Wilderness August 2020

ONE OF MY BIG REGRETS on returning to New Zealand from my extended OE in Europe was not joining a tramping club. It was a few years ago now and social media and other online groups like MeetUp were in their infancy or didn’t even exist (OK, it was more than a few years ago). At that time, joining a club was really my only option if I wanted to meet new people to go tramping with. I can’t recall why I didn’t sign up, but the reason I regret not joining is that it would have been nice to broaden my tramping circle. Clubs are a great way to do this – and to safely learn skills and build up experience under the guidance of knowledgeable people who tend to…

A WILDERNESS 100 OMISSION I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Wilderness 100’ (May 2020). There is one glaring omission. I completed the Anatoki Kill Devil Track in Kahurangi National Park six months ago. It pushed all my buttons. The hot shower that can be had at the Anatoki Hut, the easy climb over the saddle to Soper Shelter, which in turn was the most charming ‘hut’ I have experienced. The scramble over rock slides from the Murchison earthquake that formed Lake Stanley. The historic huts: Waingaro Forks, Riordans, and Tin. Discovering the name of Keith Holyoake written on the rafters at Tin Shelter Hut, which led me to explore how the youthful Holyoake was connected to the region. On second thought, if we publicised this destination too widely, it may become swamped with…

Get your photo published here to receive a Light My Fire ‘Re-kit’ Cup/Straw/Spork made from environmentally-friendly bioplastic and worth $20. Learn more about LMF at e.ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

STUDENTS HELP DOC DESIGN HUT AN UNLIKELY team of junior architects and planners have helped DOC rebuild a popular West Coast hut. Formerly the Manson-Nicholls Memorial Hut, the newly-completed 20-bunk Kōhanga Atawhai Manson Nicholls Hut is now open, with a few special touches from the local Maruia School. Meaning ‘conservation nest’ Kōhanga Atawhai sits on the shore of Lake Daniell in Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve and is an easy 2-3hr walk from the car park, making it a popular destination for school trips and trampers of all ages. Originally built in 1976 to commemorate three trampers killed there in a 1974 landslide, the hut has since succumbed to severe rotting damage. DOC works officer Cameron Jones said Maruia School pupils gave feedback on numerous hut proposals over 10 years, and their accessibility and sustainability ideas…

1 TRAMP THE WORLD FROM YOUR COUCH Fly along the Southern Alps or race along the Milford Track – with Google Earth Pro you can virtually tramp anywhere in the world. Upload your own tracks onto the map and follow them as a virtual flyover, giving an overview of a tramping trip. I have found it to be a useful tool when planning my tramps. Campsites can be scoped and you can get an understanding of the terrain that is impossible when staring at a topo map (though sometimes the programme does get the terrain wrong, so you should still pack a topo map). Info: www.google.com/earth. 2 THE ULTIMATE HUT FINDER DOC Maps is the best tool for finding huts, campsites, tracks and patches of conservation land. Click on any feature to get a hut name, track…

TAUPŌ FILMMAKER Michelle Green is ‘one of those last-minute people’. She got into tramping on a whim, and her YouTube channel Long White Gypsy followed shortly after to document the process. One year later, she completed the North Island section of the Te Araroa Trail. The spontaneity, she says, is all part of living with anxiety. “If I try to plan too much I get overwhelmed and get an ‘analysis paralysis’ thing happening,” she says. “I tend to jump in with two feet forward.” Dealing with anxiety is a recurring feature of Green’s YouTube channel, which also features a section by section series on the Te Araroa Trail, gear reviews, trip planning and local tramps. She wanted to explore the ins and outs of tramping from a beginner’s perspective, and furthermore, a beginner living with…