Wilderness March 2022

I ENJOYED READING Shaun Barnett’s story in this issue ‘Memorable nights’ (p56) where he recounts the nights he’s spent in huts or tents that have left a lasting impression. It certainly brought back a few of my own memorable nights in the wilderness. There was the trip to Pahautea Hut in Pirongia Forest Park which started with our group splitting up for some inconceivable reason to walk in by different routes. What do you know? My group got lost (at the trailhead!) and spent eight hours battling it out to the hut. The night was made memorable by the fact someone carried in a cask of wine and playing cards and the arduous tramp was relived over and again in ever greater tellings. There were a few sore heads for the…

EDITOR Alistair Hall alistair@lifestylepublishing.co.nz CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Matthew Cattin, Ricky French, Kathy Ombler CONTRIBUTING GEAR EDITOR Mark Watson ROVING EDITOR Shaun Barnett WALKSHORTS Aaron van Delden NEWSLETTER EDITOR Matthew Pike COLUMNISTS Pam Hutton, Rachel Davies, Heather Grady, Izzie Thompson ART AND DESIGN Pelin Hall pelin@lifestylepublishing.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Sam Harrison, Blake Hornblow, Cara McDonald, Lee Johnson, Kim Hobson, Anna Welch, Lachlan McKenzie, Katrina Meggett, Dave Mitchell, Kerry Moor ADVERTISING SALES Cherie Final cherie@lifestylepublishing.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS Andrea Cowan subscribe@lifestylepublishing.co.nz Phone: 09 5702 658 PUBLISHER Alistair and Pelin Hall…

SOLO INSPIRATION I loved reading the story ‘Wāhine doing it for themselves’ (February 2022) and was left feeling inspired. As a solo mother of an eight-year-old son, our love of the outdoors, tramping and adventure has been an increasingly solo (but beautiful!) experience together. With no friends who share this interest, I have had to overcome a variety of worries and doubts to tackle increasingly long and challenging tramps alone. This has not been easy, and I have often been consumed with self-doubt about my capability, bearing the full responsibility for my son’s safety and overcoming all the ‘what ifs’. My son and I have recently completed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Equipped with enough survival gear to conquer Everest, we achieved this challenging hike with a huge sense of accomplishment and a boost…

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Searcher urges trampers TO USE HUT BOOK A LandSAR search manager is urging trampers to sign the hut book in all huts they pass, an action that could save their life if they need rescuing. Claire Pettigrew walked the Wangapeka and Leslie-Karamea tracks this summer and noticed many trampers were not using hut logbooks. “People were signing in but only for the huts they were staying in overnight,” said Pettigrew, a Wellington Land-SAR volunteer for the past six years. Many track users in Kahurangi National Park whom Pettigrew spoke to were unaware that logbooks were amongst the first things LandSAR teams looked at when searching for missing trampers. The logbook entries helped determine a person’s “last known points”, which search teams used to work out the areas to scour. The more information a person left on…

COMPETITION TIPS Follow these tips to give yourself the best shot at winning. 1-You can enter multiple images, but you should only include one image per emailed entry. 2-The best photos tell a story – human or animal elements can bring personality, colour and excitement to an image. 3- Dare to be different. Every year we get dozens of images of kea, the Kepler Track, Mueller Hut and Aoraki/Mt Cook. Find unique places and subjects, or frame classic vistas in new ways. 4- We use dozens of entries to illustrate stories in future issues of the magazine (which we pay for). This means the best photos reflect the content of the magazine and should be taken in the great outdoors – not your garden. (House cats and lupins are out; huts, rock wren and…