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the long pathway
Alone in the wild
Why solo hiking is safe and healthy and not the dangerous pursuit many perceive it to be
How to buy your next sleeping bag The best models for your use and budget
Make your own ultimate survival kit A perfect day kayaking, biking and tramping
in Glenrochy MARCH 2013
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» Northland’s
Cape Brett Track » Three high country lakes to paddle
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tramping on Australia’s Bibbulmun Track
contents March 2013
FEATURES
32 Kauri dying for
lack of money A lack of funds means research into kauri dieback hasn’t even started answering the most important questions
34 Kiwi rangers
40
A new programme designed to connect kids with nature is encouraging their parents into the outdoors as well
40 Alone in the wild
Why solo tramping might be better for you than you think
46 Going the distance
Meeting up with end-to-enders on Australia’s Bibbulmun Track
WAYPOINTS 14 Places
Kings Creek Hut, Kahurangi National Park
16 A perfect day
The best day ever in Glenorchy
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18 See more
Three places to spot unusual-looking cushion plants
20 Top 3
These three high country lakes are perfect for paddling
46
57 Subscribe to win Win one of 10 LED Lenser F1 torches worth $149!
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Your trips, your pix What did you get up to last weekend?
Abigail, MacLean, Anna and Fenn Mercer enjoyed the Kahikatea Walk in the Pohangina Valley
Shirley Potter and friends Petra, Shirley, Ardy, Gilda and Terry went weeding in the Kaimanawas
Simon Bell reached the summit of Dragonfly Peak in Mt Aspiring National Park
Sandy and Jill from Tauranga wet their feet on a stream crossing in Abel Tasman National Park
Steve Williams took his kids, nephews and nieces to Meg Hut in the Pisa Range
Helen, Theo, Nico and Alastair fast-packed the Three Passes
Ethan Shirley bagged his first big summit – Rocky Mountain in Diamond Lake Conservation Area – with parents Greig and Rachel
Zoe Bismark, Zoe Mills and Marie Bismark climbed to the Pinnacles in Coromandel Forest Park
Sarah Ross visited Waiopehu Hut in Tararua Forest Park
Jon Moake visited Ryde Falls in Mt Oxford Forest Park
Ellen Taylor walked the Rees Dart Track in perfect weather
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 – search ‘last weekend’ – for full submission criteria. Gemma Hoddinott walked to the Tama Lakes in Tongariro National Park
Tyler and his best mate Dylan did their first overnight tramp to Pinnacles Hut in Coromandel Forest Park
Jenny Simes visited Holyoakes Clearing in Abel Tasman National Park www.wildernessmag.co.nz 5
Shapeshifter Sitting at 2200m on Aoraki/Mt Cook’s Grand Plateau, Plateau Hut is the most popular base for climbers planning an ascent of our highest mountain. On January 21, along with Jamie Vinton-Boot and Matt Quirke, I departed the hut and crossed the plateau en route to a bivy site high on Aoraki. Roped together, we sweated our way up the Linda Glacier in the midday heat. We barely lifted our heads when we heard the sound of a colossal avalanche – they’re common in New Zealand’s steep and heavily glaciated peaks – but when we saw billowing dust clouds we took a bit more notice. The scale of the avalanche became clear when we reached our bivy site at the base of the upper Bowie Ridge and had a clear view of the Grand Plateau. Weakened by heavy rainfall and warm temperatures, a substantial section of the ridge joining Mts Dixon and
Haast had collapsed and avalanched a vertical kilometre and 3km horizontally, coming within only a couple of hundred metres of the hut, at which over a dozen climbers were present. Senior engineering geologist Graham Hancox described the incident as a ‘landscape-changing event’, and estimated the debris to be more than one million litres. These collapses are a natural part of Earth’s ‘mountain building’ process, but with at least five significant events in as many years, one wonders if the process is accelerating due to a warming planet. Only slightly rattled at our near miss, we continued our ascent the following day and enjoyed a unique view of nature’s unpredictability from the summit of Aoraki. - Mark Watson
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Outdoors with kids
the future is now
Kiwi Ranger is a programme designed to connect kids with nature. Edith Leigh finds her inner child and discovers a new forest perfume and some unexplainable brown goo
ave you ever tasted honey dew in Nelson Lakes National Park? Laid your face against a rock in the sun, compared to a rock in the shade, in Mt Aspiring National Park? Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is the perfect place to lie back and draw the different types and shapes of clouds in the sky, before having a go at forecasting the weather for the next day. You could write a poem by describing shapes, colours, sounds and smells in the cloud forest at Dunedin’s Orokonui Ecosanctuary. Or become a historical detective at Denniston Historic Reserve and decide whether sword fighting with icicles or sliding down a hill on sledges made from old beer barrels would have been more fun 125 years ago before inventing your own game that re-uses old stuff around you today. These are just some of the activities children are trying out as they explore and experience the outdoors through the Kiwi Ranger programme.
EDITH LEIGH
Moss feels cold, damp and soft in barefeet. The Kiwi Ranger programme encourages kids to use all their senses in the great outdoors
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Aimed at children, from three to 103-years-old, each Kiwi Ranger site has its own booklet full of fun activities and walks to do in specific areas. Completing the activities earns everyone a badge, which is unique to each area, and the title of Kiwi Ranger. The founders of the programme, Mick Abbott and Carli Richter, are both keen outdoors people and conservationists. Abbott, a Wilderness columnist, says the disconnection a lot of kids have with nature these days is “pretty well known”. “It’s about trying to switch on young New Zealanders that this country is an amazing place,” he says. “How do we make these places matter to kids, as they are the future custodians? “For people who don’t know the outdoors and natural environment very well, things can seem the same – once you’ve seen one waterfall you’ve seen them all.” But, every place is unique and interesting, and the more you get to know it, the more interesting it becomes, Abbott says. The “germ of an idea” for the Kiwi Ranger programme was born during a sabbatical researching visitor experiences in national parks in North America. Richter explains that travelling with three children, then aged two, six and seven-years-old, they spent a lot of time doing the United States Junior Ranger programmes. “It was just such a rich experience. We all still talk about things we learned.”
EDITH LEIGH
Tess Gabbott admires black fungi while on a treasure hunt for a Kiwi Ranger activity
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Mark Watson
solo tramping
Alone in the Every time someone dies alone in the backcountry media reports often blast solo tramping as dangerous and irresponsible. But Josh Gale discovers solo tramping might be better for you – and safer – than you think
Solo trampers are not loners, though they do like to have some time to themselves and to feel closer to nature
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Whanahuia Range Ruahine Forest Park
The Whanahuia Range, part of the 95,000ha Ruahine Forest Park, is a western outlier of tussock tops connected to the main Ruahine Range by the peak of Te Hekenga. Spanning about 12km, the broad range is bordered by the Pourangaki River to the north and the Oroua River to the south and east. Tramping and hunting are the main outdoor pursuits, but the flat, rolling tops offer scope for winter ski-touring and snow-boarding. Trout fishing is popular in both rivers.
- Shaun Barnett
1 Rangiwahia Hut
Easiest access onto the tops of the Whanahuia Range is on the track to Rangiwahia Hut, which takes about 2-3hr from Renfrew Road car park. Aside from a steepish detour around a slip (DOC is cutting another track around it), the track is nicely benched. The 12-bunk hut (built in 1983-84) is the successor to at least three previous versions, two associated with clubs: the Rangiwahia Ski Club and the Palmerston North Tramping and Mountaineering Club (PMTMC). Beyond the hut, a poled route leads onto the crest of the Whanahuia Range.
2 Deadmans Track
This alternative track to the Whanahuia tops starts from Renfrew Road car park and reaches the range crest at Mangahuia. Allow 5-6hr from Renfrew Road to Rangiwahia Hut, via Mangahuia.
3 Mangahuia
Mangahuia (1583m) offers good views over the main Ruahine Range, Mt Ruapehu and westwards to Rangitikei farmland. A poled route leads north, then east into the headwaters of the Oroua River.
Shaun Barnett/Black Robin Photography
4 Maungamahue
Maungamahue (1661m) is the highest peak on the Whanahuia Range and also marks the point where a ridge connects the range with the main Ruahine Range. Experienced trampers occasionally use this route to reach Howletts Hut, traversing Te Hekenga en route. A narrow ‘cheval’ section on this ridge offers an exposed challenge, but can be avoided by a lower sidle on an obvious deer trail. The ridge’s difficulty ensured it was not traversed until as late as the 1930s.
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5 Triangle Hut
I’d always imagined this hut as an A-frame, like two others in the Ruahine’s, but it is in fact a standard six-bunk NZFS-built hut, with a veranda. Situated on the banks of the Oroua River, it’s a pleasant spot overlooking the bush.
6 Oroua River
Travel down the Oroua River from Triangle is straightforward until the river swings eastwards through a tight gorge. A track that climbs sharply over a ridge avoids the gorge and re-enters the river a short distance upstream from Iron Gate Hut.
7 Iron Gate Hut
A seven-bunk hut on a pleasant river terrace in the middle reaches of the Oroua. This is blue duck country and the native birds have a fighting chance of survival thanks to a stoat-trapping programme, run by the PNTMC and the NZ Deerstalkers Association. Allow 4-5hr to reach the hut from Table Flat Road, or 2-3hr from Triangle Hut. Beware of fording side creeks during rain, as they can rise suddenly.
8 Alice Nash Memorial Heritage Lodge
After the original Heritage Lodge burnt down in 2005, members of the NZDA Manawatu Branch built this spacious eight-bunk hut using a bequest from Alice Nash. It was opened in 2007. It’s only 40-60min from Table Flat road end and is ideal for family groups or novice trampers. Nearby, a track leads to good campsites near the Oroua River. From the hut, another easy track climbs gently to the dominant peak of Tunupo, on the Ngamoko Range.
9 Kelly Knight Hut
Campsite on the Whanahuia Range
This eight-bunk hut makes a good weekend destination for novice trampers. Permission from Kohunui Station (P: 06 382 5577) should be gained to cross the land from the Mangakukeke Road car park. Access is closed during the spring calving season. From the farm boundary, a well-benched track leads up-valley through beech forest, before dropping to cross a swingbridge over the Pourangaki River to reach the hut. Allow 3-4hr.
10 Pourangaki Hut
Upstream of Kelly Knight Hut, is this eight-bunker which experienced trampers can access by boulder hopping up a gorgy section of the Pourangaki River. A track also connects these huts over the northern Whanahuia Range. From Pourangaki Hut, a track leads to the swingbridge over the Pourangaki River and climbs steeply up onto Hawkes Bay Ridge, just south of Pinnacle Creek, making a trip to Waterfall Hut possible. www.wildernessmag.co.nz 61
Among the icicles An early-spring ascent is the perfect time to summit popular Mt Egmont/ Taranaki, which can be fairly crowded in the summer season. For us, snow and ice-covered slopes and rocks created magnificent scenery and a memorable trip. I used my widest lens and framed the climber among the icicles to capture a unique atmosphere. Shot on a Canon 5D MKII, f13, 1/800, ISO 200. - Jakub Cejpek Submit your hotshots to editor@lifestylepublishing.co.nz
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We’re answering the call of the Whio.
The future’s looking up for New Zealand’s most endangered duck. Only a few thousand exist in the wild, but the plight of the Whio has been heard. Together, Genesis Energy and DOC are working to protect the Whio’s breeding grounds. You too can show your support. Simply visit the Whio Forever website and enter the Great Whio Adventure competition*.
Win a five-day family holiday,* including a Whio wilderness experience, at whioforever.co.nz *Terms and Conditions apply
82 march 2013