DOC’s operations manager at Aoraki-Mt Cook Sally Jones, told Morning Report, said at this stage the parking fee was working and $214,000 in a month had been a “great result”.

Jones said free parking was still available in the area on Hooker Valley Rd if people still want to choose to park somewhere unpaid. “We anticipated that it may become more of an issue with the introduction of the paid parking pilot, so we brought in more staff who are trained on traffic management to manage that road throughout the day.”

International visitors and locals alike did not seem to be phased by the charge, Jones claimed. “In fact, some have asked us if that was all. I think they accept the fact that paying to reinvest in a site like a national park seems reasonable.” Read more from RNZ.

Two hikers saved from England’s highest peak, then skipped out on their hotel bill

Late last month, two young hikers were attempting to climb England’s tallest peak when they got lost in treacherous winter conditions. The Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team responded, beginning a 7-hour operation that ended with the rescue team leaving the hikers at the Wasdale Head Inn, where the Inn provided a 35% discount to support the duo.

Then the hikers skipped out on their bill.

In a statement, the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team wrote, “The two had already agreed to pay, but their money was in their tent somewhere high on the fell near Green Gable. Disappointingly, in the morning they offered no thanks for the efforts of the hotel, asked for further reductions to the cost, pushed hard for a breakfast and asked if they could arrange transport to get them out of the valley.”

Rescuers have been unable to make contact with the hikers via the phone number they provided, making it impossible for them to seek out payment for the inn and recover two headlamps borrowed during the descent back to the trailhead.

The Wasdale Mountain Rescue wrote a social media post, which quickly went viral. While the hikers have yet to connect with the rescuers, the post’s popularity quickly gained traction across social media and resulted in more than £5,000 (NZD 11,500) donations to the rescue department. Read more from Backpacker.

Entries Open For 2026 NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival

Adventure filmmakers and writers are once again invited to submit their work to the annual NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival, with entries now open for both the film and book competitions. The 24th edition of this celebrated seven-day event will take place in Wānaka from 19–23 June, followed by two nights in Queenstown on 25–26 June. The Online Film Festival will then screen to audiences across New Zealand and Australia until the end of July.

A total of $9500 in prize money will be awarded across categories, with the Grand Prize–winning film and Best NZ-Made Film each eligible for $2500, and the Nankervis/Bamford Award for Book of the Year, taking home $2000. The full 2026 programme, made up of competition finalists and category winners, will be announced in May.

Festival Director Whitney Oliver says the opening of entries is always a highlight in the annual calendar. “There is always great anticipation when the competitions open each year. Adventures are evolving in new and exciting ways, and so are the ways these stories are shared through films and books. This year’s programme is bound to raise the bar once again.Read more from Scoop.

Here’s why NZ hikers won’t don trousers

Even in the dead of winter, New Zealanders refuse to wear trousers to hike – and there’s practical and historical reasons as to why. Go anywhere in the world, no matter the trail, and New Zealanders can be seen ploughing through all kinds of abominable conditions in their stubbies.

Since 1996, Eric Van Hamsfeld has tramped all over the South Island, enduring thick clouds of rain and sandflies. Like many Kiwi trampers, Eric balks at the idea of wearing long pants. ”We’re all brought up with shorts in this country,” he says. “I’ll wear shorts well into winter, and only when it gets really cold will I reluctantly put on trousers.” 

Ben Kepes, managing director of Cactus Outdoor, says he wears shorts every day. “It’s a central part of who we are. I think the feeling of freedom – of your legs being able to move and climb, unencumbered by stuff and free from wet fabric sticking to your legs – is just a great feeling.” 

It makes sense to wear shorts in New Zealand’s outdoors. Our wilderness is a critter-free Eden. And the Pacific climate is also mild but rainy, with a tempestuous high country that often sees four seasons in a day. If you go tramping, it’s almost certain you’ll get wet – and shorts tend to dry quicker than trousers. Read more about why we were shorts from The Spinoff.

Taranaki man hopes to break a Guiness World Record by unicycling around the world

Norm Joe – from the Taranaki town of Stratford – is planning to unicycle around the world, beginning with the length of New Zealand. He set off from Bluff on 16 January, hoping to reach Cape Reinga by May.

Joe will then fly to Alaska, cycling east across Canada and the United States, then fly to Portugal to continue across Europe and Asia. “I’m going around the world, basically, if I can,” he said.

“It’s a big call at this stage, because I’ve only done 160 kilometres, but I need to do 29,000 kilometres for the Guinness World Record.”

It had been less than six years since Joe learned how to unicycle – a Covid-19 hobby that became serious. “I started with a little 20-inch unicycle I found at a council clean-up – someone chucked it out, and I thought, well, that’s interesting. “Once I could walk my dog with a unicycle, I thought, yeah, I’ve graduated. So I went and bought a proper one.”

Joe would be raising money for the charity WaterAid – providing water, sanitation, and hygiene to the world’s poorest communities. Read more from RNZ.

Why a beech mast year turns trout into mouse-eating giants

A mast year is when New Zealand’s large beech forests flower and seed, something that happens every two to six years. Mice and rats feed off beech seeds during mast seasons. And trout feed off mice and rats crossing waterways.

People who fly-fish for trout should expect them to look a bit different this year. “The obvious difference is size, they can put on heaps of weight,” said Stu Tripney, an angler based in Athol, a small town about an hour south of Queenstown. “It is just like if I sat at McDonald’s and ate as many Big Macs as I could.”

In this case the Big Macs are the beech seeds. With DOC forecasting that this year will be the biggest mast season in seven years, rodent and stoat plagues are expected. And the trout will benefit as well. “That is when we see all the big fish,” Tripney, a former fishing guide, says. A 7lb (3.1kg) trout could grow to 11lb (5kg) in a mast year, feeding not only on mice, but also the seeds themselves and the occasional rat. Read more from Stuff.