February 2014

TOP 5 COASTAL WALKS TRY THESE EASY SEASIDE TRAILS

FEBRUARY 2014

know more, do more, live more

FREE

LONG TRAMP NUTRITION

Throw your New Year’s diets out the window, you need fats, sugars, salts and carbs

CAMEL BOT T BAK CHUTE LE WORTH

(See p48

for detail

$28!

s)

1080 POISON

THE TRUTH No more debate, no more arguments Leading experts give definitive answers

RACE TO SAVE A MATE

Join Swazi man Davey Hughes on a dramatic rescue down the Hokitika

HAURAKI GULF

ADVENTURE

EXPLORE DESERTED

BROWNS ISL AND www.wildernessmag.co.nz

NZ $9.95 Aust $9.95 INCL GST

Food, wine, views: tramping Wairarapa style HOW TO BUY – AND USE – YOUR NEXT COMPASS Where to go to spot more mohua/yellowhead

40

34 contents FEBRUARY 2014

50

FEATURES 34 1080: the truth

Will the debate over 1080 ever end?

Wilderness puts 10 commonly held beliefs about the poison to the test to see which really stack up

40 A tall tale

Before PLBs, injured trampers had to get word for help out by foot. Veteran tramper Pat Barrett recounts an absolute epic rescue mission in the Hokitika

44 Long tramp nutrition

Forget the New Year diet, when you go on a long tramp you need fats, sugars, carbs and salts‌ and lots of them!

50 Tramping Wairarapa style

A private coastal walk in the Wairarapa combines locally produced wines and food with stunning vistas

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PRIZE

20

Subscribe to Wilderness this month and you’ll receive a CamelBak Chute drink bottle worth $28 While stocks last. T&Cs apply.

WAYPOINTS 16 Places

Sunset Saddle, Nelson Lakes National Park

18 See more

Three places to see the rare mohua/ yellowhead

20 Top 5: coastal walks

Five easy coastal walks to try this summer

48 www.wildernessmag.co.nz

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YOUR TRIPS, YOUR PIX What did you get up to last weekend?

Jasper Johnson tramped to Devils Den Bivvy in Lake Sumner FP

Jackie, David, Flora and Will tramped Wangapeka Track in Kahurangi NP

Finley Booth, 4, hiked Major Hornbrook Track from Lyttelton to the top of the Port Hills

Sue, Jill and Joanne walked Tora Coastal Walk in the Wairarapa

Robin Farr visited Riordans Hut, Kahurangi NP Akash Dutta and James Opie hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Penny, Danny, Tor and Evan tramped to Mt Holdsworth in Tararua FP

Lindsay Jackson got into the Christmas spirit on top of Queenstown’s Ben Lomond David Sutherland climbed to David Saddle from the East Branch of the Matakitaki River Kelly Hansen overnighted at Carroll Hut, Arthur’s Pass NP

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SEND YOUR PIX

Get your ‘Last weekend’ photo published here and you’ll receive an original Spork courtesy of www.ampro.co.nz. Head to www.wildernessmag.co.nz and search ‘last weekend’ for full submission criteria.

WALKSHORTS

TARAWERA’S HOT WATER BEACH IS OPEN TO TRAMPERS

Steaming Lake Tarawera near Hot Water Beach

A

recently-opened trail gives trampers access to a superb natural feature for the very first time.

Te Rata Bay (Hot Water Beach) at Lake Tarawera, near Rotorua, has until recently only been accessible by boat. But now the 11km Tarawera Trail has been completed and trampers can expect to get to the beach in around four hours.

The beach allows you to bathe in your own relaxing hot bath and the lake is excellent for swimming. There’s also a campsite at the beach which needs to be booked in advance.

Tarawera Trail Trust trustee Te Ohu Mokai Wi Kingi said: “The volcanic backdrop, geothermal features of the lake, surrounding bush and cultural and historic stories make this trail one of a kind.

We’re expecting 33,000 people a year to walk the trail – or around 90 people per day.”

The walk, which starts at Te Waiora car park, on Tarawera Road, 15min from Rotorua, features interpretive panels educating trampers about the history and ecology of the area.

LAST CHANCE TO NOMINATE

T

his is your final opportunity to say a big thanks to someone from the outdoor community who has helped you.

We’re asking you to nominate the community group, outdoor store or brand that has gone beyond the call and deserves special recognition.

The Wilderness Outdoor Awards gives everyone the chance to nominate but you only have until February 1 to get your nomination in by visiting wildernessmag.co.nz and following the link.

If you’ve now missed this deadline, we’ll be drawing up a shortlist from which you can get voting for your favourite from February 24.

Wi-Fi has been installed on Abel Tasman Coast Track, allowing tampers to access information on the park, weather and tides

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To vote, visit wildernessmag.co.nz and follow the links or type ‘Outdoor Awards’ into the search box.

The five categories in which to nominate and vote are: Independent retailer of the year Chain retailer of the year Online retailer of the year Brand of the year Conservation or access initiative of the year

• • • • •

OUTDOOR AWARDS 2014 ABEL TASMAN COAST TRACK HAS WI-FI

W

alkers on Abel Tasman Coast Track can now access Wi-Fi and download an app with weather updates, tide details and information about the park.

Wi-Fi hotspots have been placed in Marahau (the southern end of the track) and at Anchorage (the most southerly hut). From here, walkers can download the app which they can then use for the remainder of their trip.

It won’t give them access to the web in general, but will allow them access to certain links including live birdsong and webcam images from

the predator-free Adele Island.

The service has been provided by DOC, local conservation group Project Janszoon and environmental technology company Groundtruth.

Devon McLean, director of Project Janszoon, said the plan is more appropriate than signage.

“It didn’t seem appropriate to put up a lot of interpretive signage along the tracks,” he said. “Given 70 per cent of visitors are aged between 18 and 35, it makes sense to use the technology they are carrying to tell the story of Abel Tasman National Park.

“In time we hope to extend the network throughout the entire park and offer more interactive components.”

cebook t of FaCHRISTMAS BesOVER “I made toilet paper out of my Swanndri pocket when sick and desperate on the Milford Track when I was about 13.” - Harley O’Neill “The sole was flapping at the front of my boot.We’d brought some pre-made Yorkshire puddings that were too tough to eat but one fitted neatly over the toe. It lasted just long enough to stroll into the pub to a few weird looks from the locals.” - Alan Green “Needing a waist belt on his pack, my friend tied a rope around the base of the pack so it could be secured.

The brilliant part was using women’s pads to prevent rubbing against his hip bones.”

- Alana Srubarova-Vernon

Over the festive period we ran a series of Facebook competitions where we asked readers to tell us stories and attempt challenges. We so enjoyed the responses we decided to print the best bits here: We asked who was the most interesting or bizarre person they’d met in the hills: “I found a man sound asleep on the way up to Mangamoko Hut in the Ureweras. He had drunk the best part of a bottle of rum the previous night.We walked with him and he told us about how the last time he’d been to the hut he had brought a horse which panicked and fell down the bluff below. Sure enough, the rotting remains were in evidence.” - Peter McKellar

Mt Egmont/Taranaki has the naked tramper – a retired gentleman who has a backpack and boots on and nothing else.

Very awkward if he’s walking down the steep slopes as you’re hiking up! - Rob Needs “I was having a drink on the hut porch at Totara Flats when about 10 Indians in saris and shopping bags full of gear came along. I went inside to tidy up, went back out to welcome them and they’d gone – I never saw them again!” - Neil Richardson

We asked readers to tell us the most hilarious cock-ups they’ve made in the backcountry: “Walking to Mutton Cove on Abel Tasman, a mate and I set off from Totaranui in the dark. After a while we met a ranger who asked where we’re heading.When we told him he looked worried: ‘You’ve arrived at Totaranui,’ he said. ‘I think you might have done the loop track.’ Oh the shame!” - James Hopkins “I drove 120km from Cromwell to the Invincible mine area. I was really looking forward to spending a day walking up the Rees Valley. I parked and went to put my boots on... forgot my socks! Took a lot of ice cream to get over the frustration!” - Graeme Williams “One night I set up my bivvy. I took my wet boots off to sit them next to the fire. I woke up the next morning to find them reduced to the soles! I had to tape the soles onto the bottom of my feet!”

- Brando Yelavich

We showed them this picture and asked them to caption it:

JAREK TUSZYNSKI

We asked for the best piece of gear improvisation readers had either done or heard of:

“But Apple maps said that Milford Sound was just over there!” - Tim Bond “I know where we are – we are over there.”

- Patsy Mike Anderson “If he is pointing to another ‘interesting rock’ I’m off!”

- Alastair Henshaw

We gave the first two lines of a limerick and asked readers to finish it:

He lunched under the moon And ate dinner at noon “It’s just normal for me”, he would say - Janis Russell

‘There was a young tramper called Ray Who didn’t know night from day...’

Til he stumbled upon it Twelve dwarves and a hobbit Who had stopped for a brew on the way.

- Kat Ward

JOIN THE FUN

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WAYPOINTS

TOP 5 COASTAL WALKS With an easily accessible and extensive coastline covering many thousands of kilometres, there are unequalled opportunities to explore, walk and to adventure near the sea this summer.

Pat Barrett chooses his top five easy coastal walks

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Slope Point, Catlins

This is as far south as you can go in the South Island – yes, it’s even further south than Bluff – so expect wild weather when visiting this ragged cliff thrust out into the Southern Ocean.

This is Roaring 40s territory and it blows here more days than the locals would care to remember, just take a look at the angle on the nearby macrocarpas.

But take it in your stride and don’t get too close to that cliff edge. The lighthouse and the destination sign is your goal and it only takes about one hour. The view and experience are fantastic. It’s a great spot for some pictures of the family or your mates.

2

Port Robinson Walkway, Gore Bay, Canterbury

Arguably Canterbury’s best beach, Gore Bay is about 90min north of quake city and has a nice motor camp and some easy coastal walking to the north to visit the historic Jed Cemetery, where many of the early settlers to this region are buried.

To the south, over the hill at Manuka Bay, you can take the scenic Port Robinson Walkway which heads down to the Hurunui River mouth through scattered pockets of native forest and farmland.

This is a beautiful trail with excellent ocean views taking in Banks Peninsula far to the south.

3

Wharariki Beach, Puponga Farm Park, Nelson

Just west of the South Island’s northern-most point at Cape Farewell, is the large ocean bay called Wharariki Beach.

This utterly spectacular and energising bay and oceanscape is fascinating – not only its sandy space, dunes, seabirds and waders, coastal cliffs, caves and seals, but also the stunning view out to the great monoliths of the Archway Islands. These sea stacks have been eroded by wave action to form unusual shapes and make great photographic subjects. Although the beach can be reached in just 20 minutes from 20 - February 2014

the car park, a full day can be spent wandering here and completing the Green Hills Loop Track to the west or Cape Farewell to the east.

4

Waipatiki Beach, Hawke’s Bay

Here’s a hidden cove which I discovered recently in Hawke’s Bay. This small beach and its privately owned motor camp make a great jump-off point to walk the coast to the north to reach the beautiful and remote Hawke’s Bay Coastal Walkway.This is a 15km trail that runs from near Aropaoanui to the Waikari River, cutting underneath 200-300m cliffs and through pockets of forest before exiting out along a long section of beach to reach the Waikari River.

The coastline here is rugged and often inaccessible to all but walkers and has some grand views to the south towards Napier. It’s an up and down sort of trail, reaching a highpoint of around 150m, so the views can be quite extensive, leading you on to the next vantage.

5

Castlepoint, Wairarapa

Is it any wonder that this archetype of New Zealand’s coastal scenery continues to inspire photographers, walkers, beachcombers and all comers? In a word, it’s majestic.

The beach, bay, headlands and cliffs are wonders of the natural world and over them all rises the vibrant column of the lighthouse. The walk begins on the sandy flat beneath the light, where huge fishing boats are hauled ashore by tractors, ascends via the paths and stairways to the lighthouse and viewing platform and its jaw-dropping view, descends to the oceanside rock platform, where a hidden ladder accesses a lower cliff top and then regains the upward paths.

Once back on the sandy flat you can head off around Deliverance Cove to climb the cliff to Castle Point itself. The entire setting is a wild interface of ocean and coastal cliffs and will be especially memorable should you visit when a huge surf is up. Just watch where you tread in such conditions, there’s no forgiveness here.

Waipatiki Beach, Hawke’s Bay

THE ULTIMATE COAST TO COAST Matthew Pike talks to the Northland teenager who has struck out on New Zealand’s ultimate long distance hike

I

Castlepoint, Wairarapa

t’s been a year since teenager Brando Yelavich set off from Cape Reinga planning to walk around New Zealand’s coastline.

It’s a journey that slips off the tongue, but the more you think about it, the more impressive it becomes.

Imagine, first of all, walking the distance between Auckland and Wellington. Then imagine walking back again. Repeat that whole process four more times.

Now imagine travelling that sort of distance crossing dense forest, fields, beaches, cliffs, rocks and rivers. You’ll catch and forage for your own food armed only with your bow, knife and knowledge. You’ll pass stretches of coastline devoid of habitation or tracks. You’ll cross rivers in a raft which you carry on your back. And you’ll do the vast majority of this on your own.

It’s the last point that has proved the most difficult to deal with for Yelavich. The hardy 19-year-old has learnt to deal physically with his mission. His body has become a walking machine that no longer feels the aches of a day’s toil. But dealing with loneliness thousands of kilometres from his family and girlfriend is harder to stomach. The pain was especially prominent as he approached the halfway point – Bluff.

“I hated Bluff,” Yelavich says. “The weather was s*** – the worst day of the whole walk.

The wind was blowing me over. I felt so far away from home. It was very depressing. I took my photo at the sign and the next step was a huge relief. I was suddenly going in the right direction and home felt a lot closer.”

Travelling for three days with his grandfather also helped Yelavich overcome the loneliness. “It’s great to have someone to share the experience with,” he says. “But I didn’t take

into consideration that he’s 74. He’s really fit but I made him walk 12 hours a day and he was covered in cuts and blood. People we saw thought I’d hit him with a stick!”

Yelavich is now alone again travelling up the east coast and the difference to the West Coast was instantly noticeable. “It’s mostly farmland which is far easier to walk through than forest,” he says. “On the West Coast I caught deer, pigs, goat, wild sheep and wild cattle. On the east coast there are more rabbits, but they’re difficult to hit with a bow.

“The fish are easier to catch, though.”

As news spreads about Yelavich and his mission, the offers for accommodation have become more frequent – offers he’s only too happy to accept. “People invite me to their houses because they want to hear my stories,” he says. “At the start of the walk I always wanted to stay in my tent, but it’s great to meet amazing people and learn about their lives.”

Fiordland proved a giant obstacle and forced Yelavich inland a little, walking along the Milford Track, round Lake Te Anau and to Lake Manapouri from where he pack rafted down the flooded Waiau River, covering 120km in a day-and-a-half. “There were some gnarly rapids and I fell out a few times,” he says. “There was one point where I thought I’d lost my boots.”

His favourite section of coastline so far has been the Kahurangi coast. “It’s really tough going,” he says. “But it’s so beautiful with all the nikau palms and the fact that no-one goes there. It’s given me some good memories.”

Brando hopes to finish his journey at Cape Reinga in the up-coming winter.

He’s so far raised more than $10,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Brando Yelavich is walking New Zealand’s coastline

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WILD

A MAN OF MANY TALENTS Rowing the Atlantic, walking to the South Pole and repeating the daring feats of early explorers is all in a day’s work for Jamie Fitzgerald. By Matthew Pike

J

amie Fitzgerald has many strings to his bow. Not only is he an adventurer, having rowed across the Atlantic in world record time and trekked to the South Pole, he’s also a presenter of prime time TV show First Crossings, a motivational speaker, a leadership development consultant and has also played a leading role in The Big Walk – encouraging kids to enjoy the outdoors.

With child-like enthusiasm he spends as much of his time these days promoting the outdoors to others as he does enjoying it himself. He feels it’s particularly important for kids to experience what nature has to offer.

“When I think of any personal development there are real merits to people stepping outside their comfort zone into a foreign environment,” says Fitzgerald. “I’m passionate about the outdoors and, for young people, I think it’s a real leveller because you move away from some social norms, the haves and the have-nots.

“For The Big Walk we weren’t just walking. We were sometimes milking cows, hanging gates, feeding pigs, making sausages – different experiences with the common theme of how to achieve a goal.

Then we discussed life goals they can apply this to.”

Fitzgerald is no stranger to foreign environments himself. He’s volunteered to put himself through

28 - February 2014

missions many of us would find hellish. But he says he never goes on a venture for the sake of it.

“I need to know that what we’re doing is for a reason. It’s that feeling of progress – not necessarily mileage – but perhaps about information gained and relationships developed.

“Sometimes when we think we’re making the least progress we realise afterwards we made the most progress. On the Atlantic there was a day when we rowed into a storm and decided not to put out the sea anchor but to just keep rowing.This was hugely influential because this meant we didn’t drift backwards and the distance we made by everyone else drifting backwards, when they put out their sea anchors, was the distance we won the race by in the end.

“At the time we were literally not moving over the face of the planet, so it was awful. But reflecting afterwards it was hugely pivotal.”

The risk of death is always something Fitzgerald has had to manage on his expeditions and his journeys for the First Crossings programmes. But he believes the actual risk is rarely as great as the perception.

“The first thing we always ask is whether the chance of death is a legitimate risk or just a perception of death,” he explains. “Antarctica’s a good example of that. Nowadays, you’re a little bit silly if you die. It’s possible to fall into a crevasse of course,

but dying of cold is a bit strange because you know it’ll be cold so you take extra clothes in preparation.

We were able to eliminate that perception of death.

“With First Crossings, the perception of some of the scenarios might be really risky but it’s a workplace and we have to put steps in place. We manage the risks and write safety plans for the challenges and stunts we do.

“We learnt our lesson in the first series when we overstepped the mark and I almost drowned in the Buller River. With our heavy hobnail boots I got pulled under an eddy current and was under water for some time being swept around a big ‘S’ bend.That taught us a lesson that we needed to be grown-ups.”

Filming for the third series of First Crossings is currently taking place. Fitzgerald says this series will approach things from a slightly different angle. “We want it to be not just about the mountain climbers or geographical firsts, but also psychological firsts, search and rescues that took place and ship wrecks in the Antarctic Islands.

“Kevin (Biggar) and I don’t want to fall into the trap of telling people about journeys for the sake of it. We want to make sure they’re journeys relevant to society or people today.

“I guess you could say everything anyone enjoyed about the first two series will be there, plus some better stuff!”

TVNZ

Jamie Fitzgerald on location for his First Crossings TV series

Nowadays, you’re a little bit silly if you die in Antarctica

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DUGALD PETERS COLLECTION

OUT

MOB RULE Is MOB (mud, obstacles and beer) racing the next big thing in the outdoors, or is adding concrete walls and rope ladders a little too over-the-top?

Mark Banham finds out

2

014 promises to be the year of the mud, obstacle and beer race. It's a concept that was all but unknown until four years ago when the Tough Mudder and Spartan Race concepts took place. Since then, literally millions of competitors have tackled hundreds of courses in dozens of countries. This year MOB arrives in New Zealand.

The courses range from a few kilometres to full marathon length, but it’s not the distance

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that makes it hard. Along the way participants have to surmount obstacles that involve climbing over and crawling under objects, being soaked, frozen, beaten with pugil sticks and even electrocuted, all in the name of… well, it’s hard to say.

To get an explanation, I spoke to Dugald Peters, a former British paratrooper who is organising New Zealand’s first true MOB race,The Mule, scheduled to be run near Queenstown on March 15.

Peters is stocky with a buzz-cut

and talks with the intensity you’d expect from a guy who used to jump out of planes in search of bad guys for a living. Paradoxically, he reckons these brutal races are all about making people feel good.

He says his time in the military taught him about the peculiar relationship between adversity, humour and morale. “The tougher it is, the more it forces you to tap into your sense of humour.”

In the Parachute Regiment, Peters participated in “casualtyevac” events that required teams to carry a casualty – usually a slab of concrete – on a rickety stretcher over a desert course.

“That was seriously tough – and we were just telling jokes and stories the whole way,” he says. “It was five guys in the middle of the bush

Event Director Dugald Peters (left), Joby Weston and Sue Charlsworth testing the natural obstacles on the Mule course

on this thick sand course, going into the night – and all you could hear was laughter.”

He says you can’t achieve these things well unless you have good morale – and building that morale pays off throughout the rest of your life.

“Morale has got me through a heap of things in my life. I underestimated it time and time again.

It’s humour and it’s attitude, it’s not about how big your muscles are or how much weight you can lift or how fast you can run.”

The problem is, it’s hard to find a line between pushing people’s mental and physical boundaries and outright breaking them. MOB races overseas have copped a fair bit of criticism for being cavalier with their safety.

The Spartan Race is based on the Ancient Greek province’s warrior culture

tasers] than in this event, our cases’ injury pattern seems more severe.’

They speculated that perhaps that had to do with the combination of exercise and repeated shocks – the effect of which has not yet been studied.

The flipside of course is that with one-in-three New Zealanders now listed as obese according to the Ministry of Health’s 2012/13 health survey, people might be running a bigger risk by staying on the couch.

IT’S HARD TO FIND A LINE BETWEEN PUSHING PEOPLE’S MENTAL AND PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES AND OUTRIGHT BREAKING THEM

It seems as a community we could be far better off paying for some relatively small emergency room bills than funding the large and on-going cost for obesity related illnesses.

Peters says the balance between challenge and safety is something he’s considered at length. “We do everything we can that’s sensible… we do a course check, we check all the water to make sure there are no big boulders or farm wire in there. On the day, we do checks of what people are wearing – and we ensure people understand what they’re taking on.

“At the end of the day, it is one of the toughest events around, but it shouldn’t require people to get hurt.”

He says he believes you can make a race that’s every bit as tough without resorting to “gimmicks” like

electricity, fire and buckets of ice in the obstacles. The trick, he says, is to work with the landscape. “In truth, we could have put together a pretty challenging course without ever having built an obstacle.”

Peters says the 10km Mule course, located on private land near Moke Lake, will take in snowmeltfed rivers that can be anything from ankle- to thigh-deep depending on rainfall, stands of remnant beech forest and short but punishingly steep climbs and descents. “They’re hideous – and I love them!” he says.

As far as the obstacles go, he’s planning to keep it simple, “An eight foot wall is one of the simplest obstacles out there, but it’s also one of the toughest and so it’s one of my favourites.”

The question remains whether obstacle course racing is just a novelty that’ll be knocked off its perch by the latest ‘next big thing’, or if it’s here to stay. Surfing and mountaineering were both considered to be fads once upon a time… but then again so were hula-hooping and break dancing.

Peters believes it’s here to stay: “Assault courses and steeple chases are some of the oldest events on earth. It’s going back to what’s tried and tested.”

With obstacles including fire, ice water and ‘10,000 volts’ of electricity, Tough Mudder claims that it’s ‘Probably the toughest event on the planet’

TOUGH MUDDER

A 2013 case study of a Virginia Tough Mudder race by the American College of Emergency Physicians reported that ‘the volume and severity of injuries was unusually high’ with 38 injuries requiring hospitalisation from the 22,000-competitor event.

Those injuries ranged from the fractures and dislocations typical of adventure racing to ‘altered mental states’, incontinence, and seizures after being repeatedly electrocuted in obstacles known as ‘electroshock therapy’ and ‘The electric eel’, both of which involve competitors running a gauntlet of live wires while soaked with water, mud and sweat.

The authors drew particular attention to Tough Mudder’s use of electrical shocks as part of their obstacles. ‘Although higher amps are discharged from neuromuscular incapacitating devices [a.k.a

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