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View of the Park Pass camp from the slopes above. Photo: Ray Salisbury

High Fives in Aspiring

Features, Off the Beaten Track

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Ray is an author and photographer living in Nelson, and a longtime contributor to Wilderness.

By Ray Salisbury

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May 2025

View more by author

Ray is an author and photographer living in Nelson, and a longtime contributor to Wilderness.

By Ray Salisbury

The classic Five Passes circuit has it all: remote terrain, challenging climbs, satisfying mountain views and the chance to overnight in a spacious rock biv.

Beaten paths are for beaten people… but they are useful launching pads for adventures into the wilderness. Beginning on the famous Routeburn Track in Mt Aspiring National Park, we planned to detour off the tourist trail into places less travelled. Seven trampers. Six days. Five passes – that was our mission. Our 80km tramp – […]

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May 2025

About the author

Ray Salisbury

Ray Salisbury is an author and photographer living in Nelson with his wife and cat. He studied design and photography and has been contributing to Wilderness since 1997. His books include Tableland: The history behind Mt Arthur and EPIC: Adventures across Aotearoa. Ray began tramping with a camera more than 50 years ago and has visited over 500 backcountry huts.

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Features, Photo competition

Photo competition

2025 Wilderness Outdoor Photographer of the Year

Features, Off the Beaten Track

Features

Echoes of the wild

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The 2026 Wilderness Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition

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