Show Notes
Gerry McSweeney is a lifelong tramper, former president of Forest & Bird, and founder of Wilderness Lodges at Lake Moeraki and Arthur’s Pass. Jerry reflects on his early days with the Christchurch Tramping Club, hard river crossings and tramping with trains, and how tramping shaped his lifelong commitment to conservation. We hear stories of endurance epics in the Southern Alps, the importance of predator control, and the transformation he’s witnessed in New Zealand’s forests and birdlife ...
More from The Tramping Life
In this episode of The Tramping Life we head to Rakiura / Stewart Island for one of New Zealand’s most remote and demanding coastal tramps, the North West Circuit. This 125 km circuit follows the rugged northern coastline of the island through Rakiura National Park, passing windswept beaches, granite headlands, wetlands, and dense native bush. It typically takes 9–11 days to complete and links a chain of backcountry huts spaced roughly a day’s walk apart. I walked a shortened 100 km version ...
Peter Laurenson is the author of Occasional Climber, Khumbu: Gateway to Mount Everest, and most recently Aotearoa Light, books that combine thoughtful writing with striking photography from New Zealand and the Himalaya. Peter reflects on growing up in New Plymouth, discovering the mountains later in life, and how his first journey to the Khumbu region of Nepal in the late 1980s shaped his relationship with tramping, climbing, and photography. We talk about returning to the New Zealand backco...
In this episode of The Tramping Life we explore two very different hikes in and around Auckland: the coastal Waikōwhai Walkway and the hilltop Mount William Walkway. Both offer rewarding walking close to the city, with great views and a surprising sense of escape not far from the urban area. The Waikōwhai Walkway follows part of the northern shoreline of the Manukau Harbour, running roughly 10 km between Hillsborough Bay and Lynfield Cove. The route combines foreshore walking, native bush tr...
Derrick Field has spent a lifetime in the hills — first as a deer culler in the 1960s, then as a ranger, hut builder, track cutter, mountain runner, and now as Chair of the Greater Wellington Backcountry Network. In this wide-ranging conversation, Derek reflects on the hard graft of culling in the Tararuas, cutting new tracks in Taranaki and the Wairarapa, building huts that are still standing today, and the volunteer mahi that keeps the backcountry alive. From sleeping in ratty huts to runni...
Today we head to Canterbury to explore the Mount Somers Track in Hakatere Conservation Park. Less than two hours’ drive from Christchurch, this popular tramp circles the slopes of Mount Somers, linking the Sharplin Falls Car Park and Woolshed Creek Car Park trailheads. The track combines striking volcanic rock formations, historic mining remnants, and wide views across the Canterbury foothills and plains. I walked the circuit over a hot early-summer weekend about a decade ago. The trip inclu...