Bard Crawford has been guiding Kiwi trampers on the Hollyford Track this summer. Photo: Fiona Bersani, Hollyford Wilderness Experience

The Bard on the Hollyford

Conservation, Wild People

View more by author

Kathy Ombler

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

By Kathy Ombler

More Kiwi trampers are going on guided trips and more are interested in helping conservation. Wilderness asked guide and ardent conservationist Bard Crawford what it’s like to guide locals in their own backyard.

When I first met Bard Crawford, on Ngāi Tahu Tourism’s Hollyford Wilderness Experience, I didn’t think I needed him. After a lifetime of tramping throughout New Zealand, here was this guy telling me all about what I was tramping through. Just let me walk, I grumbled to myself. He soon snapped me out of that. […]

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.