When people think about building strength, they likely picture lifting weights or taking a high-intensity exercise class. Walking is often dismissed as “just cardio” or something you do to reach your step count or get some fresh air.

But walking acts as far more than a calorie-burning activity. It’s one of your body’s most fundamental movement patterns. How you walk affects pelvic alignment, core stability, hip mobility, balance, breathing and even how your nervous system regulates tension. In many ways, walking provides the basis for building and expressing strength.

Think of walking as the daily foundational practice that sets the stage for how powerfully you can move in the gym and in everyday life.

During a healthy gait cycle, your pelvis rotates in sync with your legs while your rib cage counter-rotates with your arm swing. At the same time, your core muscles dynamically stabilise your spine to maintain upright posture as your weight transfers from one leg to the other.

Walking reinforces the alignment, stability and coordinated muscle activation that support how your body moves — whether you’re doing strenuous exercise or simply going about daily life. Read more from RNZ.

Women are being ‘alpine divorced’ by their partners while hiking

On social media, women describe alpine divorce as going on a hike, climb or other outdoor adventure with a male partner, only to be abandoned or left behind. Breakups quickly follow.

In a TikTok with more than 4.2m likes, a woman bawls as she takes shaky steps down a rock formation. “He left me by myself, I should have never come with him,” sobs the woman. Viewers flooded the comments section with stories about being served with an alpine divorce. 

“It’s such a common thing,” said Julie Ellison, the first female editor-in-chief of Climbing magazine. She has heard “so many stories” about men fumbling outdoor dates. “There’s that male ego element to it that’s not necessarily evil or ill-intentioned, but it usually has a negative effect on the partner who’s being left behind.”

Outdoor culture romanticises pushing your limits and flexing endurance. “There’s this emphasis on strength, independence and stoicism that is really embedded in the way males are taught to prioritise character traits,” said Doriel Jacov, a New York-based therapist who specialises in relationship patterns.

A man walking 100ft ahead of his partner because he cannot be bothered to wait for her is bad manners. But failing to properly care for someone in an environment they’re not prepared to handle alone can cause real harm. Read more from the Guardian.

Give us a chip: Large kea flocked gets RFID chips

Department of Conservation science staff and rangers recently caught 31 kea from a record flock of about 36 birds, attaching leg bands with tiny microchips. The bands are scanned by solar-powered readers attached to hut roofs and other sites that kea like to visit, allowing their travels to be recorded.

DOC Senior Science Advisor Kerry Weston says the kea caught at Red Tarns above Aoraki Mount Cook Village were part of the largest flock seen at Aoraki since kea surveying began in 2019.

“They were mostly young kea, many just fledged from their nests, including one bird that had travelled 40 km from Whymper Hut on the West Coast across the main divide.

Combined with increased sightings of kea around the park, it’s a positive sign that the local kea population is increasing. So far, 420 kea have been banded with the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags over the past two summers as part of the trial. 

The RFID tags are a cost-effective way to monitor kea. The leg bands cost less than $1 each, and the data is passively gathered as kea land on the readers. Read more from DOC.

Listen to an interview with tramping legend Paul Kilgour

A legend in tramping circles, Paul Kilgour has “bagged” over 1200 huts and walked the length of the South Island. 

A meticulous record keeper and observer, his notes formed the basis of his newly reprinted book Gone Bush: A Life in the Backcountry and Beyond.  

In the nearly 18-minute interview, Paul talks to RNZ about the characters he’s met in some of the most remote parts of the country and how being in nature gives him a unique perspective on time and space.

Hiking the length of Aotearoa in traditional Japanese sandals

A Japanese walker has hiked 80 per cent of Te Araroa Trail wearing traditional huarachi sandals.

Tomoya Takahashi, clad also in a traditional straw hat and yukata wrap, began the trail in October last year and finished this February. Along the way, his outfit caught the attention of other hikers.

“I wanted to pay my own respects to the culture and history of Japan, particularly during the Edo period, so I decided to wear the traditional clothing to honour where I am from,” he said. 

He said the sandals were more comfortable than normal shoes for him, although he did wear hiking boots during particularly muddy sections or when there were river crossings. 

“I’ve learned a lot of things from the TA. One thing that I think is really important is to live in the moment and be grateful to be outside in amazing nature,” he said.

His favourite scenery was along the Whanganui River, and his most challenging section was the Richmond Range. Read more from Wilderness.

FENZ declares fire ban for part of Nelson-Tasman

Fire and Emergency NZ has declared a total fire ban for part of the Nelson-Tasman region. District manager Grant Haywood has urged people not to be complacent in light of the escalating risk.

Recent rain has not had a significant impact on the underlying fire risk and Haywood said no further permits would be issued until conditions ease. 

“Fires will start and spread very easily and will be more challenging for our firefighters to contain and put out in these conditions.”

“If anyone sees signs of smoke, please call 111 immediately”

This ban includes a prohibited fire season in the Coastal, Waimea and Lake Rotoiti fire zones, where all outdoor fires will be completely banned, and a restricted fire season in the Murchison zone, where outdoor fires will require a permit. Read more from RNZ.