Be involved
Don’t just get out there, get involved A couple of years ago the wording on the reverse of DOC’s business cards were changed. Now, blazoned across the back are the...
Mick Abbott
How not to cross a river
The best skill isn’t how to cross a river, it’s knowing when not to cross Looking at large rivers is mesmerising. The constantly-changing surface pattern occasionally interrupted by a breaking...
Time for a brew
Homemade twig cookers bring us closer to nature in a way that hi-tech cooking systems just can’t imitate These days cookers are pretty amazing pieces of technology. There’s a whole...
Exploration to be remembered
Antarctica tests all who go there, whether South Pole adventurers or scientists on the verge of new discoveries Finally our journey stops. The roar of the engines and the metal...
Preconceived ideas
Just because a track is famous doesn’t mean it’s not a wilderness experience anymore Somehow, it seems, we build up preconceived ideas about certain tracks that just aren’t for us....
Preservation
It’s ridiculously easy getting lost in the New Zealand bush and equally difficult to be found It’s school camp season and this time I got to play being lost in...
Contradictions abound in Denniston and Milford proposals
New Zealand’s economy and future energy demands are inextricably linked to the Great Outdoors Travel up the South Island’s West Coast and you’ll come across plenty of stretches of rugged...
Boredwalks
Boardwalks and viewing platforms conform to a standard that make outdoor experiences predictable and dull The Hump Ridge is a special place, and unique in many ways. It’s where southern...
Made of New Zealand
Public conservation lands can be unique incubators for innovation Almost every Kiwi knows that Bill Hamilton invented the jet boat engine and how this farmer turned engineer living on a...
Sensing the wild
Wilderness trips are about more than what is seen; they are about what is sensed, absorbed and assimilated Up along the Ngamoko Track, just above the shores of Lake Waikaremoana...
Building boardwalks from the forest
Native timber sourced from damaged Christchurch houses could be used to build huts and other facilities in the backcountry We’ve just moved into a house built in the 1930’s, tucked...
Into the unknown
Older maps had blank areas where no one had been. Today, Google Earth will ‘take’ us there, but is this an advantage? One of my favourite maps of this country...
The wild west
The Fiordland monorail requires unacceptable permanent damage to a World Heritage Area, says Mick Abbott Minister for Conservation, Nick Smith, is to be congratulated for his decision to decline an...
Act on what you know
On a trip to Fiordland, Mick Abbott realises that to know our wildest places you have to do more than simply walk in them Monday. The phone rings and Kennedy...
The technology of ‘pure’ wilderness
Are mobile phones any more of an intrusion on a backcountry experience than a mountain radio, GPS or personal locator beacon? I had been driving taxis in Sydney for too long. Eighteen...
Into the wild
Wilderness is an idea that has gone through many different versions. To begin with, wilderness was a heathen place, out on the other side. It was godless and full of...
Nature is the best teacher
Mick Abbott discovers that when life and nature intertwine, the result is even more beautiful than the sum of its parts It was our love of the hills...
'Bloody DOC'?
It’s no good blaming the ills of the backcountry on one cash-strapped department, says Mick Abbott This Easter I was in Top Hope Hut, in the Lake Sumner area, enjoying...
The new wild
Modern wilderness areas are not just hidden away in the backcountry – they’re being made every day by volunteers and environmentalists, writes Mick Abbott Take the ferry from Auckland Wharf...
No. 11 - Experience Fiordland
We’ve seen it many times – that amazing image of a pristine view that just seems to scream: “Come here!” Fiordland is spoilt for such views, and because of this,...
No. 10 - Experience Stewart Island
The very last time in the bush with my dad was on Rakiura Stewart Island where we walked through the lush forest that surrounds Oban: dys of kaka hopping about...
A river rules my life
On a week-long rafting trip, Mick Abbott comes to view rivers in an entirely different light Big rivers are my adversary. I’ve walked for 30km on the true left of...