Beginners and newbies

I get the annual Backcountry Hut Pass. Except for Great Walk huts in season, and a few random others, it's job done for 12 months. Hut it, pitch a tent, doesn't matter. 😎

Getting back to my favourite subject, french toast is lovely as well. I recently bought Paul and Rebecca Garland's Backcountry Cooking book. Insane amounts of sugar in the recipes - including savoury mains loaded with ...

"o" for owsum! Look forward to hearing about your adventure next year. And you know where to find the forum if you wanna rap about anything beforehand.

I did a trip in Kahurangi Feb this year. The handful of trampers I met coming up from Karamea and heading for Flora were carrying supplies for their entire tramp. Not sure if this is ...

A few hundred yards west of Cecil Kings hut,across the river ,is a good sized clearing,visible from the track.I`ve camped there,plenty of options.

Slightly off the subject.I have oft quoted a story about Braden Currie taking his new bride with MTBs from Comyns Hut through to Cookies Point & out to the road at Double Hill Road.I got ...

Thanks for all your replies! It's given me more confidence, and we're looking at accommodation in Karamea - seems like a place with a bit of character? (Yurt?) I think the Routeburn coloured my expectations. There ...

Many thanks for all your comments!

The West Coast is one of the most challenging areas in which to tramp. You mention you haven't been to NZ before, so I suggest being mindful of the difficulty of the terrain in the area. Below ...

on great walks, at least 200m from the trail or in designated campsites that you have to book depending on the walk or the time of year on some of them. on fiordland great walks ...

I was tossing up if I needed my running shoes or not but will definitely take them now for the road walk. I got an email back from DOC, in case anyone wants to know they ...

Hi JustMe, Are you still kayaking around the gulf? I have a sit on and also want to do some exploring a bit further afield and looking for someone to go with.

I haven't checked what gets publicised, but the various bylaws have said 500 metres for ages. eg. Heaphy (in Kahurangi): http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2009/0014/latest/whole.html#DLM1679822 Abel Tasman: http://www.legislatio...

Thanks for the feedback. We will have a non self-contained campervan, so I think that we will alternate between simple DOC campsites on the days we dont mind skipping a shower or having a cold ...

You might be able to zip 2 sleeping bags together. This would make extra room that accommodates an infant. Another way of lightening your load is to use a tarp which can be pitched low. ...

Thank-you for the detailed advice. I will definitely check out your recommendations.

Thanks for the analysis bernieq, will bear that in mind. The mats look pretty new so perhaps they do have a reflective layer in them. I'll try with the foam on the bottom -- I ...

Yeah, me too haha!

Hi twilly, I can certainly vouch for the trip that pageix referred to: https://tramper.nz/5343/waiau-clarence-pass-lake-tennyson-circuit/ as a challenging but slightly less committing alternative that still gets you to Blue Lake and Waiau Pass. We...

G'day Chris. I'm currently based in Te Anau/Manapouri. Want to catch up and have a chat about local options? PM me if you're keen. I work 7 days at a time in Deep Cove, but ...

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I ended up taking the conservative decision of postponing. We'll hopefully find a good weekend to go in the coming weeks. Thanks Andrew

It's arrived! But I'm using up the gelatine first. Frank has got mild osteoporosis and collagen forms the framework for bone tissue so he's keen to use it as well.

Anyway...naughty me. Back to hydrolised collagen. @waynowski: can you recommend a particular brand? This info may be helpful for other clapped-out old trampers too.

Thank you izogi I will certainly hang out there occasionally to get some ideas. I looked at some blogs of people who have done it but so far haven't come across anyone who has done ...

Ah, Peach Cove hut. I helped to build that with the Whangarei Tramping Club back in the 60s (before the endless flights of steps were thought of.) Good memories.