A wrap of the biggest stories and best writing about the outdoors from New Zealand and around the world.

This remarkable footage was taken by British tramper Harry Shimmin while on a hiking trip to Kyrgyzstan.

The 27-year-old was on a 10-day tramp with a hiking group when he heard a crack behind him and started recording as the ice started dropping.

He was able to keep recording until the last possible moment because there was a shelter right next to him, though he admits it would have been far safer to have ducked behind the rock sooner.

“I’m very aware that I took a big risk,” he told news.com.au. “I felt in control, but regardless, when the snow started coming over and it got dark/harder to breath, I was bricking it and thought I might die.

“Initially, I was focusing on trying to get a good video. I wasn’t really expecting it to get as close as it did, but when it came over the first hill I knew that there was nowhere to run because I was on the edge of a cliff, and that moving from where I was would be more dangerous.”

Road to Ōtaki Forks at least two years away

And that’s if the powers that be decide that’s the way to go. Kāpiti District Council’s Glen O’Connor has told Stuff that the area is still being assessed before a road design can be put forward.

In the meantime, trampers will need to walk from Blue Bluff to the popular access point to Tararua Forest Park. That in itself is a great achievement, as a lot of work has gone into preparing a safe track across two large slips along Ōtaki Gorge Rd.

The road was originally closed after a slip in September 2020. Then, just before a track was about to open in December the following year, another slip fell across the road.

From this month, trampers will be able to make their way across both slips to once again enjoy this access point in the Tararuas.

Paparoa Track’s already up to fourth

It might be new, but the first Great Walk to be added to the list in 27 years is already the fourth most popular.

The West Coast-based Paparoa Track, which goes from Blackball to Punakaiki, encompasses the mining heritage of the region as well as its wild and remote mountain terrain.

It’s an area known for adverse weather, as this New Zealand Herald reporter discovered on his own walk along the Great Walk and from the people he met. 

Does geotagging ruin our most beautiful spots?

That’s a key question asked in this article, as the writer and his wife are asked not to give their location away on Instagram posts when walking in Washington state.

According to the article, it’s best practise for ‘hiking influencers’ to be vague about where they are, so as not to create a flood of followers heading to the exact same spot for a selfie.

However, the writer queries whether this ‘rule’ leads to exclusivity in nature, saving the best spots for an entitled few.

Time to get Te Araroa Trail walkers off the highway

That’s the view of Te Araroa Whanganui Trust member Brian Doughty, who says one bridge could cut out most of a stretch of road between Whanganui and Turakina.

The bridge would go over the Wangaehu River and reduce road walking by 30km, says Brian. But there would also need to be negotiations with landowners to allow such a plan to go ahead.

Around 2000 people walk the full Te Araroa Trail every year, but it’s thought that up to half a million people walk parts of it (even if they’re not aware of that fact). And numbers are expected to soar in the coming years, as those who were unable to walk it during the pandemic put their postponed plans into action. Read more at New Zealand Herald.