There have been ancient wonders, natural wonders, modern wonders, but as far as I know there have never been tramping wonders.

There’s a sense that when you go in search of wonder, you have to travel far or go to great effort – think the Pyramids of Giza, the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, and, closer to home, our own Milford Sound. But extensive travel isn’t needed, for wonder can be found on a simple tramp.

It’s found in the friends we walk with, the meals we eat and share, the huts we stay in, the plants we pass and the birds that pass us, and the songs they sing at dawn. There’s wonder to be had in the pitter-patter of rain on the hood of our raincoat and in the joy of a child crossing a swingbridge for the first time. And it’s in our ability to keep tamping long into old age.  

This issue we’ve discovered 12 wonders of tramping But we’ve barely scratched the surface. There must be dozens more, don’t you think? What wonders do you encounter when you lace up your boots? 

In recent months our dear roving editor Shaun Barnett, who has written for Wilderness for more than 23 years, discovered he has brain cancer. Shaun’s books on tramping in New Zealand are an important recreational and historical record of the unique outdoor culture found here. We at Wilderness wish Shaun the very best for his treatment and support his goal of publishing one last book – a memoir. His friends have put together a Givealittle fundraiser to help him achieve this. You may like to donate, in which case see our Walkshorts article.