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The Wye Creek Route: A Remarkables Range Traverse
The jagged silhouette of the Remarkables Range is the first thing most people see when visiting Queenstown. For years, the Wye Creek route was just a line on a topo map for me. A logistical puzzle of an alpine one-way route that seemed perpetually out of reach. But when we had a spare day in…
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Chasing more adventure: Beyond the Earnslaw Burn Track & Rock Biv
Often underestimated, the Earnslaw Burn Track is a Southern Alps classic near Queenstown. While many are drawn by the towering waterfalls and hanging glacier, navigating the windfall-heavy bush and unpredictable mountain weather requires solid planning. A night in the Earnslaw Burn Rock Bivvy and more adventurous off track route make this trip more adventurous than…
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Whakaari Conservation Area: Discovering “White Gold” & Spectacular Views
Bus Timetable Magic & “White Gold” With only two days before my flight out of Queenstown, I needed a tramp that aligned with local transport. Fortunately, the Cromwell and Glenorchy bus timetables synced perfectly to get me to Whakaari Conservation Area. The driver was even kind enough to drop me directly at the start of…
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Mt Titiroa: The Fiordland Mountain Covered in ‘Snow’ That Never Melts
The snows of Mt Titiroa Think you need alpine gear for a white-capped summit in mid-summer? Think again. In plain sight above Lake Manapouri is Mt Titiroa—a mountain that uses a clever geological trick to stay white all year round. The plan was simple: chase the Fiordland sunshine up to the summit. From a ‘deserted’ campsite…
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🐤 Back from the Brink: My Time with the Takahē Recovery Programme
Ka tū te moho, kia ora ake anō. The takahē stands, in order to live again. What does it actually feel like to save a species? At 3:00 AM, it sounds like a chorus of loud, prehistoric calls echoing through the Burwood Takahē Centre. By mid-morning, it feels like “swimming” through waist-deep red tussock and…
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Lake Nerine – Routeburn North Branch and Park Pass, Aspiring NP.
Lake Nerine – Routeburn North Branch and Park Pass A 3 day hiking loop trip through spectacular mountain scenery of the Humboldt Mountains from the Routeburn North Branch, to Park Pass and the Rock Burn. Sidle unpleasantly steep snowgrass and hard earth slopes on the Rockburn side. Our imaginations run wild with this description from…
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Westies Hut: The Famous New Zealand Sea Cave Hut in Fiordland
Westies Hut (with chocolate streams and marshmallows) Sarah Fisher Most tramping trips begin with a steady climb, but ours started with a thumping of rotors and a landing on a rugged South Coast beach. We were headed for Westies Hut—a place that feels more like a movie set than a hikers’ hut. Tucked inside a…
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How to Give Back: A Guide to Backcountry Volunteering in New Zealand
We often talk about the ‘spirit of adventure’ that defines New Zealand’s backcountry, but that spirit doesn’t survive on its own—it’s fueled by the hands and hearts of volunteers. Whether it’s maintaining the historic timber of a remote bivvy, ensuring a trapline is clear for the return of the tīeke, or simply keeping a tramping…
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🌴 ‘Take Action for Nature’ – Conservation Week 2023
Caitlands Conservation Week The story of a week at the Caitlands working on conservation measures such as tree planting and weeding. You’ve planted a ‘Penguin Forest’ The comment from one of my work colleagues after she heard about the volunteer work I had done over the weekend in the Catlins was, ‘you’ve planted a ‘Penguin…
