⛰️#11 - Love Our Huts Kicks Off, Book Launches, No Change On The TAC & Lots More

Author

Jub Bryant
October 31, 2024

And we are back with the 11th NZ Hiking Newsletter, sent every Thursday.

I'll let you know what’s going on in the hiking scene in New Zealand, along with other related bits and pieces I find interesting.

Alright, let’s get into it.

In This Week's Edition...

🛖The Love Our Huts Campaign Is Ready For Take Off

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It’s the 1st of November tomorrow (depending on when you read this) which means the I Love Our Huts campaign is about to kick off. I got my welcome pack yesterday for the two huts I’ve signed up for (at this stage) in Skipper’s Canyon. It’s a well-put-together pack, most of which you can see in the photo above.

I mentioned the campaign in previous issues, but if you’re a new subscriber and haven’t heard of the Love Our Huts campaign…it’s all about doing a health check of the DOC Hut Network. This will help create data to form a report on the overall health of the NZ huts at a point in time (including bridges and rivers).

You can read all about it here on the FMC website. That link also includes a list of huts you can still sign up for. With over 500 (of the 900+) huts remaining, I took a quick look through and there are still lots of ‘easy’ huts you can give a health check.

🌋Five Reports Say No Daily Cap Is Needed On The Tongariro Alpine Crossing

There’s no sign of a daily limit on the number of walkers allowed on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing anytime soon. It took five reports (cultural, economic, social, environmental, and a carrying capacity assessment report) to get to that status quo recommendation.

This article is solid, with various opinions from stakeholders assessing the pros and cons of a daily/annual limit. It does boggle my mind that it costs $1.8 million to get these reports sorted! There’s a bit of talk about legislation being the toughest hurdle, but we’ve seen it’s possible to get things pushed through with the Fast Track Bill recently.

But I guess we can talk about this again next year 🙂. And in the meantime, here’s hoping everyone has a safe journey on the crossing this summer.

Fun tidbit: The Tongariro Crossing was renamed Tongariro Alpine Crossing in 2007 to emphasize the extreme weather on extreme terrain possible.

😹 Meme Break

Seen a few of these in Macpac lately.

🗒️ Other Track News Etc.

  • I somehow missed the launch of Wild Walks Aotearoa: A Guide to Tramping in New Zealand by Hannah-Rose Watt. It covers 59 tracks around the country and looks to be of interest to trampers of all levels. I’ll report back when I get a chance to read it. If you’ve read it, let me (and Hannah) know your thoughts!

  • If you’re in the Queenstown region from November 16th - 30th and want to learn more about nature, or just want a different experience…the latest batch of Pure Exploration students are taking you out to the Routeburn and Mount Creighton Loop on guided walks. It’s free, with transport included. A couple of friends went along last year and enjoyed them. Sign up here.

  • With a permanent population of less than 500, the ole 1080 is continuing to divide the locals regarding the aerial drop set for 2025 as part of Predator Free Rakiura. With the hiking trails a massive drawcard to the island, which goes hand in hand with nature…this isn’t something the locals will take lightly. You can read about the opposing sides here.

  • If you’re in the Hamilton area this weekend, you might want to head to the Sika Show, the New Zealand Hunting & Outdoor Expo. Tickets are still available.

  • The Coromandel’s Tairua River Trail looks to have the go-ahead to be extended to Pauanui. The current cycle and walking trail is used by 30,000 people each year, and the extension connecting both towns will make it even more attractive.

  • Heard of a track raft? I hadn’t heard the term until I read this post about the awesome work the Te Araroa Manawatu team is doing to make sure the Burtton's Tracks’ muddier sections are easier on humans and easier on nature going forward.

  • And for what you’ve really been waiting for, someone created Tinder for the Mountains. It wasn’t what I expected.

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

Lake Hayes and The Remarkables as seen from German Hill (27th October)

It was a fairly quiet weekend here with a horrible day on Saturday bringing more snow to the hills. But I did get out to Arrowtown on Sunday for a classic Sawpit Gully Loop (incl. German Hill) which is always a goodie. There was no chance of keeping the shoes dry. The hikes starting from Arrowtown are so underrated, there are so many options.

I’ve been trying out a new daypack, and first impressions are good with people even commenting how good it looks. If it holds up to regular use over the next couple of months, you’ll hear about it from me. This weekend I’ll hopefully end up staying at what will be a hut I’ve yet to visit. Hopefully.

🎁 A Couple Of Competitions To Enter

  • NEW. Sweaty Betty $1000 Activewear Giveaway pack - enter here (entries close 6th November at Midday)

  • NEW. Nicki Jackson Art Giveaway (sticks and flask) - enter here (entries close on November 3rd at 5pm)

  • Win a Dream Adventure in Ruapehu - enter here (entries are still open at time of writing)

  • Massive 2024 Cottage Gear Giveaway - enter here (entries close November 6th - international winners possible)

Have a great week, hike it up.

As always, reply to this email (or message me on Whatsapp +642041702764) with anything and everything…I’m happy to chat.

Chur,

Jub

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