GET TRAMPING FIT IN 15 MINUTES
Don't break your on New Year’s resoluti
see more, do more, live more
FEBRUARY 2016
10 trips in Fiordland’s TAKITIMU MOUNTAINS + 3D map for your viewing pleasure
WIN
THE LIFE LIST
One of 15 pairs of Helinox walking poles worth $195
Traverse these ranges CAMP BY THESE TARNS
Kayak these coastlines RIDE THESE TRAILS
Walk Te Araroa’s best bits AND MORE
GILLESPIE PASS Travel through the heart of Mt Aspiring National Park
TWITCHERS’ TOOLS Compact binoculars REVIEWED
LEARNING TO FLY Confessions of a trout fisherman
MSR’s new Freelight 2 tent tested # OUTDOOR WATCHES # How to buy your next compass (and how to use it!) January 2014
www.wildernessmag.co.nz NZ $9.95 Aust $9.95 INCL GST
contents FEBRUARY 2016
25
FEATURES 25 Wet wedding in the Eglinton
For this tramping couple, a wedding in Fiordland represents what they love most: the great outdoors
32 Fit in 15
How to keep your New Year’s resolution and get tramping fit in just 15 minutes
36 The life list
Our pick of the best things every outdoor person should experience
32
WAYPOINTS
20 Hokitika’s prettiest destination Mungo Hut, West Coast
22 See more
Four locations to see the attractive, and often large, totara tree
36
58 Win one of 15 pairs of ultralight and compact Helinox walking poles worth $195 www.wildernessmag.co.nz
1
YOUR TRIPS, YOUR PIX
What did you get up to last weekend?
Leeann Leadbetter and her dog Skip relaxed near Crystal Biv, West Coast
Melanie and John Bryant climbed Canterbury’s Red Hill
Don, Katrina, Avril, Lisa and Mark walked the Hump Ridge Track, Fiordland
Maree Cook enjoyed Mackinnon Pass on the Milford Track
Nicola Morris tramped to Fishtail Hut in the Richmond Range
Qin Shen hiked to Blue Lake in Tongariro NP
Robert Jones tramped Lake Waikaremoana in Te Urewera
Mike Gilfedder waded the Wilkin River en route to Kerin Forks Hut, Mt Aspiring NP
Mike and Kathy Barry walked the Tongariro Northern Circuit, Tongariro NP
Connor Sullivan tramped to Rangiwahia Hut, Ruahine FP
SEND YOUR PIX Get your photo published here to receive the Light My Fire ‘Pack-up-Cup’. This compressible 260ml cup keeps drinks warm and protected from dirt and bugs with its tight and secure lid. Just fold it out and fill it up. More details at ampro.co.nz. Last Weekend submission criteria at wildernessmag.co.nz
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FEBRUARY 2016
WAYPOINTS
PRETTY IN HOKITIKA Mungo Hut, West Coast
M
ungo Hut is not an easy place to get to, but once there you’re in the heart of some spectacular country. The easiest way is up the Toaroha Valley and over Toaroha Saddle to Poet Hut. From Poet it’s a 3-4hr tramp up the Mungo River, followed by a short haul up a spur to the tussock clearing where Mungo sits. The upper Mungo River is one of the prettiest places in the Hokitika backcountry and it terminates in Hokitika Saddle. In early season, the couloir down from the saddle into Canterbury is usually chock full with snow and this makes for fast and easy travel to the east. Originally built in 1962, this hut replaced an older 1950s Department of Internal Affairs hut. The hut received only sporadic maintenance until December 2015 when a team of four volunteers – John Visser, Geoff Spearpoint, John Charles and me – went in with builder Eric Saggers to give the hut a major overhaul. The roof was repaired and the hut properly sealed and lined. Like many harder-to-reach places in the Southern Alps, it’s a place where it is easy to get trapped by the rivers if the weather turns bad.As a result of the 2015 restoration, the hut now has a small library of books to encourage trampers to stay put when the weather gets ugly. - Rob Brown
WILD FILE Access From the end of Middlebranch Road Grade Difficult Time Road end to Cedar Flats Hut, 3-4hr; Cedar Flats Hut to Top Toaroha Hut, 6-8hr; Top Toaroha to Poet Hut, 4-5hr; Poet Hut to Mungo Hut, 3-4hr Distance 24.2km to Mungo Hut Total ascent 2239m to Mungo Hut Map BV19
Mungo Hut, one of the Hokitika’s prettiest destinations
Download the map and route notes of this trip at www.wildernessmag.co.nz
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
TO THE HEART OF ASPIRING
Approaching the steep moraine leading to Crucible Lake
ALINA SUCHANSKI
THE GILLESPIE PASS CIRCUIT IS A SPECTACULAR 58KM TRACK LINKING THE YOUNG AND WILKIN VALLEYS. LOCATED IN MT ASPIRING NATIONAL PARK, THE TRAIL FOLLOWS TWO BEAUTIFUL RIVERS WITH MAGNIFICENT MOUNTAIN SCENERY AND AN IMPRESSIVE ALPINE PASS. ALINA SUCHANSKI SHOULDERS HER PACK TO WALK THIS SUPERB TRACK
WILD ADVENTURES
THE LIFE LIST
MARK WATSON
Tramping isn’t like other sports. In rugby, for instance, there’s a clear structure and an ultimate goal – to stand on that podium holding the Webb Ellis Trophy high above your head. But tramping’s not competitive. It’s about experiencing as much as can be crammed into our short stay on the planet. It’s about hearing a kea cry, watching a roaring river in flood, feeling the sting of driving sleet thwacking your face. And FOMO (fear of missing out) affects us all to some extent, which is why we’ve compiled a list of all the most wonderful ways to explore our beautiful country and beyond. Never suffer from FOMO again by putting these on your bucket list and ticking them off, one great adventure after another.
NO1
CA M P I N T H E S N OW
W
hen the weather’s good, camping above the bushline is a treat. It’s even better when the tops are capped with snow.
CHOOSE YOUR SITE Your tent site should be in stable snow, safe from snow sloughs, and sheltered from the prevailing wind. Face the entrance away from the wind for a warmer tent and efficient cooking. PREPARING Even in soft snow, a snow shovel will make levelling a site nice and quick. Stomping and distributing snow with your boots also works. PITCHING Don’t bother with regular tent pegs. I find it useful to have 1.5m lengths of cord attached to my main peg points and tied around loose or exposed rocks and branches. Your ice axe,
buried crampons, shovel handle, walking poles or a buried stuff sac filled with snow can anchor the tent. SLEEPING If you have the option of pitching your tent on rock or snow, pick the rock as it will be warmer. Either way, an inflatable (preferably insulated) sleeping mat is the ticket to comfort. Closed cell foam is light and a thin or three-quarter mat can make a useful second layer of insulation. Putting your gaiters, parka, overtrousers and even your pack under your mat can make you cosier in really cold conditions. COOKING Your stove will run more efficiently if it’s off the snow. Finding a ‘cooking rock’ to put in the entrance of your tent helps, or use the blade of your snow shovel. Butane/propane cylinders don’t like the cold – cupping them with your hands can help keep pressure up. - Mark Watson