Finally, albeit a couple of weeks late, we have got you the long-awaited May magazine. I hope it’s been worth the wait – I certainly think so.

I thank you for your patience and, more importantly, for your support. I know everyone has had a tough ride during the Alert Level 4 Lockdown. And that tough ride hasn’t ended just because we’ve into level 3 – life as we know it has not come rushing back and nor will it for some time to come. But through the stress of the lockdown, the uncertainty over jobs, family and health, many readers offered their support and kind words of encouragement to us. Normally, this magazine is put together by a team of six. This month, it felt like a team of thousands.

That’s why I thank you – your continued support has proven to me that Wilderness, already 28-years old, has another 28 and more years ahead of it. And now, we hope to help you enjoy being at home, in New Zealand more than ever.

It starts this issue with the inaugural Wilderness 100 – the essential trips, huts and peaks you need to add to your bucket list. Consider it a starting point for exploring your country.

We’ll carry on in this vein, as we have since the first issue of Wilderness was published in 1991, showing you how you can best holiday in New Zealand – whether that means tramping to a hut, pitching your tent for a summer at a DOC campground or joining a guided trip and seeing the country in a way that may never have occurred to you.

We’ll continue to review outdoor gear so you can make an informed choice about buying the best kit for your adventures.

Our offer to you is a pathway to discovery, a chance to – as our tagline says – ‘see more, do more, live more’.

Many New Zealand businesses will be asking you for your support in the coming months. And it’s vital we find ways to support each other. As far as the outdoor community is concerned, that means buying our outdoor gear and services from New Zealand-based retailers and businesses, rather than overseas-based websites. And yes, it means subscribing to Wilderness.

The magazine is now more dependent on subscribers than ever before, and we don’t see that changing in a hurry, perhaps ever. The future for Wilderness is its subscribers – really, it always has been – you, your family and friends. So, if you haven’t already, please consider subscribing. If you’re already a subscriber, please consider gifting a subscription to someone else at an appropriate time.

Wilderness is an important part of the outdoor scene in New Zealand, but we’re just one cog – there are many companies and government agencies involved that support outdoor activities and access. Some, like DOC, provide the huts and tracks we use to get outside. Some, like Bivouac and Macpac, have been with Wilderness since its beginnings, and have provided technical expertise and invaluable sponsorship of climbers, trampers and expeditions. Others are the vital elements that keep us all connected to the beauty of this country’s wilderness.

Being outdoors, along the trails and rivers, among the mountains and forests is what keeps us all grounded in New Zealand. Wilderness is about not going anywhere else.