New Zealand’s magazine of the outdoors since 1991
MARCH 2015
know more, do more, live more
NZ’S BEST ROUTE
WIN! ONE OF 10 ALL NORTH FACE THERMOB 0 $36 RTH WO S JACKET
HOW TO TAME MT ASPIRING’S
RABBIT PASS
HOW TO BUY THE RIGHT SLEEPING BAG + 23 models for every budget and use
WHO’S YOUR OUTDOOR HERO? Vote now in the 2015 Wilderness Outdoor Awards
ESCAPE TO THE
HOLLYFORD An extraordinary journey through a Fiordland Valley
TESTED
The best tents for solo missions
www.wildernessmag.co.nz
NZ $9.95 Aust $9.95 INCL GST
» SLEEPING PADS FOR ALL OCCASIONS » HOW TO ESCAPE A FOREST FIRE » WALKS IN ARROWTOWN, AUCKLAND, NELSON, ARTHUR’S PASS AND MORE
39
44
contents MARCH 2015 FEATURES
18 Wilderness Outdoor Awards – the finalists See which stores, brands and heroes made the list and find out how to vote for the winners 38 Not a trip for bunnies
Overcoming the waterfall face on Rabbit Pass… and its fearsome reputation
18
44 The 2015 Wilderness photo competition winners Enjoy the magnificent shots that won this year’s event
52 An extraordinary journey Exploring the magic of the Hollyford Track
43
WAYPOINTS DESTINATIONS
24 Classic West Coast circuit Bluff Hut, Hokitika catchments
26 No boundaries
Boundary Creek, Hawea Conservation Area
38
28 See more Northern rata
30
58 Subscribe or renew to go in the draw to win one of 10 Thermoball jackets from The North Face worth $360! 2 MARCH 2015
YOUR TRIPS, YOUR PIX
What did you get up to last weekend?
Helen, Nicky, Simon, Louise and Jonathan climbed Mt Ollivier in Canterbury
Emma McCool admired the view from Mt Hector
Katie and Maurice Cloughley visited Crucible Lake, Mt Aspiring NP
Roshni Sami and Hemandra Bimal climbed Mt Luxmore, Fiordland NP
Bethany Sanders, Heather Niccolls and Sara Jones did their Duke of Edinburgh tramp in the Waitakere Ranges
Robyn Vendt cooled off in the Caples River during a tramp of the Greenstone/Caples Track
Seven-year-old Finn Hutchins walked to Kaweka Flats Biv, Kaweka FP
The McKinnon and Beach kids tramped to Waitawheta Hut, Kaimai-Mamaku FP
Kerstie Harris ran to the summit of Mt Hobson on Great Barrier Island
James Yu, Samson Alaimoana and Stephen Maslin tramped the Tararua Crossing
SEND YOUR PIX
Get your photo published here and you’ll receive the Swedish ‘Light My Fire’ FireSteel 2.0 ($22) with emergency whistle and 3000°C spark that works wet lighting stoves and fires or as an emergency signal. See www.ampro.co.nz for more. Full submission criteria at wildernessmag.co.nz – search Last Weekend.
10 MARCH 2015
WAYPOINTS
A Southern Alps panorama is revealed from halfway up the musterer’s track into Boundary Creek
Brent Hollow
NO BOUNDARIES Boundary Creek, Hawea Conservation Area /
A
t the top of Lake Wanaka is a seldom-used track into a hanging valley with broad flats and patches of beech forest. Boundary Creek starts at the old Boundary Creek roadman’s base and follows an even older musterer’s track up a ridge on the true right of the creek to about the 850m mark, where it slowly descends into Boundary Creek’s upper reaches. The track is quite indistinct at times, but easily followed by anyone with moderate route-finding ability. The upper valley makes a wonderful camping area in good weather and the top of the musterer’s track has fantastic views into the Makarora area. Ascending the McKerrow Range to the east will give glimpses of Lake Hawea and the Hunter Valley for experienced groups. Boundary is a nice tramp if you feel like getting away from it all. The
MODERATE
Boundary Creek fan, incidentally, is where many people have washed up after drowning in the Makarora River. It used to be the roadman’s job to check for bodies, a grisly task. - Brent Hollow
WILD FILE Access Park at DOC’s Boundary Creek campsite on the Makarora Lake Hawea Road Grade Easy-moderate Time 5-6hr Map BZ12
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
THE
D
A
N
R
U O
ARROWSMITHS SHAUN BARNETT TAKES A WEEK-LONG TRAMP IN HAKATERE CONSERVATION PARK
SHAUN BARNETT/BLACK ROBIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Darryn Pegram crosses Meins Knob with Lyell Valley beyond
MATTHEW PIKE
CLASSIC TRIPS
Heading towards the notorious Waterfall face (thankfully, the waterfall to the left)
NO COUNTRY FOR BUNNIES
Rabbit Pass has a fearsome reputation. Its waterfall face ascent is notorious, but, as Matthew Pike discovers, so long as you handle the steep stuff with care, the spectacular trip should be on every tramper’s bucket list
GUIDED WALK
AN EXTRAORDI
GUIDED WALK
AN EXTRAORDI