Cass — Lagoon Saddle Loop, Craigieburn Forest Park — Coming out of the bush from tackling the Gladiator I had a problem. I needed to work out how best to spend the next few days whilst making my way to Christchurch to fly back to Wellington. Slowly but surely a plan started to form, starting with a memorable New…

The Gladiator, a four day transalpine loop in south Westland — “What is it all for?”, a question asked by titans of the arena in the first century AD, and by a travelling middle-aged Norwegian academic armed with a high-powered crossbow that we met at Cassel Flat Hut. But I get ahead of myself, you may be wondering why we found…

Nydia Bay, Marlborough Sounds — I take for granted that I grew up tramping. Some people didn’t grow up with the character-building torture of going for ‘short walks’ in the rain through the middle of nowhere as a kid. My friend Grace hadn’t grown up tramping, preffering the hotel lifestyle. When she asked if we…

Ōrongorongo Valley — Driving down SH2 I had no idea where exactly we were headed. My friend Emily was visiting from Whangarei, and we had been intending to do the Cattle Ridge loop in the Tararuas but the weather forecast was looking terrible. …

The Bannister Crossing and the Arete sidle track — I had repeatedly heard the sidle track from Arete Forks Hut to Cow Creek Hut being called ‘the worst in the Tararuas’. A quick search online finds that common words used to describe it include horrid, notorious, non-existent and horrendous. I did however know that the track had recently been…

When it was announced that the backcountry huts of Te Urewera were to be removed, we couldn’t resist having one final valedictory tour… — Ka hanga whare te tangata, ka hanga tangata te whare A people builds a hut, a hut builds a people Te Urewera, a land of rugged mountains cloaked by dense forest, often shrouded in stubborn mist. Homeland of Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Urewera maintains a fearsome reputation for its isolation and…

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is one of the best known, and as a result, most walked of all tracks in New Zealand. The sort of place where BC (before COVID) you might have to wait in an hour long queue for a longdrop. Consequentially, it is also the sort of…

A trip around a classic Ruahine route, where tramping took the backseat to some enthusiastic roasting. — “I drink these when I’m in the mood” Regan explained gesturing to a car door full of Sprite as I hopped into his overloaded station wagon. Before we could think more about that statement, Regan’s electronic Japanese girlfriend piped up, presumably to ask him not to share details of their…

Walking the wild rounded peaks of the Pisa Range, a journey in the footsteps of gold-diggers and musterers — It was the Tuesday after Easter, I was fresh (definitely didn’t smell it) off the road from a trip over Rabbit Pass. I had a roof for a night in Queenstown before I’d have to think of somewhere else to wander. I had a friend in Wānaka who would have…