queen charlotte walk is still reasonably hilly, one section is an undulating 25k's with 900m total elevation gain, in summer there may be no water on the section and theres no overhead tree cover. weather wise it can still be a test.
one advantage of the queen charlotte walk is there are multiple points where you can extract someone from the walk if things don't go well, so it limits how many people may have to be diverted to cope with medical issues or exhaustion. there is cell phone coverage over some of it.
This post has been edited by the author on 1 December 2015 at 06:12.
Perhaps all is not as bad as it seems - from the latest FMC newsletter
"This is an exciting time of year. The festive season and (touch wood) long summer trips are just around the corner. There will be plenty of people in the hills this year - Tramping is on the increase. FMC is pleased to be supporting 5 youth expeditions pushing the boundaries:
1.Caroline Bellamy, Canterbury University TC: for a trip traversing the Haast Range and adjoining valley systems in South Westland.
2. Sarah Tiong, NZ Alpine Club (Otago Section): for a trip into the Olivine Ice Plateau via the Forgotten River Col.
3. Jarrod Alexander, NZ Alpine Club (Canterbury Section): for climbing trips based in Fiordland and with particular emphasis on Sinbad Gully and the Darran Mountains.
4. Penzy Dinsdale, Otago University TC: for an ‘all women’s traverse’ through the Olivines Wilderness beginning from the Hollyford, continuing over Four Brothers Pass, entering the Forgotten and thence the Olivine Ice Plateau, continuing over Gyrae and Trinity Pass, and eventually exiting via Arcade Saddle and the Jackson Bay Road.
5. Zoe Sagarin, Taranaki Alpine Club: for a multiday climbing and mentoring trip based on the upper, western slopes of Mt Taranaki (above Kahui Hut)."
Its great to see this stuff happening.
>@ TheGoodLife My children's school runs an end of year activity programme where the kids get to choose what they would like to do.
Thats the same at the local schools here. Lowish decile schools too.
My partner and i got back yesterday from taking a group of year 9 students on a 3 day tramp in egmont national park. None had tramped before, and it was interesting to observe them. You could see it was a head stretch for them, clothing systems seem to confound them, and certainly the furthest any of them had ever walked.
But, inspite of pretty dodgy weather, and the fact that many of them were only there because they forgot to choose an activity, i dont think we managed to put a single one of them off tramping. In time, and with encouragement, some might go on to gain an appreciation for the fresh air, exertion, and natural values. But alas their day to day world is plastic, sterile and man-made and i fear that that influence will likely prevail.
Duke of Ed adventurous journey requirements here:
http://www.dofehillary.org.nz/Site/do_the_award/adventurous_journey.aspx
There is a document with a list of suitable tramps.
I'm in the process of transitioning from my current position as an ops manager and tour guide for an outdoor adventure company, to a bushcraft/river safety/DOE instructor. Actually, ideally I'll do one job a few months of the year, the other a few months, and the rest of the time I'll be free to continue exploring NZ's great outdoors. :)
DOE in NZ to this point hasn't exactly been maintained to a consistent level. That's changing.... :)
@zoneblue thats a great thing to do. I'm sure that some of them will carry on tramping, either with their families, at school or later at university. I think often the barrier to trying something new (like tramping) is not knowing what's involved, how it will be, where to start. All those kids you took on that trip now know, and that barrier is gone.
