5 minute read
Creative Couple
by WildTomato
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.
Advertisement
PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED
The 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
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.”
Toni’s introduction to cuisine is a similar story. “I grew up in Queenstown and worked in cafés and restaurants, so had that practical experience. And I’m always cooking at home – like Angus, I definitely come from a ‘foodie’ family.”
Cruising the Heaphy Southern Wilderness clients can choose to complete the track in four or five days. “Four days are perfect for busy people as we usually run it from Friday to Monday,” Angus explains. “We recommend five days to everybody because it’s a fuller experience.” The extra day allows for a slower pace with more opportunities to stop and explore the walk’s many attractions. “It’s incredibly diverse and every day is totally different.”
The walk starts through beech forest and then crosses tussock downs on the second day. Trampers face some hill work before heading back down towards the West Coast, which is full of nikau palms and huge rata trees. “Amazing limestone formations and the wild sea pounding away on the shore are really special; that’s the finale,” says Angus.
With no cell-phone coverage for several days, busy clients adapt quickly to a simpler, more relaxing life on the track, he says. “At the end of the trip people aren’t ready to go back to the online world – lots leave their phones in their bags and pretend they aren’t there.”
The standard of huts on the Heaphy complements the quality meals provided by Angus and Toni. Built relatively recently by the Department of Conservation, the huts are insulated, double-glazed with solar lights and have big windows with views out to the mountains or sea.
An extra attraction has been the 2018 release of 30 takahe in the area. “It’s the only wild release of those birds to date,” Toni
Above: Clockwise - Toni introduces walkers to a giant northern rata on the Heaphy Track; a West Coast sunset from the Heaphy hut; a Southern Wilderness party crosses the Gouland Downs; gourmet paella for dinner
TONI HUTTON
explains. “When the first breeding season arrived they split up, swapped partners, moved away … it was a total soap-opera: ‘Days of our Takahe Lives’.”
Toni, who also works as a part-time DOC ranger, is happy that the territorial takahe seem to be fitting in with the existing populations of weka, great spotted kiwi and kaka.
Guilt-free reward At the end of the walk a driver meets the party at Kohaihai and takes everyone back to Nelson. “We drive back through the spectacular Buller Gorge to Murchison for the most guiltfree ice cream you’ll ever have in your life – you’ve walked 80km for that one.”
The Heaphy may be its most popular and well-known walk, but Southern Wilderness also offers a gourmet experience on the West Coast’s Old Ghost Road, and the Abel Tasman and Nelson Lakes National Parks.
“Nelson Lakes is a bit more technical,” says Toni. “The last two trips into the Travers Valley have been turned back just because someone’s probably not been quite up to it, so Angus has made the call. The safety of the whole group comes first.” The current season for Southern Wilderness filled up fast, but Angus and Toni managed to enjoy some rare time at home before heading out into the wilds again. But neither of them would rather be anywhere else. “The Heaphy is a very special place,” says Angus.
Toni sums up the attraction for her: “Effectively, you are going on holiday with people – you’re just the one in service, making sure their experience is enhanced in this amazing place you want to share with them.” (See also page 64)
