It goes by many names: hiking, rambling, backpacking, hillwalking, trekking. Only in New Zealand is walking in nature known as tramping. 

Overseas, an overnighter usually means carrying a tent, or perhaps you might sleep in a refugio or a bothy. Here we have huts, bivvies and tent shelters – more than 900 in all – scattered about the country. They provide sanctuary for no other reason than so anyone can enjoy a night in the wilderness. They keep us dry in a storm, and they save our backs from the added weight of a tent. Ask Nathan Longhurst: thanks to huts within easy reach of summits, he did not have to lug a tent while climbing 100 peaks in one summer. 

But what’s a pastime without a community to share it with? Tramping began in 1919 with the formation of Tararua Tramping Club, the first such club in the country. Dozens of others followed. It carries on today with the likes of the Backcountry Trust, the Old Ghost Road and Hump Ridge Track, whose volunteers ensure outdoor recreation opportunities in the country’s wild places will be guaranteed for future generations.

These are just a few of the things that make tramping in Aotearoa uniquely Kiwi. There are many more. If you turn to our feature, ‘The A to Z of tramping in New Zealand’ you will find a celebration of the unique curiosities, challenges, peaks, tracks, huts, communities, lexicon and more that make tramping an endlessly interesting, beautiful and glorious endeavour.