Wilderness

Each issue of Wilderness takes its readers to the most beautiful areas in New Zealand, whether by foot, mountain bike, sea kayak, raft, pony or dream.

Thirsty work

Wilderness

LETTER of THE MONTH

Your trips, YOUR PIX • What did you get up to last weekend?

WALKSHORTS

TASMAN GLACIER GETS SOME TLC

ACHING, SORE MUSCLES AFTER A TRAMP? GO FOR A COLD-WATER DIP

WILD WORD

Walk 1200km super walkers • Each Walk 1200km walker has a different story. Here's how six participants managed the journey.

REPLACING CAR JOURNEYS • Walk1200km is helping some participants to reduce their carbon footprint. We got a number of responses to the question, 'Have you ever replaced a car journey with a walk?'

6 of the best Aussie hikes • The perfect antidote to another cold winter at home is just three hours to the west of New Zealand. Why not cross the ditch to try one of these long Aussie treks?

Father's Day Gift Guide • Gift ideas for outdoor dads

See more… COSY LODGES

SUMMITS DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST VIEW SYME HUT, TARANAKI MAUNGA

REVITALISED HUT REMEMBERS HUNTER'S TRAGEDY KAPAKAPANUI HUT, TARARUA FOREST PARK

LAKE CHRISTABEL TRACK TO PT1293 VICTORIA FOREST PARK • Enjoy magnificent views from an easy-to-reach hill overlooking Lake Christabel.

BLACK BIRCH TRACK FERNY GAIR CONSERVATION AREA • This track near Blenheim offers stunning views over the lower Awatere Valley and to the North Island. There's also a two-bunk bivvy to bag.

MANGAMUKA HUT CIRCUIT KAIMAI MAMAKU CONSERVATION PARK • A charming hut and authentic Kiwi bush trip within reach of Auckland.

TARANAKI FALLS TRACK TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK • An easy alpine adventure that leads to some frosty falls.

TARARUA HEARTLAND • Visiting the most remote hut in the Tararua Range in mid-winter requires great effort but offers sublime tramping - if the weather holds.

Ghosting past shores • On a clockwise turn of Rakiura's Northwest Circuit with his teenage sons, a tramper contemplates the past and his future.

the orchid Hunters • The Victorian élite were obsessed with orchids, and hired orchid hunters to steal especially rare specimens. Although New Zealand's native orchids are not nearly as showy as their exotic cousins, a new breed of Kiwi orchid 'hunter' is on a mission to capture the plant's subtle beauty with close-up photography.

Looking for native orchids

YOU NEED MUCH MORE WATER THAN YOU THINK • DRINKING ENOUGH WATER IS CRUCIAL TO YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE OUTDOORS. BUT HOW MUCH AND HOW OFTEN - AND HOW HAVE ATTITUDES TO HYDRATION CHANGED?

BASIC RULES OF HYDRATION IN THE HILLS

Where gear resides • HOW DO YOU STORE YOUR OUTDOOR GEAR? ARE YOU ORGANISED WITH AN ELABORATE KIT CUPBOARD, OR DO YOU STUFF IT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE WARDROBE? WILDERNESS VISITED SOME TRAMPERS TO FIND OUT HOW THEY DO IT.

TIPS FOR ORGANISING YOUR GEAR

BACKCOUNTRY CRUSTY BREAD • Deliciously aromatic crusty bread and cakes can be cooked on your tramping stove, the embers of a glowing fire, or a hut's wood stove.

TWO-WAY COMMS IN THE BACKCOUNTRY • Two-way communication is valuable, especially when things don't go to plan. The most commonly used devices are satellite emergency notification devices.

A SHORT LITTLE GUIDE TO GLACIER ANATOMY

DOWN-INSULATED JACKETS

What's in MY PACK • Fiona Burleigh returned to tramping in her 40s, and made up for lost time between 2015 and 2019 by completing Te Araroa and an alternative North Island route dubbed Spine of the Fish.

2023'S GUIDE TO OUTDOOR SOCKS • OUTDOOR SOCKS ARE THE UNSEEN HEROES OF HIKING COMFORT. BY PADDING YOUR FEET AND KEEPING THEM DRY, THEY ENSURE YOUR FEET REMAIN IN GOOD...