First family forays onto tussock tops
Jo Stilwell heads into the hills on the three day tops trip with her two daughters It finally happened; the kids grew up. As active trampers David and I had...
Jo Stilwell
It's more fun with kids
Family Tramping Tips, Wild Families
Taking the family into the hills – even toddlers – is possible with the right know-how Heading into the outdoors with your children might seem a formidable proposition, but it...
Making it comfortable, safe and easy
The rules for children’s gear are similar to adults – you want to maximise comfort and safety A good-fitting pack This is essential and sometimes hard to find for younger...
Planning your next family walk
Family Tramping Tips, Wild Families, Free Articles
Great Walks, roadside ambles, overnight or multi-day? How do you choose the right walk for your next (or maybe, first) family tramp? These five questions should help you decide 1. How...
Tramping through the ages
Advice for parents with children of all ages on how to cope with toilet training, teenage blushes and how to keep the kids coming back for more. Maybe you are...
Taking kids means taking longer
Family Tramping Tips, Wild Families
Undertaking family trips of more than a weekend is often said to be too tough for children. But with good planning and time on hand, even the most difficult multi-day...
The not-so-reluctant tramper
Family Tramping Tips, School Holidays, Wild Families
Kids can find tramping difficult, but with patience and perseverance they will learn valuable lessons they can apply to the world outside the hills A glorious thing happened the other...
The joy of the familiar
Children make even the most seemingly mundane outdoor trips an absolute joy I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that before I had children I was set in my ways about...
No room for cry babies
When it comes to getting enough sleep in a front country hut, you really have to just hope for the best I like nothing more than to wrap myself in...
The food has to be good
Jo Stilwell asks her kids – and those of her friends – to share what they like most, and least, about tramping. Parents take note… We are very good friends...
Teenagers doing it for themselves
The young tramper’s rite of passage is their first trip sans parents, writes Jo Stilwell I didn’t grow up in a tramping family but was very fortunate to live in...
Giving your kids the boot
Buying expensive tramping boots for your children can be a big ask, but, as Jo Stilwell discovers, good boots can go a long way I remember the exact incident...
Hunter’s bivvy hideaway
Bob’s Camp Biv, Mt Thomas Conservation Area With a forecast of torrential rain on the West Coast I needed somewhere east of the Divide, relatively sheltered from the predicted gale-force...
No. 9 - Go bush-bashing
Bush-bashing might not be everyone’s idea of a good time in the hills, but if you’re willing to give it a go, a whole world of new opportunities will be...
Ten Myths of Family Tramping Debunked
Family Tramping Tips, School Holidays, Wild Families
Wilderness debunks some common misconceptions about tramping with your young - and old - children
How to raise adventurous girls
Don’t be over-protective – let them make decisions and take risks Alice, our 19 year-old daughter, has recently joined both her university tramping club and the New Zealand Alpine Club....
Keeping the winter fires burning
A winter circuit of the Toaroha Range offers a new take on a West Coast classic and provides a trip that will live in the memory, writes Jo Stilwell As we...
An Unknown highlight
High above the Dart River, among the ranges of Mt Aspiring National Park, sits an alpine lake with an unrivalled sense of majesty and grandeur. While Lake Unknown might live...
Lightweight tramper Jo Stilwell
PackThe Osprey Exos 48 is my go-to tramping pack. It’s light enough to use as a day pack but will, at a push, take enough gear for 10 days. Spare...
A weight obsession and it's not my body
Later this year I will celebrate my 50th birthday. I’ve never really worried about weight, but recently I have become a weight fanatic, obsessed with every gram. I’m not referring...
The ultimate guide to tramping with your kids
The baby years When my husband David and I started tramping with our first baby, Alice, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. We had been tramping with...
Review: MSR Windburner Personal Stove System
MSR Windburner Personal Stove System $300Used by: Quick-cooking trips and family featureswriter Jo StilwellUsed for: Three years I absolutely love this cooker, though I know it won’t suit everybody and...
Kids in lockdown
Covid-19, Web exclusive, Wild Families
Jo Stilwell finds out how the kids are coping with lockdown Back in January 2015, I surveyed my children and those of my friends about their attitudes to tramping. I...
A winter trip for when the backcountry reopens
Covid-19, Web exclusive, Wild Trips
Brewster Hut in Mt Aspiring National Park is one of New Zealand’s better-known huts. Sitting high above Haast Pass on the Main Divide, it is almost always booked out in...
Lessons in home-cooking dehydrated food
My mother gave me a dehydrator nearly 30 years ago. At the time, I played around with it sporadically, mainly dehydrating fruit and vegetables, but didn’t really get into dehydrating...
Review: Therm-a-Rest Women’s NeoAir Xlite
Therm-a-Rest Women’s NeoAir Xlite $429.99Used by: Fussy mattress user Jo StilwellUsed for: Two years Because most of my nights in the hills are spent in a tent, I’m very fussy...
Review: Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight Pillow
Specs: $54.99, 60gUsed by: Gram-counting trips and features writer Jo StilwellUsed for: Two months I never thought I’d take a pillow tramping but I was recently gifted this one by...
An Ella’va tramp
“I think you better give me the tent”, suggests Margaret. “You resent carrying it.” Oh no, had I made it that obvious? I suppose I did mention more than once...
Review: Rab Sawtooth pants
Rab Sawtooth pants Specs: $229, 415g (m) / 365g (w)Used by: Features and trips writer Jo ‘warm legs’ StilwellUsed for: Three years In the past few years I’ve morphed into...
Review: Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor Compact Plus sleeping bag liner
Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor Compact Plus sleeping bag liner Details: $99.99, 263gUsed by: Trips and family-features writer Jo ‘snuggles’ StilwellUsed for: 12 months This is one of my newer...