⛰️#16 - Cathedral Cove Opens, MSR History, New Chains, Skippers Canyon & More.

Author

Jub Bryant
December 05, 2024

And we are back with the 16th NZ Hiking Newsletter, sent every Thursday. This week it’s heading out to 347 people. That’s fun.

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.

If you see things I should include in the newsletter, send it to me via text or WhatsApp (+64 204170 2764). Even if you think ‘Oh, he’s probably seen it already, flick it through’. Chur.

Alright, let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

🦇 The Cathedral Cove Walk Is Open For Summer

The Coromandel’s Cathedral Cove Walkway is open re-open (see the DOC Press Release) after being closed for nearly 2 years due to damage from Cylones Hale and Gabrielle. The track never gets a shortage of visitors, so while the track was out of action, the track got a revamp, native trees were planted, track infrastructure was improved and the way to get to the track has changed. Key updates are:

  • You cannot park on Grange Road (drop off and pick up only). Instead, you can park at the Hahei Visitor Centre carpark and take a shuttle ($7 for adults, free for children under 14) or walk (~30 mins to the Grange Road entrance) from there

  • The Gemstone Bay, String Bay, and Hahei Beach Walk tracks remain closed.

  • You can still park at the Cathedral Cove Gateway Trail (paid parking)

  • There are no toilets on the beach, just near the Grange Road entrance and flushable ones about 15 minutes from the end of the track

  • You must take all rubbish out with you

  • There is still a risk of rock falls and whatnot in areas, make sure to keep moving where the signs say too

Cheers to Whitianga ranger Ainsley Harris for keeping me in the loop.

⛏️ Random Learnings About Outdoor Brand MSR

This week I somehow found myself deep in the rabbit hole of learning about the origins of Mountain Safety Research (a.k.a MSR), an iconic outdoor brand. You might have heard of their popular stove the Pocket Rocket or tent, the Hubba Hubba (apparently Naturehike does a good knockoff version at a good price point).

MSR was never meant to be an equipment company, instead, it was a newsletter launched by Founder, Larry Penberthy in 1969. He was writing about Mountain Safety, based on his findings and opinions (some controversial).

He intended for MSR to be a non-profit, even selling the first MSR ice axe at a loss (he told companies they should make ice axes with aluminum handles rather than wood, but they didn’t follow his advice so he got them manufactured himself). It didn’t take long before the costs started to rise, and he had to increase prices.

Fast forward to 50 years later and it’ll cost you well over $100 for a Pocket Rocket 2 stove in NZ. It’s still one of the most popular hiking stoves in the USA, so MSR must be doing something right.

You can read some of the original newsletters on the MSR website. I enjoyed Larry’s first blister prevention tip in the 1975 issue. I can’t imagine it going down well if I told people to do this when they come into Macpac today:

“Break in the boots to your feet. Soak them in water (room temperature) for two hours, then wear them while they dry, changing socks several times. At the same time, "train" the folds in the leather over the base of the toes so that the fold is upwardoutward, not downward.”

“It will be necessary to omit using some of the lacing holes at the bottom. The first cross-lace should be diagonal and just back of the diagonal line over the base of the toes. This instruction refers to boots having a sewed-in gusset of soft leather which prevents water from running into the boot.”

Larry Penberthy

😹 Hiking Funny

🗒️ Other Track News Etc.

  • In what does seem a bit crazy, the current Fiordland National Park Management Plan is from 2007. It was due to be updated in 2017, but that hasn’t happened yet and businesses that have concessions for the National Park aren’t exactly happy🙀 There is hope for Fiordland operators however, with the Government seeking feedback on two proposals (see here):

    • explore charging for access to some public conservation land  

    • streamline concessions and planning processes and enable more flexibility around land exchange and disposals

    You can have your say before Feb 28th, 2025.

  • If you’re heading to Punakaiki, there's a big new fancy visitor centre that opened last week. With $17.37 of the $45.47 million dollars that it cost to build coming from DOC, it makes me wonder how much they'll charge for the paid parking trial next year...(source)

  • The above image stopped me while doom-scrolling the other day. How cool is that splashback? I’m not getting my own kitchen anytime soon, but this idea is in the back pocket! If I had to get one, it’d probably be a view from somewhere around the Ben Lomond Track as a reminder there’s some stunning scenery just out the backdoor.

  • The summer has just started, but there’s an out-of-control (at the time of publishing) of note near Castle Hill, Canterbury. Residents are being told to self evacuate ahead nightfall where 80km warm westerlies are blowing. The fire is around the Bridge Hill, Craigieburn, which could have big impacts on lots of tracks in the Cragieburn Forest Park area like the Dracophyllum Flat Track and Cave Stream. The videos and photos coming through are pretty crazy already.

Photo Credit: GWBN

  • There’s some gnarly hiking terrain in Tararua Forest Park, north of Wellington, with one famous section being the chains and steel ladder near Maungahuka Hut. Recently DOC crew members Dallas Christie and Sheamus Yelter installed new chain anchors and replaced some sections of chain to ensure it’s safe for users in the future. I haven’t yet been to this part of the Tararua, but looking at the photos in the Facebook post makes me want to get there ASAP. Great work lads.

🎁 A Couple Of Competitions To Enter

  • NEW 7 Days of Hazy Campervan Travel - enter here (closes December 22nd)

  • NEW FuelMe Snacks Giveaway - enter here (closes December 13th)

  • NEW Boring Milk Outdoors Kit Giveaway - enter here (closes December 6th, midday)

  • NEW Radix Nutrition Xmas Giveaway week 1 - enter here (closes December 8th, 2024)

  • Wilderness Wonders with Real Meals - enter here (closes March 31st, 2025)

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

This past weekend was awesome. The main event was heading into Skippers Canyon (Otago) for a night to visit Bullendale and Crystal huts as part of the Love Our Huts campaign.

After getting a hitch most of the way down Skippers Road, the hike was mint (lupins and river crossings galore), with no one seen until I arrived at Bullendale Hut where two others were staying.

I’ve been to the hut before and it’s in such a cool spot. Given the road into Skippers Road had only recently reopened after two months of being closed, everything was in good condition. Great spot, would recommend.

The next morning it was time to head to Crystal Hut…a short walk from the main Skippers Canyon car park. Another fun hut. This was a bit messier, as it gets more use…but everything looked way better once I was done (hopefully quality control agrees). Brushing away all the crap from the inside of both huts is one of those games that never ends.

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

p.s. get your friends to sign up to the newsletter: https://nzhikingnewsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe