It’s easy to take kids on the Great Walks, but be flexible and set achievable goals. Photo: Meg Drive

Make the Great Walks work for your family

Great Walks

A long-time Wilderness contributor and freelance author, Kathy writes about outdoor recreation, natural history and conservation.

By Kathy Ombler

Great Walks can be an ideal introduction to family tramping, but make them work for you. Kathy Ombler speaks from experience.

Family tramping trips can be fun, and fraught. Sure, they are all about bonding and building resilience and introducing children to the country’s beautiful backcountry. But children also get tired, they get blisters, and bee stings. It’s worth thinking about what you really want to achieve on a trip. And to make sure your child’s […]

About the author

Kathy Ombler

Freelance author Kathy Ombler mostly writes about outdoor recreation, natural history and conservation, and has contributed to Wilderness for many years. She has also written and edited for other publications and websites, most recently Federated Mountain Club’s Backcountry, Forest & Bird, and the Backcountry Trust. Books she has authored include Where to Watch Birds in New Zealand, Walking Wellington and New Zealand National Parks and Other Wild Places. She is currently a trustee for Wellington’s Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust.