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

Things are chaotic around our Great Walks at the moment. Several recent weather events have made various routes impassable.

Currently, the Heaphy Track is blocked in several places, parts of Abel Tasman Coast Track are closed and access to the Paparoa Track is partially blocked.

And while DOC is desperately trying to get things fixed as quickly as possible, these major weather events are increasing, climate change is to blame, and things are only going to get worse.

This has led to DOC’s visitor risk principal advisor Don Bogie suggesting that some of our Great Walks might have to be downgraded in the future.

“Most of our Great Walks are already in places that get lots of rain,” he told AAP. “It could be that over time that some of them might become too risky to be Great Walks.” Read more at Otago Daily Times. 

Mountaineers re-climbing Himalayan peak after standing on wrong summit

Imagine summiting an 8000m peak only to later learn you were actually 10 metres short.

That’s what 50 of the 53 people who have climbed all 14 of the world’s 8000m+ peaks have had to accept.

Their names have been wiped off the 14-peak summitteers board, after it was found that the true summit of Mt Manaslu (8163mCase now closed) was in a slightly different spot to where originally thought.

Therefore, the likes of German mountaineer Ralf Dujmovits, who thought he’d climbed it in 2007 as part of his 14-peak mission, is back on the mountain to reclaim the crown.

However, with more than 600 climbers hoping to climb the mountain in a short season, and with only room for two people at the true summit at any one time, there are serious safety concerns. Read more at The Himalayan Times. 

Case now closed in Lake Dive Hut arson case

The prosecution is over after the September 2020 fire that caused more than $400,000 worth of damage to Lake Dive Hut in Egmont National Park.

The accused, Daniel Banks, had been remanded in custody for almost two years since his arrest the following month due to delays in court proceedings.

His lawyer argued that the situation was unacceptable, especially given that he’d already served the period of time he’d likely have received in sentencing. The judge agreed.

Daniel Banks was homeless, staying in various huts around the park. It’s thought the fire started when he left the door to the fireplace open when it was well lit. Read more at New Zealand Herald. 

Police find tramper who fled into West Coast bush

It took armed police two days to catch a man who’d scared fellow-trampers with his behaviour.

The man had reportedly become aggressive at Welcome Flat Hut, along the Copland Track, West Coast. He was screaming and kicking the door, but eventually calmed down.

But the following morning he behaved erratically again. Police were called and arrived by helicopter, at which point the man ran into the bush.

He repeatedly crossed the Copland River to evade armed officers and a tracking dog, but was eventually found near Douglas Rock Hut about four hours further on. Read more at Stuff. 

Fisherman survives 11 days on the ocean in a freezer

In an incredible story of survival, Romualdo Macedo Rodrigues, from Brazil, was on a fishing trip when water started coming into his boat and it sank.

Unable to swim, Romualdo lunged for the boat’s freezer, which he noticed was floating. He climbed inside, and it was there, he says, he stayed for 11 days, surrounded by sharks and without food or water.

“I was thinking about my kids, my wife,” he told Record TV. “Every day I was thinking about my mother, my father, all my family. It gave me strength and hope … but at the moment I thought there was no other way.”

Eventually, another fishing boat arrived and they were able to pull him in. Watch his rescue here.