C R E AT I V E C O U P L E
A great walk on gourmet fuel Imagine fine dining as a condiment to the spectacular Heaphy Track walk. Alistair Hughes meets a couple who work the magic. PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED
T
he Heaphy Track may be named after a British explorer, but the famous route between Golden Bay and the West Coast was known to Māori centuries before European settlement. The track became well-travelled during the gold rush of the late 1800s, then fell into relative disuse at the dawn of the 20th century. When the former North-West Nelson Forest Park was established in 1965, the overgrown track was cleared for public use. Today it is deservedly one of the best-known of New Zealand’s 10 designated Great Walks. Angus McKenzie, managing director of Southern Wilderness NZ, knows ‘the Heaphy’ better than most, having guided groups along the track since 2012. He was studying in Christchurch for a Bachelor of Sustainability and took a summer off to come to Nelson and work for the then-owner of Southern Wilderness. Two seasons later, Angus seized the opportunity to buy the business. His partner-to-be, Toni Hutton, had also begun working as a guide on the same track, and they got to hear of each other via the ‘bush telegraph’. They finally met by chance on the 880m Perry Saddle. “And that was how it all started,” Toni laughs. “It evolved very organically; very ‘Golden Bay’.”
From rush to bush
New Zealand-born Toni’s own recent background, in the bustling world of London corporate finance, couldn’t be further from the tranquillity of the New Zealand bush. She made a complete 24
“At the end of the trip people aren’t ready to go back to the online world ...” ANGUS MCKENZIE
change and moved to Golden Bay. Initially working in a variety of jobs, Toni then made the joyous discovery that, as a wilderness guide, she could combine her love of tramping and cooking. Those qualities proved ideal for Southern Wilderness. The company’s point of difference is that rather than making do with tinned and dehydrated food at the end of a long day’s walk, Angus and Toni serve up fresh, sumptuous gourmet meals to their guests, enhancing the wonderful natural setting. “Basically, we take people out into the wilderness, feed them delicious things and make it really easy,” says Angus, who honed his own culinary skills working for a few years in Christchurch cafés and restaurants. “Fresh is the key,” he says of Southern Wilderness cuisine. “Everything is made out in the wild, so nothing is pre-prepared (apart from the provided ‘snack-packs’). And it’s all calculated down to the gram before we go, as we carry everything.” Toni adds that her partner is always experimenting in the kitchen. “Angus gets an idea in his head and makes something amazing – he loves food.”
