The relationship between the smell of damp soil, known as geosmin (pronounced ‘jos a min’), and its beneficial properties has a long history and it may have enabled humans to find water, and we are better at detecting it than a shark is at smelling blood in the water. So, what causes the smell? Moisture interacting with bacteria in the soil releases a natural terpene (or petrichor, as geosmin is also known) into the air, and when inhaled it promotes alpha waves in our brain. That lovely earthy aroma, distinctive in the bush after rain, is relaxing. It may even alleviate depressive symptoms, though studies…

WAYPOINTS THIS IS AN APTLY NAMED, triangular-shaped mountain lying front and centre on the approach to Arthur’s Pass National Park from Canterbury. It draws trampers across the Waimakariri, to a day trip over The Pyramid and into Sudden Valley for a quintessential Arthur’s Pass tramping experience: steep bush, a thrilling ridgeline, a speedy scree descent and a river bash. The trip begins with a brisk crossing of the Hawdon River and then Sudden Valley Stream. At the foot of the south-east spur of The Pyramid is a rock cairn indicating the route through the bush – direct and steep but straightforward and well-travelled. From the bushline there’s a further 200m to the summit (1608m), which lies just 500m away to the north-west. From the summit are commanding views of the…

ŌMARU HUT is just a stone’s throw from the Forgotten World Highway and the Republic of Whangamōmona, at the edge of Whanganui National Park on the historic Matemateāonga Track. Its location makes this eight-bunk serviced hut a prime destination for a weekend walk. The track starts at Kohi Saddle (Upper Mangaehu Road), an hour’s drive from Strathmore on SH43. Cross the road from the car park and clamber over a stile to follow a 4WD track for a short section to a DOC sign that marks the beginning of the Matemateāonga Track. The wide and level track is a remnant of a road built in 1911 that followed an older Māori route along the Matemateāonga Range to the Whanganui River. A planned bridge to complete a link between Stratford and…

I can’t cope with crackers and tuna pouches for five days. For starters, I’m vegetarian. And, I have standards. I enjoy food too much to forgo its pleasure in the hills. I was a militant vegan when I started tramping 15 years ago, and buying lightweight tramping food was next to impossible. Only one brand made outdoor meals, and they had a single vegetarian (not vegan) option. I spent a few trips hauling in raw ingredients and preparing them laboriously over a tiny camp stove. It was heavy, time consuming and the results were average. Change was needed. So, I dug out our old dehydrator and got to work. People have been dehydrating food for millennia; how hard could it be? Short answer: not too hard. But there are some…

Get your photo published here to receive a meal from Real Meals worth $17. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz. Learn more about Real Meals at www.realmeals.co.nz.…

For the past five years DOC has been monitoring Aotearoa’s only true alpine bird, the pīwauwau rock wren, and finds the population is increasing where predators are controlled. DOC science advisor Tristan Rawlence said that areas with predator control have on average twice as many rock wrens, whereas populations are gradually declining at unmanaged sites. Of the 25 monitoring sites from Fiordland to Kahurangi, 19 have predator control and six have none. Data also shows which control methods are most beneficial to rock wrens. “We’re seeing the best results where we’re using aerial 1080 in the alpine area above the tree line where rock wrens live year-round, and not just in the surrounding forest,” Rawlence said. “We’ve also learned we need to control predators whenever the beech forest seeds, as…

#microchallenge28 A BREW WITH A VIEW #microchallenge29 WALK THE COAST #microchallenge 30 SHOW US HOW FAR YOU'VE WALKED BY THE STATE OF YOUR SHOES Seen that you’ve won? To claim your prize, email a photo of yourself holding this issue of Wilderness to: walk1200km@lifestylepublishing.co.nz. Only registered Walk1200km participants are eligible to win, so make sure you’re registered!…

ADVENTURES DON’T always go to plan, but when they don’t, there is more to be learned than when they do. On my first solo tramp I learned that my limits could far exceed my expectations. The weather was good: low vis but low wind, exactly what I needed for off-track tops travel in the Tararua Range. The route was to be over the Broken Axe Pinnacles and around to Mitre Peak before descending out via the Atiwhakatu track. On the first morning I ran out of gas for my stove; on the third, food. There was the promised low vis, but the wind was strong enough to blow me off my feet on occasion. Twice I accidentally followed trails down the wrong spur. The terrain involved some no-fall scrambling and…

Peak Hill Peak Hill Conservation Area PEAK HILL (1240M) stands between the Rakaia and Wilberforce catchments and has possibly the best foothills summit view in Canterbury. The well-marked climb is steady but not relentless, and the views expand as each waypoint is passed. The track up the southeast ridge winds around and over several small knobs before a final short steep push to the broad summit. It’s a great spot for lunch, but take plenty of water as there’s none here. The nor’west gales can rage unabated for days over the wide and spartan slopes. Access: From Algidus Road Time: 4–5hr return Grade: Moderate Mt Oakden Lake Coleridge Station THIS REQUIRES a demanding 1100m climb, from the farmland flats at the head of Lake Coleridge to the summit (1633m). It’s…

WILD SKILLS I RECENTLY CAME ACROSS a family, two adults and two young children, who were stopped on a track, about 20 minutes from a car park. They were looking for a swimming hole and asked me if they were going the right way. They weren’t, and I told them how to get onto the right track. This family wasn’t in any danger, but they had made the simple and common errors that sometimes lead people to become seriously lost. INFORMATION BOARDS Many trailhead car parks have an information board. This should be your first stop. Information may include maps, as well as important updates about track or bridge conditions or ongoing pest control. Access, walking times and track use conditions are usually given, and there may be a current…

Otamatea High School student Sophie Lawson received a Federated Mountain Clubs Youth Expedition Scholarship to undertake the 55km Five Passes traverse in Mount Aspiring National Park. “As a high school student, most of my gear is budget-friendly,” she says. “For all of my Duke of Edinburgh hikes and some additional ones, this gear has been more than sufficient, and I would recommend it for beginners. However, after my Five Passes hike there are some investments I will be making to improve the comfort and enjoyment of my future adventures.” PACK My Osprey Eja 58 pack is the most comfortable I have tried. It is probably the biggest investment of all my gear and was a recent upgrade. Investing in a quality pack has made my adventures significantly more enjoyable. FOOTWEAR…