Wilderness January 2019

ARE PEOPLE becoming too posh to walk? Both the draft management plans for Aoraki/Mt Cook and Westland Tai Poutini national parks have proposals to radically increase the number and scope of aircraft flights and landings. In the case of Aoraki, a more than 14-fold increase is proposed for the number of landings allowed on the Tasman Glacier, from 5000 a year to 73,000 – or 200 a day. Then, further south near Glenorchy and right on the border of the Rees Track, a private development is underway that could see helicopters zipping visitors into and out of a new luxury lodge at the rate of 13 flights a day. See our website for that story, titled ‘Luxury lodge proposed near Rees-Dart Track’. Could there possibly be demand for so many flights? In…

THE DIVERSITY ON OUR DOORSTEP MANY FAMILIES these days have to fund an overseas school trip for their children. But how many Kiwi parents are aware that they can give their family an international experience within New Zealand for much less than the cost of an overseas trip for one family member? We did just that when our three children were students, by booking onto the Milford Track. Amongst the 40 people on the walk, we were the only five Kiwis. For three nights, our family mixed with people from a variety of countries and ages. There was an ex military man from Austria, a young Israeli, a family from India, Australians and a quiet Slovenian to mention a few. Another time, when we were tramping the Rees-Dart Track, the hut camaraderie developed into…

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…

EARLY RESULTS for DOC’s Great Walk pricing trial show numbers are up, but not for tourists. The seven month trial introduced a pricing differential for international visitors booking huts and campsites on DOC’s four most popular Great Walks, the Milford, Kepler, Route-burn and Abel Tasman tracks. During the trial, which began last October, overseas trampers will pay twice as much as New Zealand trampers. Preliminary results show an overall increase in bed nights across all Great Walks compared to 2017, DOC director of recreation, tourism and heritage Gavin Walker said. “Initial data up to September 30, 2018 shows bednight bookings on the four trial walks increased by nine per cent compared to last year, so the trial does not seem to have impacted overall demand on these walks so far. “The proportion of people…

WE’VE MADE SOME changes to our website so you can now download the GPX files of our trips directly to your smartphone – provided you have a mapping app installed. The GPX files allow you to view the route of the trip and can also be saved to your computer to view in apps like Google Earth or be uploaded to your GPS device. Allowing the GPX files to open on smart-phones allows users to follow the routes in their chosen navigation app without having to first save it to their computer. Here’s how to open a GPX file on your smartphone: 1 Navigate to your chosen trip at www.wilderness-mag.co.nz/trip 2 Find the GPX File link (In the Wild File at the top or very bottom of the trip) and tap it. 3 Select the…

A PROPOSAL TO increase aircraft activity over Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park has the outdoor community concerned. DOC’s draft Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park Management Plan, released in September, proposes up to 200 scenic plane landings a day in the Haupapa/Tasman Landing Zone – a number Federated Mountain Clubs president Peter Wilson called “ridiculous”. It also opens up new landing zones, including areas on Pudding Rock, the Malte Brun Range, Lower Darwin Glacier, Tasman névé and the upper Murchison névé. The current plan allows 5000 landings a year on the Tasman Glacier – an average of 13.5 each day. Concerned about noise pollution and carbon emissions, Wilson said the increase in landings is inconsistent with DOC’s management plan policy to ‘avoid, remedy or minimise adverse effects on the qualities of tranquillity and natural quiet, solitude and…