Wilderness caught up with the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council to learn more about its new trip planning app, Plan My Walk, and to understand how Wilderness readers can be the app’s champions.
Planning a trip should be part of the fun of getting outdoors, and Plan My Walk was developed by the NZ Mountain Safety Council (MSC) to inspire quality trip planning.
The evidence is clear: a well-planned trip not only makes time outdoors more enjoyable but also improves the chances of making it home safely, so it can all be done again and again.
Wilderness readers have a part to play here too as people will look to you for inspiration, guidance and advice. Readers will be amongst the first to know about Plan My Walk and have a unique opportunity as an ‘early adopter’ to become a champion for effective and efficient trip planning.
New Zealand’s tramping culture is unique, it’s a special community, from chatting to strangers in a hut, exchanging notes on track conditions, sharing experiences online or in stories, and its unique terminology. This culture sits at the heart of Plan My Walk. The MSC says it’s a key reason for building the track review feature; so insights can be shared and knowledgeable advice provided to others.
Safety first with Plan My Walk, which brings all aspects of trip planning into one convenient pp. Photo: Caleb Smith
MSC encourages sharing of knowledge and experiences with others and trusts that a special community will develop around Plan My Walk. The app currently allows users to share how they found a track from a difficulty perspective, as well as noting potential hazards, tips, advice and more up-to-date details such as track conditions. It is planned to include the ability to add photos in this section shortly.
Plan My Walk comes from a place of encouraging adventure, improving safety and influencing positive behaviours. And, although there are other digital tools or information sources available that provide specific parts of the planning phase, there is nothing else that does it all.
So, have a look around and find your favourite tracks, get out there and share your knowledge with others!
This story is the third in a four-part series for Wilderness. Read part one and two.
Have a question about Plan My Walk? Email your questions to MSC (info@mountainsafety.org.nz) and wait until the final article in this series for them to be answered. Each question submitted will go in the draw to win a $50 prezzy card.
Download the app, Plan My Walk, from your preferred app store, or check it out online at www.planmywalk.nz. Select a track, enter your trip dates and find alerts, an interactive gear list, weather forecast and much more. Create a trip plan, assign an emergency contact, share it and you’re ready to go!