The Press editor Kamala Hayman shares the three trips that have had the greatest impact on her.

Kamala Hayman is a journalist, a mother of two, and loves the outdoors, despite being directionally challenged and risk averse. “While my day job is office-bound, I get my outdoor fix most weeks from trail running and recently completed my first ultra, the Tarawera 50. I also enjoy cycling, tramping and getting to the top of things, and I’m grateful for the South Island’s abundance of achievable trails and peaks.”

1. Camaraderie on Avalanche Peak

Avalanche Peak in Arthur’s Pass is arguably the South Island’s best day walk. On my first ascent with my sons, then aged nine and 10, we hit a wall just 50m from the summit where the track narrows to a 30cm-wide ribbon with a life-threatening drop. My younger son and I prepared to turn back.

Suddenly, a voice called my name. It was a university friend I hadn’t seen in decades. An experienced tramper, she immediately sussed out the situation and took charge. “Step where I step,” she commanded. “Lean into the rocks on the left.” And we made the summit. 

That day captured the best of an outdoor experience: the sheer joy of reaching the top, doing more than you think you can and, above all, the kindness of fellow trampers.

2. Making memories on the Old Ghost Road

In 2018 my family, including my then 80-year-old father, tramped the Old Ghost Road over five days, finishing in time to celebrate his 81st birthday at the Rough and Tumble Lodge. Anyone who knows the OGR knows its beauty, from bird-filled native bush to ridge-top views and the rush of the Mōkihinui River.

Years later, as my father lay dying, we reminisced about a lifetime of New Zealand tramps and cycle journeys, many with family. I asked him which trip had been his favourite. Without hesitation, he replied, “The Old Ghost Road.” He passed away just a few hours later.

Memories make up a life. Remember to collect as many as you can with the people you love.

3. A snowy hike in Khumjung, Nepal

For my fiftieth birthday I did something I had wanted to do for many years: visit Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Our guide, a Sherpa called Kami, generously took us on a detour to his home village, Khumjung, where we spent the night.

The village had been devastated two years earlier by the 2015 earthquake. Kami had rebuilt his home by hand in sub-zero temperatures, staying up each night to collect water from the village’s sole tap to mix cement. 

He took us on a walk through deep snow, high above the village, to see the memorial to Sir Edmund Hillary’s wife and daughter. Kami stopped suddenly. “Listen,” he ordered. A high-pitched, mournful yowl echoed through the valley over and over. “Snow leopard,” he declared. I was sceptical as I knew how rare they were. But back at our teahouse, a fellow traveller excitedly showed us his camera, and there in a long-distance frame was the unmistakable image of a snow leopard. 

To have encountered this beautiful creature in the wild was an enormous privilege and a reminder of the importance of doing what we can to protect their shrinking habitats.