And we are back with the 43rd NZ Hiking Newsletter, sent every Thursday/Friday.

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.

NOTE: This will be the last newsletter for the next few months, for a couple of reasons.

I do this for fun(?), and haven’t worried about earning income off this (yet?), and during winter the amount of relevant news decreases. I’ll also be overseas for a few months, so to make my life easier, I’ll not worry about finding internet late on a Friday night to get this out. I’ll be back with ⛰️#44 on October 17th.

Thanks to you all who read this silly thing and say cool things about it. That’s fun. I’ve got some ideas to make the newsletter better when it’s back.

Alright, let’s get into it.

🤔 Quiz

Which New Zealand track follows the route of a 19th-century gold-mining pack trail?

A. Motatapu Track

B. Heaphy Track

C. Tongariro Alpine Crossing

D. Whanganui Journey

The answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

🗒️ Other Track News Etc.

• There’s an investigation underway after a group of college students were airlifted off a track (Bay of Plenty) that was compromised. They left, despite a weather watch in place. So far, it seems like a lot of pointing fingers. More details here.

• Alpine Mode Hiking App. As we head into winter, there are times when you end up slightly on the cold side, and it’s not just ourselves that battle. Our phones battle to…and there’s been numerous times when my phone battery drains so fast. If that’s you, and in general, you’d like to have a longer-lasting battery while hiking, check out this iPhone App, Alpine Mode (hopefully Android eventually). On the reddit thread some think it’s great, others pointless. I like the idea of just having to press one button and putting your phone on Airplane Mode…but better.

• I haven’t listened to this yet, but there’s an entire podcast focused on the Tararua Range and tramping within it. Amazing. Spotify link.

• Aaron Halstead seems like a good lad to have a beer with. There was a write-up with him in the Otago Daily Times after recently being named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours for his services to Search and Rescue and the tourism industry. Legend.

• If you’ve got nothing better to do, throw a comment on this thread to help decide the colour of next year’s Te Araroa bag tag.

• If you’re heading to the UK to escape winter for a while, you might want to take advantage of Decathlons full tent refund for tents purchased from June 9th to September 14th…a cool initiative and at worst, there’ll be less tents left, destroyed, at festivals. But if you’re planning a couple of weeks camping, it could make it easier for you to buy a tent there and then get a refund. Make sure to read the T&Cs.

• Unfortunately, there’s been another death on the Te Araroa Trail, with 25-year-old kiwi Phelan McDade after being swept down the Boyle River (Canterbury). That’s two deaths on the Te Araroa in the last 6 months, which isn’t ideal. More info here.

• Next time you buy sunscreen, it could be worth doing some research…as it seems that many sunscreens aren’t meeting the levels of SPF protection they state. I would have thought the Sunscreen Act 2022 would make the standards of sunscreen higher, but this article proves otherwise. In short, find out when the sunscreen you want to buy was last tested and what the result was.

• A biopic on Tenzing Norgay is going to be filmed in Mount Cook National Park over the following months after DOC granted permits. You can read more details in the press release, but it should be a good showcase of Mount Cook and its

  surroundings. The first part of filming wrapped up in Nepal recently with lots of people now heading to Mount Cook to start preparations for filming. Not going to lie…I’d not be a fan of filming Malte Brun Pass this time of year! Press Release here.

• This coffee option has been around for a couple of years, but I hadn’t come across the No Normal Coffee Paste before. I’m not a coffee drinker, but you might want to give it a whirl on the next hike….just make sure you don’t mix it up with your toothpaste? Learn more.

• If you’ve got a Garmin inReach, you might have missed the news that you can once again suspend your subscription plan (for up to 12 months) with no reactivation fees. When Garmin first stopped allowing plans to be suspended, there was a lot of backlash…which along with other PLB device options coming to the market might be the reason they’ve reversed the decision? Check the webpage incase they backflip again!

🎁 A Couple Of Competitions To Enter

• Avalanche IQ Quiz with Mountain Safety - enter here (closure date unknown)

• Remlite Launch Giveaway - enter here (entries close - unknown)

• Arc’teryx Winter Weekend Giveaway - enter here (entries close July 8th)

• Take Your Best Shot - Mammut Photo Comp - enter here (entries close July 15th)

🤔 Quiz Answer

Answer: Heaphy Track

The West Coast Gold Rush of the 1860s is what formed what we know as the Heaphy Track. 1859 was when the first crossing (similar to today’s route) was made, and a couple of years later, when gold was discovered in Karamea, a rough track was cut.

The Heaphy Track Wikipedia page has more details.

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

It was a great weekend to play in the snow!

The snow was down to about 700 metres above sea level around Queenstown, so it was easy enough to access. On Saturday, I went just above Skyline, Queenstown, where the snow was. I didn’t go all the way to Ben Lomond Saddle, but it was nice for a change.

On Sunday, out towards Bannockburn with some friends. I actually couldn’t say where we went without looking at a map. But covered in snow, the route was pretty. And the Young Australian Water Wheel was rather random.

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

I’ll be back in a few months!

Chur,

Jub

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