Strips of permolat now mark the way to many West Coast huts and give the group its name. Photo: Victoria Bruce

Cutting a new path

Features, Wild People

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Victoria Bruce

Victoria is a keen tramper, journalist and author of the award-winning book Adventures with Emilie.

By Victoria Bruce

Andrew Buglass is the driving force behind Permolat, a volunteer collective that has preserved huts and bivvies and tended to overgrown tracks on the West Coast for the past two decades.

Andrew Buglass was 15 when he and three mates headed up the Styx River in search of adventure. Buglass had borrowed some boots and carried a heavy pack, and just as his resolve was crumbling the smell of woodsmoke filled the air and Grassy Flat Hut emerged from the gloom. Stumbling inside, the exhausted boys […]

About the author

Victoria Bruce

Victoria is a keen tramper and author of the award-winning book Adventures with Emilie. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Queensland, has written for news agencies at home and abroad, and has held communications advisor roles within the public and private sector. These days she’s freelancing, writing books and spending lots of time outdoors with her daughter Emilie, exploring the rough and rugged mountains of the South Island’s West Coast and beyond.