Wilderness June 2019

CONSUMER SPECIAL INTEREST BEST MAGAZINE, EDITOR AND JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR- Magazine Publishers Association Magazine Awards READING THIS MONTH’S feature on hypothermia (p58), I realised, quite worryingly, that I have been through the early stages of the condition several times. And the chances are, you have too. The numb fingers refusing to cooperate. The cold mouth seemingly so paralysed by botox it can’t form words properly and what’s enunciated is mostly gibberish. They’re both early warning signs that your body is cooling dangerously and that hypothermia, or the ‘silent menace’ as Search and Rescue volunteer Cliff Jones describes it, is not far off. And that’s the thing that is really worrying about these symptoms: It’s not until you’ve reached the hut and try to unfasten your pack or start the cooker that…

WAITING IT OUT SITTING AROUND the table in Whakapapaiti Hut on Easter Weekend, my daughters (11 and 14) listened as their dad and I discussed our options for the following day. Our initial plan had been to tramp through to Mangaturuturu Hut, but now we considered a weather system on the way, trampers arriving from that direction commenting on the difficulty of the walk, a full hut, and a river crossing which could be dangerous in the forecast rain. My husband and I are experienced, well equipped, physically fit and goal-oriented to the point of finding it difficult to ‘give up’ on a plan. We are learning to adapt for family tramping! In the end, the deciding factor was that we want our girls to have the skills and confidence to assess…

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…

Lake Gault Track reopens in Fox Glacier LAKE MATHESON’S famous mirror views of the Southern Alps have new competition in town. The neighbouring Lake Gault Track has re-opened after a 20-year hiatus, thanks to a partnership between Fox Glacier Community Development Society and DOC. The 3-5hr return track cuts through mossy undergrowth and ancient podocarps to arrive at the reflective Lake Gault, with panoramic views of Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Southern Alps. The project has taken over a year, with the majority of the work taken on by community volunteers. DOC’s Owen Kilgour said the track offers a more isolated experience than the neighbouring Lake Matheson Track, which pulls in around 400,000 walkers a year. “Once you get up there, it’s quite an immersive experience, standing at the lake edge under the podocarps,” he said.“It’s higher…

AS ONE OF THE JUDGES for the film competition, I am looking for movies that tell a story and take the viewer on an adventure. It doesn’t have to be hardcore, although many of these are. We give scores for cinematography, editing, story, music, and general vibe. One of the films I’ve selected below, Sustainable Nation, won our Best Environmental Film and this was because it showed some amazing solutions to fixing polluted water in third world countries. Here are seven films you don’t want to miss this year: 1. Surviving the Outback 43min. Director, Michael Atkinson, Australia Could you escape alone across hundreds of kilometres of remote bush, trekking and then sailing on a makeshift raft, with nothing but a time capsule of antique stuff from 1932? Mike wasn’t sure either, but that’s…

CHRIS RILEY PAUSES the group beside a kōwhai tree and describes its vibrant spring flowers, now lost to the breezes of autumn. He recalls planting it with a young visitor a decade ago, and as three piwakawaka flit into view, he emits a passable imitation and extends a branch – to my surprise, the bravest of the birds touches down for its photo opp. Riley is at home here on Mou Waho, the largest of Lake Wanaka’s four islands – he knows every bird, critter and tree, and they seem to know him too. On the track to the summit on a rainy afternoon, he pauses often to gouge drainage into the gravel, or extricate huhu grubs from a rotting log – the grand gardener of his adopted island. The forest is alive with…