Changes through the ages
Ricky French talks to some tramping legends to find out how times have changed and why the lure of the hills remains even as we become less able to explore...
Ricky French
Hidden huts of the Orongorongos
A quirk of history has seen dozens of private huts built in the Orongorongo Valley in Rimutaka Forest Park. Ricky French examines what will happen when occupancy licences expire in...
Family tramping - it doesn’t have to be perfect
Life-changing moments happen when kids go tramping, writes Ricky French There are times in your life when being a parent seems like you’re role-playing scenes from Back to the Future....
Fast deals and bankrupt trampers
Which hut would be Mayfair and which would be Old Kent Road? Ricky French plays the inaugural game of Tararua Tramping Monopoly and it’s a true nail biter To casual observers...
Life list: 12 things every tramper must do
You can’t really call yourself a tramper unless you’ve ticked all these off. 1. Do that last big tramp NOW Then do it again. There is a tendency to cop...
Catching the sunrise
Waipawa Saddle Circuit, Ruahine Forest Park / Moderate For the North Island tramper seeking a weekend experience that encompasses all the necessary staples, the Ruahines is your range. Steep, crumbling...
Three tramps, seven days
When you’ve got a spare week up your sleeve how do you spend it? If you’re Ricky French you cram three diverse tramps into seven madcap days We tend to...
Last week was better
Murphy’s Law: after the driest summer on record, Ricky French gets hit by a West Coast deluge and is forced to make a life and death decision. It had been...
Ladders! Bridges! Fires!
Tramping with kids is more exciting than you might think, as Ricky French discovers when he takes three children around Egmont National Park’s Pouakai Circuit On paper, it looked like...
No. 2 - Traverse an entire range
Ricky French explains how to traverse a range is to have lived Call it the long axis to glory. A traverse of an entire range is more than just a...
Learning that can’t be done in school
Wild Comment, Wild Families, Wild People
What does it take to remove your kids from school for a year and tramp the world? Ricky French meets a couple who have done just that For those who...
The first step is the hardest
Family Tramping Tips, Wild Families
Treat tramping as a game and you’ll have no trouble getting young children to join you on your weekend ‘holiday’ to a hut It’s often said that every journey begins...
Tramping mistakes to avoid
Make one of these booboos and someone might mutter ‘amateur’ under their breath, but in all honesty, who hasn’t made one of these classic tramping mistakes? We all think we’re...
Camping, but without the tent
Extended family camping holidays at a hut are a good way to discover hidden secrets often missed by those passing through In a previous column I spoke about the concept...
Sneakers will do
You don’t need to kit the kids out in the latest wonder-gear for them to enjoy the outdoors If you’re a lover of the outdoors, you can’t beat that feeling...
Your tramping horoscope
What’s in store for you over the next year? Ricky French looks to the stars to tell your tramping future Aries ~ March 21 – April 19 It used to...
Pack your bag, we’re leaving
When it comes to organising a family tramp, sometimes the dictatorial route is the way to go They say the best laid plans can come unstuck. But for plans to...
C’mon baby light my fire
Finding that special someone to share your tramping adventures with is super easy with the Firelighters dating app. Tramping can bring people together in the most unexpected ways. Generally, though,...
Winter tramps with kids
Winter offers a fridge to keep cheesecake and other treats cool As we hurtle onwards into the frigid depths of another New Zealand winter, the mere thought of tramping provokes...
Along the knife-edge
Of the few knife-edge ridges in Tararua Forest Park, the Broken Axe Pinnacles are the most gripping. For a moment, I thought we’d come to the wrong forest park. The...
Welcome to your first trip
School Holidays, Wild Families
A broken car and a five-hour nighttime Tararua trip begin a lifetime of tramping for one seven-year-old. It wasn’t the best text message to receive a couple of hours out...
Discombobulated in Kahurangi
Features, Wild navigation, Missing person
Could there be a better hut in the country than Asbestos Cottage in which to sit around an open fire in a manuka armchair strung with potato sacks, unfurl a...
Five reasons the Holdsworth-Jumbo circuit is the best family tramp
Features, Wild Families, Wild Trips
1. Accessibility The Holdsworth Road end is a little over 90-minutes from Wellington, with ample parking and a large campground. It’s possible to drive in after work on a Friday...
The best family tramp
Features, Wild Families, Wild Trips, Wild winter
Given the forecast, it seemed incredible that we would be standing on the top of Mt Holdsworth in the Tararua Ranges, about to step off and venture north across the...
German couple mistake SH1 for Te Araroa Trail
A round-up of today’s outdoor news, including the German couple who walked SH1 instead of the TA, and New Zealand’s favourite hut. ‘Tier Two’ tourism to transform tramping A new...
The rise and rise of the Tararuas
There are certain sounds you expect to hear when approaching Waitewaewae Hut in Tararua Forest Park. The steady rush of the Otaki River, for example. And certain sounds you don’t,...
Your 2020 tramping horoscope
What does your tramping year have in store for you? Ricky French consulted the stars to find out AriesYou’re one of life’s great plodders. You take perverse pleasure in holding the group...
Toilet paper shortage sparks chaos in bush
Covid-19, Walkshorts, Web exclusive
A round up of news from the wild Toilet paper shortage sparks chaos in bush The national shortage of toilet paper has led to chaotic scenes on tramping tracks and...
Message in a barrel
We found the plastic barrel buried in the long grass near Sayer Hut. It was one of those 55 gallon drums (designed for shipping liquid food products) you see everywhere:...