Wilderness September 2021

WHAT WOULD it take for you to accept paying a fee to enter a national park? I ask because one tourism professional is suggesting the time has come to charge for access. Dave Bamford argues in ‘Is tourism’s time up in our national parks’ (p18) that the Covid-19 pandemic is an opportunity to reset the relationship people have with our national parks. He wants to see greater iwi involvement in their management and he thinks the time has come to charge for access, lest we return to the pre-pandemic days of overuse and pollution. He cites the 160,000 people who walked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and the one million tourists who visited Milford Sound in 2019 as examples of the way our natural environment is being overrun and degraded. Bamford’s comments are…

WHAT WOULD it take for you to accept paying a fee to enter a national park? I ask because one tourism professional is suggesting the time has come to charge for access. Dave Bamford argues in ‘Is tourism’s time up in our national parks’ (p18) that the Covid-19 pandemic is an opportunity to reset the relationship people have with our national parks. He wants to see greater iwi involvement in their management and he thinks the time has come to charge for access, lest we return to the pre-pandemic days of overuse and pollution. He cites the 160,000 people who walked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and the one million tourists who visited Milford Sound in 2019 as examples of the way our natural environment is being overrun and degraded. Bamford’s…

THANK GOODNESS THEY DON’T MAKE BOOTS LIKE THEY USED TO I read correspondent River Howe’s letter, ‘Boots not what they used to be’ (August 2021), with some interest. But my own experiences of older tramping boots are rather different to his. I remember well the trials of breaking in new John Bull, or later, Anson D-Ring boots – soaking in water for days at home, drying them out, repeating the process, Dubbin, more soaking in the forlorn hope that the first trip would not result in heel blisters. I still have bone spurs on my heels that compromise my footwear options, caused by years of rigid, inflexible and heavy boots. Nowadays I have settled on a lightweight Italian leather boot. They are quite cheap, require no breaking in and have a Vibram sole. I…

THANK GOODNESS THEY DON’T MAKE BOOTS LIKE THEY USED TO I read correspondent River Howe’s letter, ‘Boots not what they used to be’ (August 2021), with some interest. But my own experiences of older tramping boots are rather different to his. I remember well the trials of breaking in new John Bull, or later, Anson D-Ring boots – soaking in water for days at home, drying them out, repeating the process, Dubbin, more soaking in the forlorn hope that the first trip would not result in heel blisters. I still have bone spurs on my heels that compromise my footwear options, caused by years of rigid, inflexible and heavy boots. Nowadays I have settled on a lightweight Italian leather boot. They are quite cheap, require no breaking in and have…

Get your photo published here to receive a Victorinox Escort keyring pocket knife worth $22. Learn more about Victorinox at e.ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz…

FMC TURNS 90 Queenstown is to be the venue this year for Federated Mountain Clubs’ (FMC) 90th birthday party. The three-day event, at the end of October, will feature talks and presentations from some of the top outdoors figures in the country. The event, Taonga Lands and Waters: Conservation and Recreation for the Future, will be held at Queenstown Memorial Centre from Friday, October 29, to Sunday, October 31. Speakers include Environment Minister David Parker, former Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage, outgoing DOC director general Lou Sanson, National conservation spokesperson Jacqui Dean, publisher Craig Potton and Backcountry Trust manager Rob Brown. A range of tramps has been planned throughout the weekend. People can register for the event on the FMC website. Campaign to combat untidy Kiwis DOC IS starting a campaign to encourage Kiwis to tread…