IN THIS ISSUE
a muddy trail
I RECEIVED AN INTERESTING letter this month from a reader who walked the Te Araroa Trail over two summers (see Pigeon post, p6). Jude was writing in response to the story published in October called ‘A trail of two halves’. In that story, the author recounted how many thru-hikers on the TA skipped large sections of the North Island because of the seemingly endless road sections and copious amounts of mud. Jude says she loved both the North Island and South Island sections but also admitted to having an issue with the amount of mud and road walking she had to endure. Because there’s much less conservation estate in the North Island than there is in the South Island, there are more road walking sections there. I can understand that. But why…
wilderness
EDITOR Alistair Hall alistair@lifestylepublishing.co.nz DEPUTY EDITOR Matthew Cattin matthew@lifestylepublishing.co.nz ART AND DESIGN Pelin Hall pelin@lifestylepublishing.co.nz ROVING EDITOR Shaun Barnett shauncbarnett@icloud.com ADVERTISING SALES Cherie Final Cherie@lifestylepublishing.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS Andrea Cowan Mandy Mattison subscribe@lifestylepublishing.co.nz PUBLISHER David Hall COLUMNISTS Pam Hutton, Noel Bigwood, Heather Grady, Dave Mitchell, Maddy Bellcroft, Matt Winter, Dennis Radermacher CONTRIBUTORS Diana Noonan, Sue Surjupersad, Sam Harrison, Meghan Walker, Pat Barrett, Marios Gavalos, George Driver, Michael Andrew, Heather Whelan, Martin Johnston, Kathy Ombler, Penzy Dinsdale, Hazel Phillips…
letter of the month
TA TRAIL NEEDS MORE MONEY Reading Katrina Megget’s story ‘A trail of two halves’ (September, 2019) had me reminiscing about my own experience walking the Te Araroa Trail. I walked the TA over two summers – the North Island in 2016/17 and the South in 2018. Both islands offer unique experiences, special in their own way and I agree with Katrina that the North Island section of the TA isn’t just mud and road walks. There are plenty of ‘gems’. The issue, I believe, is the amount of mud and road walking. Most hikers don’t mind a bit of mud or a stroll down a country road. If the TA wants to maintain its image as one of the world’s great long trails, it needs to provide off-road trails and boardwalks in excessively…
your trips, your pix
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…
walk shorts
REMEMBERING AN INSPIRATIONAL TRAMPER The outdoors community has lost one of its most important kaumātua with the passing of Arnold Heine (1926-2019), QSM, ONZM. Heine, who died in October aged 93, earned widespread respect for his services to the community. He was widely respected as a tramper, conservationist, wilderness advocate, ski patroller, author, Antarctic explorer, mentor and engineer. Born in Nelson, Heine grew up on a farm and as a teenager made his first forays to Mt Arthur with his older brothers. Even after moving to Wellington to work for the DSIR, he never lost his strong connection to Kahurangi and altogether spent over 250 days in the park, often on botanical explorations. In Wellington, Heine became a stalwart of the Hutt Valley Tramping Club and with other members made significant exploratory trips…
racing the rising waters
AFTER SEVEN HOURS of splashing through a cold Te Urewera stream, Chris and Tami Green knew they wouldn’t be sleeping that night in a hut. Exhausted, stumbling and cold, the Whakatane couple were long overdue and forced to admit defeat. They had made good time walking from the car park to Koranga Forks Hut, but nearly doubled DOC’s conservative four-hour estimate for reaching Tawa Hut. It wasn’t supposed to be a difficult tramp – just a simple training weekend for the couple’s planned Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike in 2020. Spirits were high as they left the track near Koranga Forks Hut for the streambed. “The route description said most of it is in the stream, and we were happy to practise our stream crossings. The water wasn’t high, but it was higher than usual,” Chris…
