It’s easy for big commitments like parenting to eat up our ‘me’ time. The support of friends, partners and Meetup groups helped these four women rediscover their love of tramping.

Sarah Holden, from Auckland, started tramping in her late teens. “I wanted to be outdoors with my friends in cool places, and I loved being out in nature. I was a ranger (with Girl Guides) and got out and about when overseas on my OE.”

When Holden had children her ability to get out dwindled. “I didn’t have any support and didn’t do anything outdoors for years,” she says. “I always wanted to, and I wished I could have gone out with a pack in nature. It really grounds me.”

She felt overwhelmed at the thought of doing it on her own. “I had a newborn and, at that time, was a solo mum. It was almost inconceivable to get outdoors by myself.” 

Now though, 14 years later, Holden is out in the backcountry again at 41. “My current partner is equally passionate about the outdoors and has been great at helping us get out and do things together as a family,” she says. “It really helps having someone support me to get over that mental hurdle of not feeling like I could get out and about.”

There are physical differences however, since she was in her twenties. “The body definitely takes a bigger hit. Silly things – like my hips hurt at the end of a day’s hiking when they never used to, and my back gets a bit grumpy.“ 

Mentally, she feels more deeply connected to nature. “When I was younger I really liked being in nature, but I didn’t quite understand how powerful it was for me. Now I need to be in nature for my wellbeing. It totally grounds me, and I didn’t have that before. These days I’m listening, watching and being present in what I’m doing. I’m feeling the moment and am in touch with all of it rather than just going for a burn through the bush. I wish I’d had more of this when I was younger, but I’m glad I’ve got it now.”

Jill McCaw, from Christchurch, was also a ranger guide and she enjoyed the tramping that came with it. This all stopped when gliding took over. “It became everything for a while,” she says. “It still is a big part of my life. I married a glider pilot, and now my children are glider pilots.”

Although she has hardly flown in years, McCaw is still active in the gliding world. “With the family so involved, it’s my social life and long-term friendship group. As the children got older I was looking to get back into gliding, but at the same time some friends invited me on a tramp to Lake Daniells.”  

After 30 years she found it hard work. “But it struck a chord and I remembered how much I liked it,” she says. “I realised how much I enjoy going to places you can’t get to by road. The group had a great time together, and we just went from there. We’ve become a kind of mini tramping club.”

However, there weren’t enough weekends to do both tramping and gliding. “I am quite happy with tramping for the time being,” she says. “That was nine years ago and I’m still going, wondering why I let it go for so long.”

After 15 years away from tramping, Angela Hope from Wellington is back out there too, tackling bigger adventures than ever before. “My parents met through a tramping club in the 60s, so I spent my childhood and time at college and university really enjoying tramping,” she says. “But I started working, had three children, lived overseas and spent time as a working single mum. Trips tailed off, particularly overnight or multi-day ones.

“Up until a few years ago, I’d spent my time and money on the children, supporting their sports and hobbies. They’re independent young adults now, so I wanted to do something for myself.” 

Hope discovered Meetup tramping groups through mutual friends and was hooked. “I met an amazing, supportive group of people,” she says. “There was a wide range of ages and backgrounds and I absolutely loved it; I found my people. I was getting back into tramping and they bent over backwards to welcome me, even though I wasn’t that fast.”

Hope does more adventurous tramping now than ever before. “Friends enjoy off-track bush bashing and getting into the backcountry. I’ve had to be sensible in terms of gear, and have started doing regular strength training to maintain fitness. I want to get maximum enjoyment out of it..”

To refresh her skills, Hope did bushcraft and specialised outdoor first aid training courses. “Things have changed since I tramped as a young adult, especially around river crossing and hypothermia.”

She has met several people who, like her, are coming back to tramping after family commitments. “I have a lovely network of friends in a similar position. Being older comes with responsibility, which comes with stress. Tramping is an amazing way to rebalance and put things into perspective. It’s a huge part of my life.”

Georgina Hout, from North Canterbury, did a little tramping in her youth, but it was doing the Routeburn and Kepler tracks a couple of years ago that attracted her back after a big break. 

“Having children and a partner who didn’t share the hobby meant I didn’t do a lot,” Hout says. “I didn’t have the confidence to go on my own. I wish I’d kept it up and been involved in clubs.”

“Doing the Routeburn and the Kepler was a sense of reclaiming who I am and what I want. Rebuilding my confidence and deciding how I want to live my life.”

Hout, now 68, says tramping is her happy place. “It reinvigorates me. Winter comes, or I have an accident and I go backwards, but I’m still out there trying.”