Innholdsfortegnelse for October - November 2022 i Adventure Magazine

Overnighting in 6-star hotels and resorts must be a memorable occurrence, but I wouldn’t know. I do know about 5-star accommodation thanks largely to a past life in the corporate world, but the funny thing is I struggle to remember any details of those stays. But when it comes to tenting out alter a day’s tramping, I can recall great details of every experience. OK, I must admit that a couple of those nights I wouldn’t like to repeat, but the vast majority have been unique and unforgettable stays that I often reflect on, appreciating how lucky I was to have had the opportunity. What makes a campsite a great place? For me, unashamedly biased as they are, I have chosen to rate on these tive criteria that are important…

Nothing really prepares you for the magnificence of the Whanganui River. As the world’s tirst river to be recognised as a living entity, a personhood with legal rights, there is a benevolence in the air, a sacredness to the waters you can't deny. As you navigate your way downstream, it’s as if time stands still and you are fully immersed in a new rhythm, with each stroke of the paddle, all your senses come alive. Slowly, spectacularly, the natural wonders unfold, and there is a feeling of divinity that humbles you, so much so that you feel you ought to whisper in the stillness of the morning mist or break out in song at the end of the day as an offer of thanks. From the deep dramatic gorges to…

New Zealand is a place of expansive wonder shaped by weather and water. Huge rugged peaks give way to cascading cliffs, with sweeping valleys in which rivers are born and then flow to feed the vast Pacific Ocean. These rivers form not only our land, but are also the guiding pathways for our roads and tracks to follow. Almost every hiking track in NZ follows a river or stream for at least some, if not all of their journey. They weave up the valleys, follow the banks and occasionally pass over with the help of a rickety swing bridge. The river is often seen as just an accomplice to the hike, sometimes nice to look at, swim or drink from but little else. But what would you think if I…

As you might expect from a jungle-covered archipelago, Vanuatu has some of the best tropical trekking in the world. Where else can you hike to the rim of an active volcano, sleep in kastom villages or cool off under roaring waterfalls? From half-day hikes on the main islands to multi-day jungle treks on the outer rim, there’s some truly epic scenery to explore in Vanuatu. 1. Nguna Extinct Volcano (pictured: Image by Ben Savage) (3 hours from the bottom of Nguna) An hour away from Port Vila’s bustling city centre and resorts lies Nguna and its sister islands, Pele and Emao. Located in the crystalline water of the Uduna marine channel, the islands are home to 16 local communities that have created the Nguna-Pele Marine Protected Area, This pristine environment…

‘Elbows out’ was the advice I’d been given for climbing in the European Alps. This wasn’t related to any particular style of climbing, but rather what might help get you to the base of your route ahead of other climbers. Of the 60 people sardined into the 6.10am cable car bin heading up the famous Aiguille du Midi, in the Mont Blanc massif, up to half of them tend to be climbers. The ride is famous, faking you from 1035m to 3777m above sea level in a scarcelybelievable 20 minutes. But instead of taking in the dramatic views of the alps as you ascend from the small township Chamonix, France, climbers surreptitiously eyeball each other while sneakily edging towards the door. Our objective was Chèré Couloir: a 155m ice climb…

For a few months a year, the world's largest volume freshwater lake freezes, providing locals and visitors the chance to walk across its surface. Following in the steps of a few previous trekkers, Ash Routen travelled to Russia in 2018 to walk across the frozen surface of Lake Baikal. On a cold and overcast afternoon in a small lakeside resort in Siberia, my friend Phil and I clumsily drag our plastic sleds down a small set of stairs to the frozen surface below. Our farewell party consists of Eugene, a local trekking guide and our trusty fixer, and two Brits, Robbie, and Natalie, who are new acquaintances. An hour before, we had been basking in the comforting warmth of a trendy local café. "You two look like a right pair…

I didn’t need to wait till sunrise to check the weather, I had been listening to the rain fall on the roof all night, it was just another wet one in the central plateau. It seemed to have been the norm for this winter, not only in my neck of the woods, but the rest of the country also seemed to be suffering the same weather patterns. One of the things I learned whilst on a multi-day hike in Fiordland, is that not everything is better in sunshine. Waterfalls, without a doubt, are so much better when there has been plenty of rainfall. So, with that in mind, we wrapped up warm and headed out to explore one of the many day hikes leaving from Whakapapa Village. The mountain was…

The climb began with an ava (kava) ceremony with the matai (chief). We were welcomed into his fale (house)and invited to sit cross-legged on the floor. A cup made from half a coconut shell was dipped several times into the ava pot and poured back to test the colour and consistency of the ava. Once he was satisfied with its look, the cup was formally offered to me, and I raised the cup with two hands, said "manuia" and drained it. The bitter liquid numbed my tongue, but it otherwise had little effect. Margaret and Tino, in turn, drank a toast from the same cup before the ceremony continued with the guide and porters, who drank several cups as if hydrating for the hot walk ahead. Mt Silisili, at the…

It’s taken several millennia of earthquakes and glacial erosion to create the impressive landscapes of Arthurs Pass National Park, making it a trampers paradise. From expansively wide, rock-strewn valleys of the Waimakariri, to gut-busting tracks up forested ridges with the reward of expansive views of jagged peaks and glaciers. Within a single day you can clamber up steep and narrow paths through tranquil beech or podocarp forests, take in epic views from the top of rocky peaks, refreshing yourself with the ancient waters of ice-coid glacial streams. Then cruise home on wide-river flats alongside those crystal-clear rivers. Glaciers up to 1,000 metres high have done some serious and not very subtle sculpting here. Thankfully several eras have passed since nature’s colossal earthmovers retreated, allowing the rivers and streams time to…

While spending two months in America, Lauren and I wanted to do a few road trips and hikes to explore more of this amazing, huge, crazy and beautiful country. One of our adventures that really stood out, and we would definitely recommend doing was, commonly referred to as the Big Pine Lakes trail, the technical trail name is Big Pine Creek North Fork Trail. Big Pine Lakes is located in the heart of the Eastern Sierras of California. It is roughly 10 miles (yes miles cause we are in America now folks! About 16kms) west of Big Pine and around 15 miles (24kms) south of Bishop. It’s not far from the ski town, Mammoth. "We asked if we should buy some bear spray (yes, that’s sin actual thing!), but again,…

Doing the Tongariro Northern Circuit in the snow. Why: We’ve been taking the boys on overnight/multi night trips since January last year (2021). Before that we took them out on daytrips in the weekend, first in the front/ backpack and later they had to walk themselves. We are lucky that we live rurally and close to the Waikato River Trails, so the boys have been doing 5km walks, sometimes on a daily base, either in the pack, on their (balance) bike or walking/running. Last year spring we walked from Desert Rd Carpark to Oturere Hut and climbed Red Crater from the scree side as a day trip from Oturere Hut. There was snow and almost nobody on the Crossing, but because we knew there was no firewood at Mangatepopo Hut,…

When a company makes a claim that its thermal wear product is five times warmer than the traditional base layer, that is a big claim. When Zerofit arrived on the courier, the very first thing that came to mind was the weight. Thermal wear that claims to be five times warmer than anything else you would expect to be heavy - it wasn’t. I went through and read in detail how Zerofit was supposed to work. How it works: The Heat Rub uses “double-loop” barrel fabric to provide both heat insulation and “friction heating". The extra-long bristles ensure a layer of warm air, and even a little movement of these bristles causes friction, which creates heat which in turn warms you up. It is stated, “The Heat Rub is twice…

a travel Covid is bad enough, but to see the those two ugly little lines on your RAT test the day before you are meant to leave for Tahiti is so frustrating. Weeks of planning had gone into the coordination of getting us to Tahiti and to the WSL (World Surt League) event at the legendary location, Teahupo'o. To make it worse this year was really special because it was the first time that female competitors have returned to compete at Teahupo'o after a 16 year hiatus. Teahupo'o means The pile of heads’ or The heap of heads’. It supposedly honours the son of a murdered chief, who revenged his father's demise by killing and eating the brain of his father's murderers. It is a dark name for such a…