The new Paparoa Track has revitalised the two West Coast towns it connects. Photo: Neil Silverwood

More than a track

Great Walks

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

By Kathy Ombler

The Paparoa Great Walk has been beset by storms and slips, however, at the official track opening, Kathy Ombler discovered how the challenging project has also pulled a community together

Even before it opened, the Paparoa Track had star billing as New Zealand’s only purpose-built, dual-use Great Walk: for walking and mountain biking. It’s set in a special landscape; traversing a mountain range of outstanding karst geology, river canyons and dense rainforests, much of it never before penetrated by track. The 55km trail crosses Paparoa […]

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.