Wilderness January 2020

ANYONE WHO HAS, or plans to have, children with whom they want to share the outdoors with, whether tramping, mountain biking, skiing or any other adventurous and healthy activity, will find a lifetime of inspiration in this issue. Our roving editor Shaun Barnett takes his teenaged sons on a bush-bashing adventure to Ruahine Corner Hut. In ‘The ultimate guide to tramping with your kids’ (p58), Jo Stilwell, a mum of 25 years, passes on all she has learnt about how to take children of any age – from babies through to young adults – on tramping trips. Pat Barrett shares his goal of tackling all the Great Walks with his family, including three daughters. But there’s a catch: his daughter, Dominique, has Down syndrome, which makes her tire easily. But she…

GREAT WALKS? Referring to the editorial and the feature item ‘The reinvention of a great walk’, which focussed on the Waikaremoana Track ( November 2019), if tourists and trampers sign up to do any Great Walk, they pay more for hut accommodation than for huts on ‘not-so-great walks’. On signing up, they start out on their Great Walk with certain expectations as to standards. They may feel they have entered into a contract with DOC. And they get those elevated expectations from the DOC website. The editorial states that DOC no longer manages the Waikaremoana Track. It has not been in the DOC estate since the Te Urewera Act 2014. That point is less than clear on the DOC website. So perhaps the solution to the reported Waikaremoana Track problems is for DOC to…

TRAMPING IN A CLIMATE EMERGENCY It is becoming increasingly apparent that we need to throw everything at stopping climate change, which got me thinking: where does tramping fit into that? To start a conversation on this, I offer the following. Tramping with a purpose. I’ve got a trapline in Kahurangi National Park. The traps need to be checked monthly, I’m going up there anyway, so why not incorporate predator trapping into my tramps – protecting two birds with one stone, as it were. Tramp local. Even if you travel in an electric vehicle to and from your tramp, you are still using energy to get to and from. It’s better to tramp close to home. Living in Nelson, it often strikes me as bizarre driving two hours each way to tramp in the…

A SOLITARY RED ROCK Arizona’s surely got nothing on the Red Rock Stream in Remutaka Forest Park where Wayne Morgan took this dramatic image of a single red rock in an otherwise drab grey riverbed. “The riverbed here is ever-changing and you can often find large red rocks in it,” keen-eyed Wayne says. “It doesn’t look very dynamic at present, sorry, but as I passed thought I thought I would take a picture for you to see.” It’s red, it’s unusual and it’s appreciated – thanks, Wayne. IT’S RED, OK Bob Moscrip heeded Matt’s cry for help with this photo of Niobe Peak on the Barrier Range. He was on day nine of his tramp that included the Olivine Ice Plateau when his group rested at Cow Saddle and found the perfect view of Niobe. “It’s…

Get your photo published here to receive a double pack of BPA-free, biobased plastic Sporks worth $13. Learn more about Sporks at ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

WASP WIPEOUT EXPANDS INTO NEW REGIONS It’s a shock to know that in summer, the biomass of wasps in South Island beech forest weighs more than birds and rodents combined. It’s a reason ‘Wasp Wipeout’ is into its fourth season this summer, with control efforts spreading into Wellington, West Coast, Canterbury, Central Otago and Auckland. German and common wasp populations are targeted in late summer using the Vespex wasp baiting system. Paper wasps will also be targeted this season, which is a first for the campaign. The introduced pests kill native vertebrates and invertebrates and are estimated to cost the New Zealand economy $130 million annually. Vespex is a protein bait containing an insecticide that can reduce wasp activity by more than 90 per cent when carried out correctly. DOC science advisor, ecology, Eric Edwards said…