Adventure Magazine October - November 2021

The value of a walk, a stroll, a tramp, a hike has come into a clearer vision of late. Covid/Delta has a massive raft of negatives attached to it for everyone, but one thing it did do is get people walking. Sure, they may not have been out on overnight hikes or climbing mountains, but they were outside walking, not stuck behind a desk or in front of a screen, and felt the real need and the value of simply walking outside. The old adage in Joni Mitchell’s song ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it gone’ is very true. Take away the option of activities, add confinement, add uncertainty and you soon see the value in a simple walk. The actual clinical value is extremely well documented and the simple…

It was day three of a stellar week-long trip to Sinbad Wall in a remote part of western Fiordland. We had found a perch in a comfortable nook on the edge of one of the three Llawrenny Peaks, and settled in for lunch. We were roughly halfway to tomorrow’s objective - Terror Peak. The morning was spent lugging heavy packs up steepening grassy, then granite, slopes. From the left, Ben Grindle is stoked to have made it across Milford Sound without a life jacket, Camille Berthoux tries to smile through a cold she’s been fighting for days, Jimmy Finlayson looks energetic though would soon lie down for a siesta, Derek Cheng has clearly rushed into the shot after setting up the timer on the camera, and Sooji Clarkson shows off her…

This is the 40th year anniversary for Adventure Magazine and it has gone through a lot of changes. A variety of different content focus, a reflection of what was acceptable and now what’s not. It has had a range of banner heads (the design of the title on the cover). You will have seen this issue has a new banner head. Well not really, we thought it would be good to be a little retro and bring back one of the older banner heads. This one is from the 90’s a combination of simplicity and subtleness. Looking back over the last 40 years there are some amazing changes, some issues carried adverts for cigarettes, fluffy leg warmers and orange coloured zinc. The first few issues in the 80’s were widely focused…

It's our first date in the outdoors. I'm doing my best to hide the near-crippling anxiety as we tramp our way up the side of a stunning yet seemingly sinister Westland river. You see, I like him, and the fact that he is brave enough to have paddled some of the gnarliest rivers in the world (in his kayak) and regarded as one of the safest 'bros' to be on the river with are attributes that attracted me to him in the first place. And now he wants to give me a look inside his world, from the safety of a packraft (of which I never knew existed until yesterday). I need to come to the party. Send help. From the edge of the river, the rapids sound far too loud…

The deluge hit in a sudden moment. I had been fairly calm—and reasonably dry—hundreds of metres up an overhanging rock face in a remote part of Fiordland. And then, like opening the door to a tsunami, I was drenched. My fingertips clung ever-tighter to small, moss-covered nubbins of rock, as the sheer shock of what was happening left me gasping and cussing in equal measure. And I thought of the camera and two lenses in my flimsy, lightweight pack. A fall might unleash a force strong enough to snap the thin pack straps, sending the camera tumbling towards certain demolition, were much smaller on top-rope. I had little option but to scrunch my face between my shoulder blades and weather the storm. “Welcome to Sinbad,” I thought. I had somehow wrangled my way into…

Isthmus Peak Looking for an alternative to the Instagram famous Roys Peak, you can’t go past Isthmus Peak. Both are within an easy drive from Wanaka, and maybe the 30-minute extra drive means the Isthmus Peak track is slightly less travelled. Location: Lake Hawea, South Island Distance: 16km return via same track. Average walking time: 5 – 7 hours. Track: Located off the western side of Lake Hawea. Terrain: The track is a vertical climb to the peak at 1385m high. The trail offers stunning views of Lake Hawea for the duration of the ascent. Upon reaching the peak, you are rewarded with views of Lake Wanaka and the Southern Alps stretching as far as you can see. The trail is an advanced walking track, however we did come across people running it. Vic's tips: Either side…