Wilderness is proud to announce the inaugural Shaun Barnett Memorial Scholarship as a tribute to leading tramping author and photographer Shaun Barnett (1968–2024). Open to aspiring photojournalists of all ages, the annual scholarship offers up to $1000 to the successful applicant in support of their backcountry adventures and creative development.

The scholarship is open to all Wilderness subscribers and their immediate family members living in the same household (all ages can apply). There can be only one application per subscriber number. See the full details and selection criteria here.

At Wilderness, we want to inspire others to get into the outdoors. We also want to encourage people to share their experiences through writing and photography. This was Shaun’s passion, and we recognise the substantial contribution he made to Wilderness and the country’s tramping scene.

The goal of the scholarship is to help foster those who want to follow in Shaun’s footsteps, tread lightly on the environment, explore our wild places and inspire others with a fresh, creative lens. 

Forest and Bird challenges kids to swap screen time for green time

Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) is inviting New Zealanders of all ages to embrace the outdoors with its Summer Adventure Challenges, running from 8 December 2025 to 1 February 2026.

The initiative encourages participants to swap screen time for green time through five fun, easy-to-do challenges that encourage families, young people, and nature lovers to connect with te taiao the natural world.

“Summer is the perfect time to reconnect with the outdoors,” says Forest & Bird’s Lily Duval. “These challenges are about making nature part of everyday life, whether you’re in the city, at the beach, or in your own backyard.”

Five nature-based challenges will be delivered via email and promoted on social media over the summer holidays. Challenges are accessible anywhere, open to everyone and easy to take part in.

There are prizes to be won – each challenge offers exciting rewards for participants. All entries go in the draw to win the grand prizes, one of which is an overnight trip in New Zealand for a family of four, courtesy of Intrepid Travel. Get more info from Forest and Bird.

South Korean man jailed following DOC undercover gecko-smuggling sting

A South Korean man who expected to be paid a few thousand dollars for smuggling rare geckos out of the country has instead been jailed for 14 months.

Gunak Lee was caught in a sting in October with an undercover DOC officer at an Auckland hotel.

“Wildlife doesn’t have brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers to call the police if something happens,” DOC prosecutor Mike Bodie said. He said the transaction was clearly part of a planned international smuggling operation.

In an interview, Lee said his flights and hotel were paid for by a third party he had not met. Lee was expecting to be paid between NZ$3,600 and $4,800 to act as the gecko courier. Lee claimed he was unaware it was illegal to buy or possess wildlife in New Zealand.

Judge David McNaughton said he accepted Lee was not the principal offender. “Whoever that person was, he arranged all of this at a distance,” he told Lee. Read more from RNZ.

DOC reprimands Tongariro Alpine Crossing shuttle operators for taking hikers in dangerous weather

Rogue operators accused of ignoring bad weather advisories and delivering trampers to the Tongariro Crossing in potentially dangerous conditions have received a sharp warning from DOC.

The government department emailed shuttle drivers, threatening to remove their permissions if they fail to comply with the rules. Since the recent fires in the Central Plateau, only shuttle operators have been allowed to access the crossing on the condition that they cancel all bookings when bad weather advisories are in place.

DOC operations manager for Tongariro Libby O’Brien told NZ Herald that they will be cracking down on operators who put guests at risk. O’Brien said, “We will consider the appropriate action against the operators who ignore the advisory. I have made it very clear to our transport operators today that we take these breaches seriously, and we will look to cancel concessions in the future when operators knowingly break the rules.”

Ruapehu Scenic Shuttles posted to Facebook saying it was “absolutely disgusted” that some shuttle companies had ignored the terms of their DOC concessions. Read more from NZ Herald. 

Meet the Rotorua family who have been on a 4-year camping trip

The Leopard family decided to take time out to go on a 15-month camping trip in 2021. But the allure of life on the road was such they’re still going strong, travelling the country towing an off-grid caravan.

Mike and Sophie Leopard and their three children, Jade, 13, Riley, 12, and Toby, 10​, have always loved camping, but each trip just felt too short. So, they decided to get set up for an extended trip. They saved hard and invested in a large, off-grid caravan.

“Everyone’s got their own bed. It’s pretty well designed and thought out to make it work for the five of us to be in here, especially when the weather’s not so great outside,” Mike Leopard says.

While they’re loving life on the road, there are inevitable limitations, like managing power in the caravan and conserving water, he says. “Things like managing the power in the caravan in the winter can be pretty challenging.

Some of the family’s most magical moments so far have been in down south in the deep of winter, he says. Read more from RNZ.

Auckland University group believes this season best in five decades for Kākāpō breeding

The summer season is expected to bring a record number of Kākāpō chicks, according to conservation scientists.

Auckland University’s Kākāpō Recovery Group believes breeding-age females may lay eggs, making it the most successful season in nearly five decades.

A successful breeding season depended on both the amount of fruit on rimu trees and all female parrots being in good breeding condition, something that was not common.

Professor Beggs said the Kākāpō was one of the few critically endangered species to make a genuine recovery and the group now hoped for chicks from all 84 breeding-age females.

This would significantly boost the population of the flightless native parrot, which currently sat at 237 birds. The last big breeding season was in 2022, when 57 chicks fledged.

Mating was expected to take place about Christmas and January. The eggs would then be laid in February and March, hatching a month later.

About next September and October, the chicks should be independent and would be officially added to the parrot’s population. Read more from RNZ.