A wrap of the biggest stories and best writing about the outdoors from New Zealand and around the world.

Hundreds of daddy longlegs blanketed the outside of a tramper’s tent in Alaska, a video posted by the national park shows in frightening detail.

In the video a camper pans over the tent with a flashlight, illuminating the hundreds of moving daddy longlegs covering the tent in thick piles. The park shared the video on Halloween alongside a spooky poem:

“In the remote depths of Lake Clark’s vast, wild landscape, a weary backpacker settles in for a night at camp after a long day of exploring. Little do they know, creatures of the night lurk in the woods, waiting for the opportune moment to strike fear. Snuggled into their warm sleeping bag, the tired explorer nods off to dreamland…suddenly they are jolted awake with the sense of being covered by creepy crawly creatures of the forest, only to discover their nightmare has become a reality.”

The next day, officials posted a second clip from inside the tent with clusters of harvestmen huddled together across the tent screen.

The park service explained that scientists don’t know why dozens of daddy longlegs gather tightly together in packs called “aggregations” Read the full story from the New York Post.

Hiker hospitalised after bringing home venomous snake to show kids

A man from Australia is recovering from a near-death experience after picking up what he thought was a nonvenomous snake. He found the snake during a hike and thought he’d bring it home to show his kids, thinking it was a diamond python. After the snake bit the man, his hand swelled up and he started vomiting prompting a visit to the emergency room.

Medical staff at the hospital contacted Ray McGibbon, a snake expert and catcher. McGibbon informed the staff that the serpent was a venomous broad-headed snake, which looks similar to the nonvenomous diamond python. 

“After [six hours, they] sent [him] home to recover. During that time I collected the snake from his residence and returned the snake to its habitat,” McGibbon said.

McGibbon noted how lucky the hiker was to make it back before reacting to the venom. Broad-headed snakes inject neurotoxins into the bloodstream when they bite, which can lead to incapacitation and even death. Read the full story from Outdoor Life.

The ‘three pensioneers’ who took on Te Araroa

When former Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast agreed to walk the TA with a couple of friends, she had no idea how tough the walk would be. Over two recent summers, Prendergast made the epic 3021km journey with her friends Tim and Sue Pankhurst.

Tim would often take in a brass plaque on Willis Street that marks a section of the Te Araroa Trail. “I’d always pause and think ‘How cool would that be to walk the length of our country?”

Once he was fully retired, Tim “tentatively raised” the idea of walking the TA with his wife Sue, who was initially not keen. Their friend Kerry Prendergast immediately agreed.

Sue agreed to support Tim and Kerry on the trail and planned to start walking with them and see how went. “Once we got past the Waiau Pass, I was in like Flynn, every step,” she said.

Post-Te Araraoa, the pensioneers are closer than ever, he says. “[Sue and I] are still married and we’re still good friends with Kerry so that says a lot.” Read about the full adventure at RNZ.

NZ Geographic Board moots new spelling for Franz Josef Glacier and village

The New Zealand Geographic Board is proposing to correct a more than century-old typo to an iconic West Coast landmark and town. Franz Josef Glacier was named after then-Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph in 1866 by geologist and founder of the Canterbury Museum, Julius von Haast. 

However, over time Joseph was incorrectly changed to Josef. The erroneous spelling of the glacier and its namesake town has been widely used since the early 1900s. Geographic Board secretary Wendy Shaw said historical and authoritative sources had shown the emperor’s name is spelt with a ‘ph’ and not an ‘f’. 

“The board agreed that the European part of the name is spelt incorrectly. The proposal only affects the European part of the name, not the Māori,” Shaw said. Read the full story at Stuff.

Popular beaches undergoing repairs after storms

Several areas of Orewa Beach, north of Auckland, have been closed to visitors as remediation gets underway to restore areas hit by storms in late October.

The $260,000 spend by Auckland Council is to remove debris, pipes and manholes exposed around Kohu St; replenish sand around Kinlock and Arundel Reserves; repair the boat ramp at Puriri Ave; and move sand that had washed down to the southern end of the beach up to the stretch in front of Orewa Recreation Reserve.

The council had already worked to repair damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, which was completed earlier this year.

There has been extensive damage along the east coast beaches of the wider Auckland area due to the many severe weather events experienced through 2023.

Unfortunately for beach bunnies and ratepayers, the anticipated increase in the number and intensity of storm events will have a major impact on our most popular recreation areas. Read the full story from the NZ Herald.