Adventure Magazine
Issue 239 - Celebrating women
Issue 239 - Celebrating women
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adventure<br />
where actions speak louder than words<br />
where actions speak louder than words<br />
CELEBRATING<br />
WOMEN<br />
ISSUE 239<br />
AUG/SEP 2023<br />
NZ $11.90 incl. GST
BOBO.CO.NZ/SALEWA
Jan Sutherland, hard at work on her "other" job<br />
Loyalty is a rare commodity<br />
With the publication of <strong>Adventure</strong> issue 100,<br />
I took over as the editor and within a few<br />
issues we had purchased the publication.<br />
That was over 137 issues ago, 6 issues per<br />
year, so that makes 22 years of bringing<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong> to the masses.<br />
When we purchased <strong>Adventure</strong>, it came<br />
with a lot of history, goodwill, some<br />
back issues, a limited database and a<br />
salesperson, Jan Sutherland. Now Jan was<br />
not actually purchased with the publication,<br />
she wasn’t attached, but she eventually<br />
proved to be the biggest asset.<br />
Jan continued for a number of years as<br />
the advertising salesperson, and from<br />
there, she moved into the role of accounts,<br />
sending out invoices and more importantly,<br />
chasing them up.<br />
She also started her own business<br />
photographing horses but kept working<br />
with <strong>Adventure</strong>. Now, some 22 years later,<br />
she has decided to call it quits. She has<br />
explained to the next accounts person what<br />
needs to be done, how to use the database,<br />
send out accounts, and send reminders but<br />
that is not the loss.<br />
When you have had one person working<br />
with you for so long, you become reliant on<br />
their loyalty. Jan’s dedication to <strong>Adventure</strong><br />
<strong>Magazine</strong> was second to none; that<br />
money coming in may well have been<br />
hers because she was more dedicated to<br />
making sure everything was paid in full than<br />
we were. She knew everyone, their quirks,<br />
their qualities, and their ongoing mistakes.<br />
She was meticulous with addresses and<br />
phone numbers and often I would call and<br />
ask ‘do you have an address for so and so<br />
from 1998?’ and moments later, it would<br />
arrive.<br />
We live in a transient world, what is popular<br />
today is old news tomorrow, what is socially<br />
trending now will be forgotten in a week.<br />
But like <strong>Adventure</strong>, Jan has been around<br />
for a while, she has stood the test of time,<br />
and nothing beats history, it is the one<br />
commodity you can’t buy or trade. History<br />
is the one reference that is always the best<br />
indicator of ‘good’, whether that is a person,<br />
a magazine or a product.<br />
So, as we say goodbye to Jan Sutherland,<br />
we will miss her; her ability, her enthusiasm<br />
and most of all her loyalty, and as we head<br />
to a new phase of adventure it is always<br />
good to be thankful and aware of those that<br />
have gone before you. Thanks, Jan!<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong>, 50 years of reaching the<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong> people of New Zealand.<br />
Thanks for<br />
the loyalty<br />
Jan, valued<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong><br />
team member<br />
for over three<br />
decades!<br />
Steve Dickinson - Editor<br />
your <strong>Adventure</strong> starts with Us<br />
23 Locations Nationwide | www.radcarhire.co.nz | 0800 73 68 23 | adventure@radcarhire.co.nz
INSIDE THE COVERS<br />
Instead of looking ‘Behind the Cover’ as we would normally,<br />
we decided to look at the future. Across every platform, every<br />
news outlet, AI is making a lot of noise, some positive, some<br />
not. Currently, the writers guild in the USA has been on strike for<br />
over 70 days protesting the use of AI to create…. words, scripts,<br />
advertising, features and editorials. How will that impact us as<br />
a magazine both hardcopy and digital? We asked the expert,<br />
ChatGPT and this is what it told us.<br />
ChatGBT said, "As an AI language model, I don't have personal<br />
opinions or feelings. However, I can provide an analysis based<br />
on the capabilities of AI language models up until my last<br />
knowledge update in September 2021."<br />
AI language models like ChatGPT (or GPT-3.5) have shown<br />
impressive abilities in generating coherent and contextually<br />
relevant text across a wide range of topics. They can create<br />
articles, stories, and essays on various subjects. However, there<br />
are still limitations to what AI language models can do:<br />
Topic Understanding: AI models lack true understanding<br />
and consciousness. While they can generate text that appears<br />
coherent, they don't possess true comprehension like humans.<br />
They work based on patterns in data and lack the capacity for<br />
deep understanding of niche topics.<br />
Domain Expertise: Writing a niche magazine requires in-depth<br />
knowledge and expertise in that particular domain. AI models<br />
have broad knowledge but lack the specialized understanding that<br />
comes with real-world experience and expertise in a specific field.<br />
Creative Originality: While AI can produce text that appears<br />
creative, it is still limited by the data it was trained on. It may<br />
struggle to come up with truly original and groundbreaking ideas<br />
that are often required in niche publications.<br />
Quality and Consistency: Although AI-generated text can<br />
be impressive, it can also be inconsistent in quality and may<br />
occasionally produce inaccurate or irrelevant information.<br />
Ethical Considerations: AI-generated content might inadvertently<br />
spread misinformation or biased perspectives since it lacks a moral<br />
compass and can't fact-check information.<br />
For these reasons, it's unlikely that an AI language model would be<br />
solely responsible for producing a whole niche magazine. However,<br />
AI can be a helpful tool for augmenting human creativity and<br />
productivity in content creation, as long as it's used responsibly and<br />
in conjunction with human expertise and oversight.<br />
To be 100% transparent, we have used ChatGPT in the issue,<br />
I don’t think that you would spot it easily; we looked to it in the<br />
planning stage, we asked it to help generate some questions, we<br />
asked it to rephase for ease of understanding, and we asked it to<br />
come up with an interesting title for the fly-fishing story.<br />
So, I guess watch this space!<br />
EDITOR & ADVERTISING MANAGER<br />
Steve Dickinson<br />
Mob: 027 577 5014<br />
steve@pacificmedia.co.nz<br />
ART DIRECTOR<br />
Lynne Dickinson<br />
design@pacificmedia.co.nz<br />
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES<br />
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PUBLISHERS<br />
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Contributions of articles and photos are welcome and must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. Photographic material should be on slide,<br />
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our website. Material in this publication may not be reproduced without permission. While the publishers have taken all reasonable precautions and made all<br />
reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of material in this publication, it is a condition of purchase of this magazine that the publisher does not assume any<br />
responsibility or liability for loss or damage which may result from any inaccuracy or omission in this publication, or from the use of information contained herein<br />
and the publishers make no warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to any of the material contained herein.<br />
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inspire<br />
SIMONE MAIER<br />
FROM TRAUMA TO CHAMPION<br />
By Derek Cheng<br />
It may seem a curious comparison, but multisport<br />
adventure racer Simone Maier sees parallels<br />
between her suffer-fest endurance races and her<br />
long road to recovery from a traumatic childhood<br />
that haunted her teenage years.<br />
Sport actually saved her life, she says, but a<br />
key caregiver also helped her to turn the page<br />
on the abuse of her early years, and the harmful<br />
coping mechanisms in the years that followed.<br />
She ultimately emerged from those dark times<br />
by rediscovering her passion for the outdoors,<br />
eventually standing atop podiums around the world<br />
- including the Coast to Coast in four of the last five<br />
years.<br />
But it's the stoic perseverance that's needed for<br />
multiday competitions - like GODZone, which<br />
Maier's team won in 2019, the first time it was won<br />
by a team with two women - that share similarities<br />
with her earlier battles.<br />
"I feel there's a parallel there," she tells <strong>Adventure</strong>.<br />
"I probably have a high pain threshold. Being in an<br />
adventure race or multisport event, sometimes you<br />
just have to be in an uncomfortable position and<br />
push through, even when you haven't slept and your<br />
body is under immense pressure.<br />
"I also had to overcome my trauma where I just had<br />
to hang in there, just keep plodding along, putting<br />
one foot in front of the other to get out of what I was<br />
going through. It took years."<br />
4//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Maier on Mt Maude, sporting<br />
her signature mohawk of<br />
colourful ponytails<br />
Image by Cheeky.weka
Maier was part of Team Avaya's world championship adventure racing victory<br />
in Paraguay last year<br />
"She's laser-focused when it comes to her training,<br />
but underneath that is a vibrant, fun-loving<br />
person whose nickname - Bounce, or Bouncy - is<br />
indicative of her contagious energy. She is known<br />
to be partial to dance parties, dressing in bright<br />
colours, and for the ridge of several ponytails that<br />
run down the centre of her head like the tiny scales<br />
of a dinosaur mohawk."<br />
You wouldn't know Maier was a world champion adventure racer from the<br />
humble wooden cabin she shares with her partner Marcel Hagener at the<br />
edge of Lake Wanaka.<br />
It's a private, secluded spot where Hagener, now retired from adventure<br />
racing, continually renovates the cabins nearby while Maier plans her next<br />
race - often out of financial necessity. Living in New Zealand has its perks,<br />
such as the pristine nature and the lack of proximity to anything resembling<br />
war, but the adventure racing and multisport market is tiny, and despite her<br />
constant success, it's not the easiest way to make a living.<br />
She is currently excited because China has opened up again, and it's<br />
proved to be a lucrative multisport market for her in the past, though not<br />
without its quirks; in one of her races, she had to catch fish with her hands,<br />
while in another, she had to string dried chillies together.<br />
She's laser-focused when it comes to her training, but underneath that<br />
is a vibrant, fun-loving person whose nickname - Bounce, or Bouncy - is<br />
indicative of her contagious energy. She is known to be partial to dance<br />
parties, dressing in bright colours, and for the ridge of several ponytails<br />
that run down the centre of her head like the tiny scales of a dinosaur<br />
mohawk. She speeds around Wanaka on her electric unicycle, often<br />
alongside Hagener on his own such unicycle, decked in fluorescent lights<br />
and with opera music blaring from its speaker.<br />
Her disposition, in other words, gives no indication whatsoever of what<br />
she's been through to get to where she is today.<br />
Growing up in a small town near Black Forest, Germany, she was sexually<br />
abused by a neighbour when she was 4, attempted suicide in her teens,<br />
and then developed eating disorders. Today Maier is fit and muscular, and<br />
looks like she could bench-press an entire football team and then run a<br />
marathon. But when she was 18, she was skeletal, weighing only 35kg.<br />
Right: Maier has won GODZone once, an event that spans multiple days and<br />
requires athletes to move constantly - including while brushing your teeth<br />
6//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//7
Mair with Emily Wilson while competing in reality-TV show Tracked. The pair were runners-up.<br />
"My caregiver was a runner and a cyclist himself, and he basically got me<br />
back into running and cycling. He built me a mountain bike. I would say that<br />
was probably the beginning of my new life."<br />
She had compartmentalised what had happened to her as a<br />
child, but it came creeping back when she was 14 and playing<br />
basketball. Her boyfriend at the time - her first - reached over<br />
from behind her to try and stop her from getting the ball. The<br />
movement was a trigger. Images of an old man in a similar pose<br />
started to leak into her mind.<br />
"It started like a little crack and it just kept on cracking. I was so<br />
upset about these flashbacks. I thought I was going insane, like<br />
I'd watched too many crazy horror movies," she says.<br />
"I had severe issues at school because I started freaking out.<br />
Every time a guy came close to me, I started having these<br />
anxiety attacks. It really changed me from this happy, active<br />
teenager to being severely depressed, just not going out<br />
anymore. It was like a switch."<br />
She even tried to kill herself, but failed in what she now says<br />
was a cry for help rather than a wish to die.<br />
When she eventually opened up to her parents about the<br />
flashbacks, her mother said that she'd actually told her about<br />
"the weird things the neighbour was doing" a decade earlier. But<br />
her parents hadn't known what to do, so they did nothing except<br />
ensure she didn't go next door anymore.<br />
"When your mum tells you you're not actually crazy and these<br />
things actually happened, I was like, 'What?!' I felt like I got<br />
stabbed in my heart."<br />
At age 15, she dropped out of school and started working in a<br />
bakery, but her struggles were far from over. First came selfharm,<br />
cutting herself with glass. "It sounds like a paradox, but<br />
somehow creating pain can numb you from pain."<br />
Then came anorexia, which she now says was a coping<br />
mechanism: seizing control of something in the face of<br />
something she couldn't control - her past.<br />
She eventually began throwing up so much that her kidneys<br />
started failing and she had to be hospitalised. After collapsing in<br />
a nightclub on New Year's Eve in 1997, Maier went into rehab<br />
for several months.<br />
When she came out, she was encouraged to live in a home<br />
associated with the rehab clinic where caregivers were assigned<br />
to each patient. For Maier, this was the turning point.<br />
"My caregiver was a runner and a cyclist himself, and he<br />
basically got me back into running and cycling. He built me a<br />
mountain bike. I would say that was probably the beginning of<br />
my new life."<br />
She still remembers the first time they went running together,<br />
barely covering a single kilometre. "But I was so happy, just<br />
being out there, and having someone to get me out running<br />
again - so much joy."<br />
Maier had had a precocious appetite for sports when she was<br />
young - competitive athletics, gymnastics, soccer, basketball,<br />
volleyball. Being active again rekindled something, like a<br />
reclaiming of what she'd always loved. By the time she turned<br />
26, she'd started competing in triathlons and had done her first<br />
ironman event.<br />
"Sport just always made me feel so alive. I always biked the long<br />
way to work. One year, I biked 50km every day. And when you<br />
have a bad day, you can just go out for a run and you feel so<br />
much better."<br />
8//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Maier is the reigning Coast to Coast<br />
champion, having won the last three<br />
events and four of the last five.
<strong>Adventure</strong> racing demands movement across all types of terrain, from snow to stream.<br />
"The outdoors is a really great place. We get off our devices and connect with<br />
ourselves, what's surrounding us. It's actually joyful - pure bliss."<br />
It also helped her realise that food is not the enemy. "I know<br />
now that it's actually my fuel, helping me with performing and<br />
recovering. Now I use it as a weapon. I am what I eat."<br />
She gets on better with her parents now, she says, but when<br />
she was 27, she felt like she needed a fresh start. She looked<br />
at a map and found a little country at the edge of the world.<br />
She didn't know much about New Zealand, nor was her<br />
English particularly flash. But she had a contact, a friend's<br />
sister, who welcomed her into the multisport community in<br />
Wanaka, which has now been her home for the last 17 years.<br />
Within two years of arriving, she'd competed in Ironman New<br />
Zealand in Taupo, in 2009, winning the women's 25-29 age<br />
group with a time of just under 10 hours and 20 minutes. This<br />
qualified her for the world championship race in Hawaii, where<br />
she improved her time by seven minutes and placed third in<br />
her age group.<br />
Today, Maier has competed around the world, winning events<br />
in Australia, Paraguay and China, where she met Hagener,<br />
a fellow multisport racer at the time. She and Hagener used<br />
to compete together in events such as the two-day Red Bull<br />
Defiance, which they won four times in the "mixed elite"<br />
category.<br />
Last year Maier was invited to join New Zealand team Avaya,<br />
which won the <strong>Adventure</strong> Racing World Championships in<br />
Paraguay - a 550km race. She says she slept maybe 60 to 90<br />
minutes each day, though there was no sleep on the last night<br />
as the team just pushed through to the finish.<br />
"I had a blast. It's just so unknown because you go all<br />
day long - for five days. So many things can happen. It's<br />
fascinating but it can also be scary - how will you handle the<br />
uncontrollable, the sleep deprivation?<br />
"It teaches you a lot about yourself, how far you can push the<br />
limits. You can learn a lot, and apply it to whatever happens in<br />
your daily life."<br />
She is now trying pass on the physical and mental resilience<br />
she has developed over her lifetime; her new business<br />
Level Up, with fellow adventure racer Emily Wilson, offers a<br />
host of courses on all the skills needed for adventure racing<br />
multisport. Maier also offers one-on-one coaching.<br />
She was recently runner-up in reality-TV show Tracked, but is<br />
perhaps best-known as the reigning Coast to Coast champion,<br />
having won the gruelling 243km day-long race in each of the<br />
last three years.<br />
Will the 43-year-old defend her title next year?<br />
"I always say each year that this is gonna be my last. I want to<br />
do a lot of things in life. But what keeps me going is that I feel<br />
like I'm still getting better. I want to keep exploring and see<br />
how far I can push.<br />
"I feel like I'm still in the prime of my years."<br />
Whenever she eventually hangs up her Coast to Coast bib,<br />
she will always remain active.<br />
"It's good for your stress, your tension at work, even if it's just<br />
a walk, something. It's really good for your mental health, the<br />
fresh air, reconnecting with nature, a bit of sunshine. It has an<br />
amazing effect on your mood.<br />
"The outdoors is a really great place. We get off our devices<br />
and connect with ourselves, what's surrounding us. It's<br />
actually joyful - pure bliss."<br />
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ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//11
Sarah and her son Eli at Northern Rocks<br />
inspire<br />
SARAH HAY<br />
REDEFINING BOUNDARIES<br />
In the world of climbing, there are<br />
individuals who push the limits,<br />
break barriers, and inspire others<br />
with their unwavering dedication and<br />
accomplishments. One such climber<br />
is Sarah Hay, a remarkable figure who<br />
has carved her path in the climbing<br />
community. In this editorial feature,<br />
we delve into Sarah Hay's journey,<br />
exploring her passion for climbing,<br />
notable achievements, and her unique<br />
approach to the sport.<br />
Sarah Hay's identity extends far beyond<br />
climbing. As a mother, wife, business<br />
owner, musician, and athlete, she<br />
embodies a multitude of roles that<br />
contribute to her holistic approach to<br />
life. However, it is her deep-rooted<br />
connection with climbing that truly<br />
defines her.<br />
Sarah's climbing journey began around<br />
the age of 20 when a friend introduced<br />
her to outdoor climbing. From the very<br />
beginning, she was captivated by<br />
the adventure, tranquility, and mental<br />
and physical challenges that climbing<br />
offered. Sarah found solace in the<br />
intricate techniques, the immersive<br />
nature of the activity that allowed her<br />
to be fully present, and the pursuit<br />
of mastery. Balancing her climbing<br />
pursuits with a full-time career as a<br />
musician, she gradually delved deeper<br />
into the climbing world by working at<br />
local gyms, coaching, and route setting.<br />
Throughout her climbing career,<br />
Sarah Hay has achieved numerous<br />
milestones that reflect her dedication<br />
and skill. While she believes that<br />
every experience is a highlight,<br />
certain achievements stand out.<br />
Building Northern Rocks from the<br />
ground up, coaching and witnessing<br />
the development of young climbers,<br />
and establishing the successful girls'<br />
climbing program, "She Climbs", are<br />
among her proudest accomplishments.<br />
Sarah's success extends to national<br />
and international competitions, winning<br />
titles in lead and bouldering, and<br />
representing New Zealand in World<br />
Cup and Oceania events. Her passion<br />
for climbing is further exemplified by<br />
her involvement in route setting at<br />
prestigious competitions.<br />
We caught up with Sarah for a chat ...<br />
How did you get into climbing?<br />
A friend introduced me to outdoor<br />
climbing when I was about 20 years<br />
old. We went to the Mt Eden Quarry<br />
and Froggatt (now Waipari) and I<br />
never looked back! I was drawn to the<br />
outdoor adventure and serenity, the<br />
mental and physical challenge, problem<br />
solving aspects, intricate techniques,<br />
that when you’re climbing you’re not<br />
thinking about anything else, and the<br />
never-ending search for mastery.<br />
Back then I was a full-time musician so<br />
I was also being somewhat careful of<br />
finger injuries but I kept climbing and<br />
started working at one of the local gyms<br />
part-time, coaching and route setting.<br />
The kids started doing competitions so I<br />
went to support them, and then started<br />
trying out the competition scene myself.<br />
Are you a risk taker? – is climbing<br />
about risk? I think climbing<br />
involves taking assessed risks, but<br />
understanding your skills, limitations,<br />
body, and preparedness can help<br />
mitigate those risks. By continuously<br />
improving and expanding your<br />
repertoire of movements and<br />
techniques, you can expand the range<br />
of climbs you can safely undertake.<br />
I feel like I understand my body and<br />
skill set pretty well so I tend to take<br />
risks where I know I can fall safely<br />
if I miss, or can push the grade on<br />
lead because I understand how to fall<br />
safely above a clip. I am always trying<br />
to get better at movements I’m not so<br />
comfortable with so I can take more<br />
assessed risks on different styles of<br />
climbs.<br />
Northern Rocks<br />
Describe it to someone who has<br />
not been…. Yet? Northern Rocks is<br />
the perfect place for anyone to give<br />
bouldering a try! Contrary to common<br />
beliefs, you don't need to be strong to<br />
start bouldering. Our indoor climbing<br />
facility caters to beginners as well<br />
as advanced climbers. Each boulder<br />
Sarah climbing Gravity (24) Paynes Ford<br />
12//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
offers a unique set of holds, shapes, and<br />
movements, ranging from larger holds<br />
and simpler routes to more technical<br />
and challenging climbs as you progress<br />
through the grades.<br />
Bouldering is not only a physical activity<br />
but also a mental one. It requires problemsolving<br />
skills as you figure out the best<br />
way to solve a boulder problem, or figure<br />
out how to get to the top. And the best part<br />
is, you get to do all of this while hanging<br />
out with friends and enjoying a full-body<br />
workout. We change a section of our<br />
routes on a weekly basis to keep things<br />
fresh and exciting. But what truly sets<br />
Northern Rocks apart is our incredible<br />
community. Everyone here is friendly,<br />
welcoming, and inclusive. We cheer each<br />
other on and celebrate achievements at<br />
every level. We take pride in creating a<br />
supportive environment where everyone<br />
feels comfortable.<br />
We also place a strong emphasis on<br />
empowering girls and women in the<br />
climbing gym. Many of our staff members<br />
are women who can assist you on the wall.<br />
We have regular Boulder Women meetup<br />
groups where you can join, regardless<br />
of whether you're a first-time climber or<br />
experienced. You'll receive free coaching<br />
and will have the opportunity to connect<br />
with other women who share your passion.<br />
We also offer a fully funded girls climbing<br />
program for young women in years 9-13.<br />
This program aims to promote physical<br />
activity and help girls discover the joy of<br />
bouldering. There are free yoga classes for<br />
members, a fitness gym area, after school<br />
youth programs, social competitions and<br />
events, pro shop, coffee, and more. The<br />
staff will give you a free facility induction<br />
and after your first visit you get a free week<br />
of climbing to try it out.<br />
What were the challenges? Starting a<br />
business from scratch is never easy, and<br />
I faced several challenges along the way.<br />
One of the major obstacles I encountered<br />
was the struggle to be taken seriously as<br />
a young woman venturing into a niche<br />
market. It was challenging to secure<br />
investment and funding when I had limited<br />
resources and no track record to showcase.<br />
It took about five years of intensive<br />
research and development before I finally<br />
met my current business partner, John, who<br />
shared my enthusiasm for the idea and<br />
committed to investing in the business.<br />
Together, we embarked on a two-year<br />
journey to establish a custom-built full-scale<br />
facility but to cut a long story short, we had to<br />
pull the plug at the last minute. We managed<br />
to save the project by finding a building that<br />
would suit a bouldering-only facility.<br />
Once Northern Rocks opened, it was a<br />
matter of building up our programs, events,<br />
route setting, staff team, and infrastructure.<br />
However, we faced another significant<br />
challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic<br />
hit, resulting in multiple months of lockdowns<br />
and uncertainty. It was a difficult time for any<br />
business, but we managed to persevere and<br />
make it through to the other side.<br />
Over the past year, we have been focused<br />
on rebuilding and emphasizing what sets<br />
Northern Rocks apart. We are incredibly<br />
grateful for our amazing community and<br />
everyone who contributes to making the<br />
gym come alive. It is the people who truly<br />
make Northern Rocks the special place it<br />
is. Despite the challenges and setbacks,<br />
I believe that each obstacle we faced has<br />
only made us stronger and more resilient.<br />
I am proud of how far we have come and<br />
remain committed to the ongoing success<br />
and growth of Northern Rocks.<br />
What's the most rewarding aspect? The<br />
most rewarding aspect is undoubtedly<br />
the people. It is amazing to see new<br />
climbers and members experience the<br />
excitement and sense of accomplishment<br />
when they conquer a challenging move or<br />
reach the top of a difficult project. Seeing<br />
people form new friendships, engaging in<br />
conversations, and cheering each other<br />
on during their climbing attempts creates a<br />
vibrant and supportive atmosphere.<br />
Another fulfilling aspect is coaching our<br />
youth programs and witnessing the growth<br />
and development of young climbers. It<br />
is incredibly rewarding to be a part of<br />
their journey, along with our dedicated<br />
coaching team, as they develop their skills<br />
and confidence in climbing. It has been<br />
amazing to see our youth & girls climbing<br />
program thrive and grow in popularity.<br />
The thriving community that emerges<br />
during social competitions, such as the<br />
annual Boulder Bash and the National<br />
Indoor Boulder Series, is a testament to<br />
the positive and inclusive environment we<br />
strive to cultivate. It’s awesome to see the<br />
interest and enthusiasm among climbers<br />
to venture into outdoor bouldering, as<br />
demonstrated by their participation in our<br />
outdoor trips to local crags.<br />
In 2020 climbing entered the arena of<br />
the Olympics, how has that effected<br />
climbing in NZ? The Olympic inclusion<br />
has given the sport of climbing more<br />
visibility in the public eye, in mainstream<br />
media and general awareness. Although<br />
passionate climbers will follow the<br />
climbing/bouldering world cup series<br />
anyway, having the Olympic inclusion<br />
reaches a wider audience. For some<br />
young people having that Olympic dream<br />
is really important and they can now aim
"I was drawn to the<br />
outdoor adventure and<br />
serenity, the mental<br />
and physical challenge,<br />
problem solving aspects,<br />
intricate techniques, that<br />
when you’re climbing<br />
you’re not thinking about<br />
anything else, and the<br />
never-ending search for<br />
mastery."<br />
The classic climb The Crack (17)<br />
on Tombstone, Wanaka
Sarah climbing at Northern Rocks<br />
Rebecca Hounsell in the Boulder Bash finals, Northern Rocks<br />
for the Olympic goal should they wish.<br />
The increased exposure can also provide<br />
more sponsorship opportunities which we<br />
definitely need here in NZ as competitive<br />
climbing is largely unfunded.<br />
The Olympic inclusion can also help<br />
schools and organisations take climbing<br />
more seriously as a sport, allowing their<br />
classes to participate more climbing/<br />
bouldering activities and programs, and<br />
the establishment of local series like the<br />
Auckland College Climbing Series. More<br />
exposure means more climbers giving it<br />
a go, which can benefit local gyms and<br />
businesses providing gear. Perhaps they<br />
saw climbing alongside other familiar<br />
sports featured at the Olympics and are<br />
now more likely to spread the word and<br />
have a go themselves.<br />
Climbing is varied and diverse but<br />
it seems to have a real sense of<br />
community, is that true? Absolutely! The<br />
climbing community is known for its strong<br />
sense of camaraderie and friendship at<br />
every level of the sport. Whether you're<br />
a beginner at a local climbing gym or<br />
a seasoned competitor at a world cup<br />
or Olympic level, there is a genuine<br />
connection and support among climbers.<br />
It's a unique aspect of climbing that sets it<br />
apart from many other sports.<br />
Even in a competitive setting, you'll<br />
often find athletes cheering each other<br />
on, offering advice, and celebrating<br />
each other's achievements. The spirit of<br />
mentorship and sharing knowledge is also<br />
prevalent within the climbing community.<br />
More experienced climbers will often help<br />
new climbers to learn and understand<br />
techniques or teach them to climb<br />
outdoors. As climbing continues to grow<br />
in popularity, I think it's important to foster<br />
and maintain this sense of community.<br />
It creates a welcoming and inclusive<br />
environment where climbers of all levels<br />
can thrive and enjoy the sport together.<br />
Shout out to sponsors: I have been<br />
incredibly fortunate to have the support<br />
of Rab Equipment (Rab NZ) as my<br />
sponsor for the past few years. Their<br />
support has been unwavering, not only<br />
in my competitive and outdoor climbing<br />
endeavors but also throughout the process<br />
of opening a business and having a baby.<br />
Rab NZ are also always willing to lend<br />
their support to any event or initiative at<br />
Northern Rocks and the wider climbing<br />
community. They generously provide<br />
amazing prizes for our competitions and<br />
are extending their support to young<br />
climbers, the CNZ national competitions,<br />
the Auckland College Series, and other<br />
regional events. Their commitment to the<br />
climbing community is truly commendable,<br />
and I am grateful to be associated with<br />
such a phenomenal brand.<br />
Do women make better climbers than<br />
men? That is a subjective question. I think<br />
it is more important to make sure we are<br />
providing equal opportunities for both men<br />
and women to take part in climbing and<br />
excel. Physical strength is undoubtedly<br />
an advantage in climbing, especially in<br />
certain styles like bouldering or overhanging<br />
routes. Men typically have a higher average<br />
upper body strength compared to women,<br />
which can give them an advantage in some<br />
climbing scenarios. Women generally have<br />
to work harder to gain that kind of strength<br />
but we can definitely use strength &<br />
climbing training to compete equally a high<br />
level alongside men.<br />
Climbing is not solely about physical<br />
strength. Technique, flexibility, mental<br />
focus, problem-solving skills, and the<br />
ability to adapt to different climbing<br />
styles also play significant roles.<br />
Women can excel in these areas and<br />
often demonstrate exceptional skill and<br />
creativity when it comes to finding efficient<br />
solutions for climbing problems. You will<br />
often see girls and women make a route<br />
look effortless and efficient and I believe<br />
women can really excel in climbing.<br />
It's often proven at the gym and outdoors<br />
where we look around and there are far<br />
more girls and women enjoying climbing<br />
and excelling than ever before.<br />
If someone wants to get into climbing –<br />
what do recommend? I would say head<br />
down to your local gym and have a go! If<br />
you live near a bouldering gym you can<br />
usually turn up and have a go anytime.<br />
Bouldering can be more fun when it’s<br />
shared so take a friend or meet some of<br />
the community while there. If you’re near a<br />
rope climbing gym you can also usually go<br />
along with a friend and learn how to toprope<br />
belay which will give you access to<br />
the top rope routes in the gym. Most gyms<br />
offer lead climbing clinics so you can learn<br />
to lead. At Northern Rocks we offer classes<br />
like Boulder Fundamentals or weekly<br />
Boulder women on Wednesdays which is<br />
a great introduction to bouldering with an<br />
experienced coach, and an easy way to<br />
meet new climbers. You can also book a<br />
private lesson if you prefer. Once you’ve<br />
had a go at climbing or bouldering, I would<br />
highly recommend a class or some beta<br />
(technique advice) from an experienced<br />
climber as this will greatly enhance your<br />
experience!<br />
At Northern Rocks the staff on hand are<br />
friendly and helpful, and will give you a<br />
free facility induction to get you started.<br />
After your first paid visit you get a free<br />
week of climbing so you can give it a<br />
go.. and get addicted. If you bring a new<br />
friend during your week you also receive a<br />
second week.<br />
Any questions or queries can be directed<br />
to info@northernrocks.co.nz<br />
See you there!<br />
Instagram and Facebook:<br />
@northernrocks.climbing<br />
www.northernrocks.co.nz<br />
16//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
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explore<br />
YOUNG KIWIS JOIN<br />
INSPIRING EXPLORERS EXPEDITION<br />
Antarctic Heritage Trust has named 22<br />
young explorers from across the country to<br />
embark on the trip of a lifetime.<br />
Explorers aged 18-30 will join the ninth<br />
Inspiring Explorers Expedition, which is<br />
travelling to South Georgia Island.<br />
Not only is it the largest expedition yet,<br />
but it’ll also include the first Kiwi attempt<br />
of Mount Worsley in recognition of Kiwi<br />
explorer Frank Worsley, the mountain’s<br />
namesake.<br />
Four explorers will accompany worldrenowned<br />
expert mountain guides Lydia<br />
Bradey and Dean Staples.<br />
Lily Green<br />
20-year-old explorer Lily Green is part of<br />
the climbing team and says it’s a bucket-list<br />
experience.<br />
“It’s just insane, I can’t even explain how<br />
amazing this opportunity is. Mount Worsley<br />
is a big deal, and I can’t believe I get to be<br />
a part of the first Kiwi group to attempt it.”<br />
In addition to the climbing team, each<br />
Inspiring Explorer will take part in an<br />
outreach project working in groups across<br />
topics such as climate change, education,<br />
history and science.<br />
Located in the remote South Atlantic<br />
Ocean, South Georgia Island has a<br />
reputation for the greatest density of wildlife<br />
on earth. It’s home to king penguins,<br />
fur seals, and 50 percent of the world’s<br />
southern elephant seals.<br />
MetService and Royal Society Te Apārangi<br />
are partners of the programme and will<br />
provide help with outreach projects during<br />
the expedition. MetService Chief Executive,<br />
Stephen Hunt, is delighted to be supporting<br />
the expedition.<br />
“It’s a privilege to be able to support 22<br />
young people and play a part in inspiring<br />
their passion for exploration, discovery,<br />
and science. They will be our explorers of<br />
tomorrow and MetService will support the<br />
young expedition team with a weather and<br />
climate science programme. This will build<br />
a stronger connection to South Georgia’s<br />
extreme but changing environment and the<br />
enormous physical challenges overcome<br />
by the historic explorers,” says Stephen.<br />
MetService meteorologist Kelly Davenport<br />
will be leading the science team.<br />
“Our own Inspiring Explorer Kelly<br />
Davenport will lead a science programme<br />
using some of the latest observational<br />
technology to achieve a deeper<br />
understanding of the area’s weather and<br />
ocean conditions. This will also highlight<br />
the criticality and the value of meteorology<br />
and oceanography for understanding the<br />
impacts and making decisions about our<br />
changing climate,” said Stephen.<br />
Kelly’s projects will include using historic<br />
and modern technologies to make weather<br />
observations.<br />
“I love sharing my knowledge of<br />
meteorology and I look forward to taking<br />
the team through the process of making<br />
weather observations and conveying how<br />
they contribute to weather forecasting<br />
today.” says Kelly.<br />
Royal Society Te Apārangi Chief Executive<br />
Paul Atkins says partnering in this<br />
opportunity aligns with the purpose of the<br />
Society to encourage and support New<br />
Zealanders to explore, discover and share<br />
knowledge.<br />
“It’s a unique opportunity for the<br />
participants to explore a completely new<br />
environment from multiple points of view,<br />
to discover new things about the world and<br />
themselves, and to share that insight and<br />
18//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
knowledge with each other and their wider<br />
home communities when they get back. We<br />
are delighted to support this life-changing<br />
opportunity.”<br />
The Royal Society Te Apārangi<br />
representative Kaitlyn Martin has a<br />
background in science communication<br />
and will be leading one of the educational<br />
outreach projects.<br />
“It’s very similar to what they do on<br />
the International Space Station – we’ll<br />
be working with schools around the<br />
country who will design experiments or<br />
investigations that are unique to South<br />
Georgia Island,” Kaitlyn says.<br />
“We'll make case studies and share them<br />
with the schools we developed the projects<br />
with, but we’ll also develop some online<br />
case studies that other schools can use to<br />
show a bit of South Georgia and the unique<br />
environment there.”<br />
Kelly Davenport<br />
Presented by respected operator<br />
Antarctica21, Antarctic Heritage Trust’s<br />
ninth Inspiring Explorers Expedition will<br />
honour the centenary year of Sir Ernest<br />
Shackleton’s final expedition (Quest 1921–<br />
1922) which journeyed to South Georgia<br />
and marked the end of the heroic-era of<br />
Antarctic exploration. Shackleton died on<br />
The Quest expedition and was buried on<br />
South Georgia Island. The Trust cares<br />
for Shackleton’s only Antarctic expedition<br />
base.<br />
Antarctic Heritage Trust Executive Director,<br />
Francesca Eathorne says, “This expedition<br />
will connect these young people with<br />
Shackleton’s incredible legacy and we<br />
hope, inspire them to embrace that same<br />
spirit of exploration. It’s a spirit as critical in<br />
the 21st century as it was over a century<br />
ago – particularly for our young people who<br />
face a rapidly changing world.”<br />
The Inspiring Explorers will sail to South<br />
Georgia on Antarctica21’s ship, between 30<br />
September – 14 October.
train<br />
Above: Jana and Roxy - Image by Barry Dougherty, South Island Training Camp in Cass (Canterbury)<br />
Right: Jana Dodds and Ben Mulvey, night training - Image by Donna Carter<br />
TRAINED TO<br />
PERFECTION<br />
There are a lot of unsung heroes in rescue.<br />
When someone is lost or buried, we hear that<br />
search and rescue have gone out to look. It<br />
is predominantly when conditions are at their<br />
worst or most dangerous that they have to<br />
search, yet this group of unpaid volunteers (and<br />
their dogs) face the worst to try and keep us<br />
alive. Of all the encounters, when being lost or<br />
buried, there would be few more gratifying than<br />
the wet nose of a rescue dog finding you when<br />
no one else could. These amazingly trained<br />
animals and their trainers use their talents<br />
simply to save us.<br />
We caught up with dog trainer Jana Dodds.<br />
Who is Jana Becker/Dodds? I grew up in<br />
Hamburg (Germany) on a lifestyle block at the<br />
edge of the city. My dad is a farrier, and my mom<br />
works at a vet. I grew up surrounded by horses,<br />
and in any spare time, you would find me on top<br />
of one. We always had family dogs, and after<br />
endless bagging, I got my first dog at 14. Bloom<br />
was an Australian shepherd, and through my<br />
teenage years, I trained and competed with her<br />
in obedience and agility. She sadly passed away<br />
last year at a proud age.<br />
I always had a passion for the mountains, which<br />
I inherited from my parents. Unfortunately,<br />
northern Germany is flat as a pancake. No<br />
mountains to be seen. So, every holiday we<br />
would spend chasing down some altitude…<br />
skiing in the winter, hiking and climbing in the<br />
summer. Being outdoors and on the move is my<br />
happy place and always has been.<br />
20//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239<br />
AS IF YOUR LIFE<br />
DEPENDED ON IT<br />
AND … IT DOES!<br />
8 years ago, I met my now husband<br />
Tony Dodds, who was competing<br />
at the triathlon world series race<br />
in Hamburg. We hit it off, and 18<br />
months later, I would come to NZ<br />
to visit and take some time off from<br />
my work as a physio. Now, 7 years<br />
later, that trip has turned into a very<br />
extended OE that I have absolutely<br />
no plan on finishing. How could you<br />
not love this country full of adventure<br />
and like-minded people?<br />
I have found my love in anything<br />
outdoors… you will find me trail<br />
running, mountain biking, tramping,<br />
and climbing my way through the<br />
mountains as much as possible.<br />
In recent years I discovered that<br />
adventure racing is the perfect<br />
opportunity to combine them all.<br />
I completed my first Godzone<br />
this year, and it’s safe to say I got<br />
hooked.<br />
How would someone who knows<br />
you well describe you? Great<br />
questions. I hope they would<br />
describe me as a happy person,<br />
someone who walks through life with<br />
a smile on her face and a “go try it”<br />
attitude.<br />
How did you get into the field of<br />
mountain rescue dog training?<br />
I joined Land Search and Rescue<br />
about 5 years ago. My sister-in-law<br />
is a detective in the NZ police and<br />
suggested joining to me. I went<br />
to an open night in Dunedin and<br />
instantly loved it. It brings a fantastic<br />
sense of community and purpose,<br />
and you meet some truly incredible<br />
people doing SAR work. I became an<br />
operational field team member and<br />
later team leader and further joined<br />
the Dunedin cliff rescue team.<br />
I started “hiding” for the SAR dogs<br />
in Dunedin about 3 years ago. I was<br />
very fortunate to get to tag along<br />
with very experienced searchdog<br />
handlers whom I got to learn a lot<br />
from and who are mentors to me to<br />
this day.
Training Roxy in Hawea - Images by Tony Dodds<br />
Around two years ago I was team leading for a dog team on a<br />
multiday operation and was in the fortunate position that the dogs<br />
in this team found the missing person – alive. Something we had<br />
hoped for but that was getting less likely at this point. I cannot<br />
highlight enough that SAR is ALWAYS a team effort, and it takes<br />
everyone to do their part to have a good outcome. But I would lie<br />
if I would not say that the experience of being part of the actual<br />
find has fundamentally affected me. That was the day I decided<br />
to get a dog.<br />
What kinds of dogs are used in mountain rescue<br />
operations?There are different kinds of SAR work when it<br />
comes to dogs. I am involved with wilderness search dogs. Now<br />
these are the dogs that come into play if someone is lost, missing<br />
or injured in the outdoors. Think trampers, hunters, walkers etc.<br />
But also, despondent people or possibly a confused elderly<br />
person. There are also Urban search dogs (USAR), which would<br />
be used in an earthquake for example and avalanche dogs.<br />
Within wilderness dogs, we have different ways we train these<br />
dogs. Tracking dogs – those will follow the ground scent. It is<br />
fascinating to watch a tracking dog follow scent on the ground<br />
in the exact line someone has walked 24h or more after the<br />
person has walked there. We also train area search dogs. These<br />
are trained to detect the scent available in the air and follow it<br />
to its source. This is particularly helpful for covering large areas<br />
and when you don’t know where the person has last been.<br />
The ultimate search dog is “dual operational”, which means<br />
it is trained and certified in both. We don’t have many dualoperational<br />
search dogs in NZ at the moment but we are hoping<br />
that there will be more in the future.<br />
How many dogs do you have? I own and train a 16-monthold<br />
border collie-kelpie cross called Roxy. She is training to<br />
be an area search dog. She can detect human scent on the<br />
breeze, she will then follow the scent to its source and stay there<br />
and bark until I arrive – usually huffing and puffing from a few<br />
hundred meters of uphill running to catch up. You better be fit for<br />
this!<br />
How do you train these dogs to be effective for search<br />
and rescue missions? LandSAR Searchdogs is a nonprofit<br />
organisation sitting under the LandSAR umbrella. They assist<br />
with access to trainers and organise training and assessment<br />
camps through which a dog and handler team can become<br />
operational. However, the brunt of the training is up to you as the<br />
dog owner and handler. Searchdogs is a bit like a family – we all<br />
want to see each other succeed and help each other out. Another<br />
handler or trainer is only a phone call away and will help with<br />
any training problems that come up. Searchdogs NZ runs four<br />
training camps per year (two in the north and two in the South<br />
Island). In between those, I frequently get together with other<br />
handlers in your area to train together.<br />
Ideally, you get a dog as a puppy, around 8 or 9 weeks old. In<br />
the early stages, you can imprint human scent on the dog, and<br />
it will learn a lot about the world. You want it to be confident with<br />
noises, people, traffic, and anything it may come across while<br />
out and about. The dogs learn basic commands like come, stay,<br />
heel, sit etc. You and the dog need to learn to play well together<br />
and establish a reward structure. The introduction of search work<br />
happens gradually. You start very small, and the dog learns if it<br />
follow human scent and shows a desired behaviour, it will get a<br />
reward. For most dogs that will be play. Search work is one big<br />
game for the dogs.<br />
What challenges have you faced while training rescue dogs?<br />
Ohhh where to begin? It is a very steep learning curve for a<br />
new handler. Dogs are not robots, and things don’t always go to<br />
plan. When they don’t, you have to work out where the problem<br />
started and how best to fix it. Each dog and handler duo faces<br />
their own challenges. Especially with a young dog that is still<br />
learning it can be tempting to ask for too much too quickly. If you<br />
don’t solidify a learned skillset and progress too fast the wheels<br />
will fall off very fast. In order to become operational, you have to<br />
pass assessments by the searchdog assessors and NZ police<br />
dog assessors. Once operational, you have to re-certify every<br />
year. The assessment consists of three parts – obedience, an<br />
article search and a search task in your speciality (either tracking<br />
or area search).<br />
22//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
How has technology impacted mountain rescue dog<br />
training? These days dogs wear tracking collars while out on<br />
an operation. The handler is able to see a map on the handheld<br />
device and can see exactly where the dog and the handler have<br />
walked. This makes it much easier to see if you have covered<br />
an area well and allows for the incident management team to<br />
download the data and plan further tasking.<br />
What specific criteria do you look for in a dog that might<br />
be suitable for mountain rescue work? First and foremost,<br />
you want a dog that will be physically capable to spend long<br />
hours working physically hard in challenging terrain. A pug or a<br />
sausage dog… probably not. There is not “one breed” that is the<br />
one and only to do this work but certain breeds to show attributed<br />
that have shown to be valuable in a search dogs. We can do<br />
certain character tests with a puppy to see if it may be suitable.<br />
In saying that- there is no guarantees. You will often only know<br />
after the first year or two if a dog will have what it takes.<br />
What do you find most rewarding about training mountain<br />
rescue dogs? It takes many hours to train a search dog.<br />
Thousands over the years. Spending that much of your free time<br />
with an animal builds a unique and special bond.<br />
What advice would you give to someone who's interested<br />
in becoming a mountain rescue dog trainer? Find out where<br />
your closest LandSAR group is and get in touch with them. All<br />
searchdog handlers are, first and foremost, operational LandSAR<br />
field team members. In my case, I am part of the Wanaka SAR<br />
group. Before you can start the journey as a search dog handler<br />
you will have to become proficient in the basic search and rescue<br />
techniques. The expectation for a dog handler is to be skilled in<br />
the outdoors and competent in the bush and harsh conditions for<br />
extended periods of time. If you are seriously considering doing<br />
this, I would recommend talking to a dog handler near you and<br />
quiz them as much as you can. Training a searchdog is a big<br />
commitment. There is much work happening in the background<br />
that is not all Heli flights and picturesque mountains. Although<br />
those do happen too ;)<br />
A huge shoutout to all the lovely people that go and hide for<br />
me and Roxy and the local landowners that let me access<br />
their properties to train on a regular basis. You cannot train a<br />
searchdog without the support of the people around you.<br />
Thanks to Gemma<br />
Parkin the LandSAR<br />
group support officer for<br />
searchdogs has given me a<br />
few stats.<br />
1055 operational hours<br />
last year (amongst all 17<br />
operational wilderness<br />
search dogs)<br />
100 operations – go the<br />
round number !<br />
For LandSAR nationally<br />
there were 300 new female<br />
members last year which<br />
was 38% of the new<br />
member intake all up.<br />
We currently have 10<br />
young dogs on the<br />
Trainingpath to become<br />
operational. (Roxy is one of<br />
them).<br />
Training in the Silverpeaks<br />
Image by Richard Warrington (SAR dog handler from Dunedin)<br />
If you would like to support the searchdogs, LandSAR<br />
searchdogs have a givealittle page - see details below:<br />
https://givealittle.co.nz/org/httpswwwsearchdogsconz<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//23
Image by Dan Griffiths / Red Bull Content Pool<br />
athlete<br />
JESS BLEWITT<br />
MOUNTAIN BIKER<br />
Originally from Mount Manganui on<br />
New Zealand’s North Island, Jess<br />
Blewitt grew up travelling over to the<br />
country’s South Island to compete in<br />
ski racing with Queenstown’s Alpine Ski<br />
Team at the Coronet Peak ski resort,<br />
before relocating there full-time with her<br />
family.<br />
Jess decided to transition to downhill<br />
mountain bike racing in 2019, but<br />
Coronet Peak remained her training<br />
ground of choice with its world-class<br />
track and facilities.<br />
After that her MTB career took off with a<br />
series of big results such as first place<br />
in the under-19 category of Crankworx<br />
Rotorura, first place at Phoenix Enduro<br />
and winning New Zealand’s national<br />
championship title, which helped secure<br />
her a place on the UCI Mountain Bike<br />
World Cup roster for 2021.<br />
Jess’s standout performances earned<br />
her an invitation to showcase her skills<br />
Stateside at Red Bull Formation 2021 in<br />
Virgin, Utah. She followed that up with<br />
a string of impressive Enduro World<br />
Series and World Cup displays.<br />
We caught up with Jess between race<br />
and training to get a little insight into to<br />
what it takes to be a world-class female<br />
mountain biker<br />
24//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239<br />
How did you get started in mountain<br />
biking, and what drew you to the<br />
sport? Funnily enough I moved to<br />
Queenstown for ski racing but later on<br />
ended up quitting. I never even knew<br />
properly what downhill mountain biking<br />
was but it was a pretty popular sport at<br />
the school I went to. A lot of my mates<br />
were racing or just riding for fun and<br />
one of them said I should give it a go<br />
and from there on I loved it!<br />
Which mountain biking discipline is<br />
your favourite, and why? Racing of<br />
course! Nothing beats going fast and<br />
wanting to win. I do also enjoy dabbling<br />
in a bit of freeride stuff here and there.<br />
What is your training routine like,<br />
and how do you balance it with other<br />
aspects of your life? Finding the right<br />
balance between social life and training<br />
is never easy. I definitely made a lot of<br />
sacrifices but I wouldn’t be where I am<br />
now without doing so. As long as your<br />
having fun along the way then your<br />
winning!<br />
What advice would you give to<br />
aspiring female mountain bikers who<br />
want to pursue a career in the sport?<br />
My advice would be to keep it fun and<br />
to never let anyone or anything ever<br />
stop you from pursuing a career.<br />
How do you approach risk-taking<br />
and pushing your limits in mountain<br />
biking? Sometimes it’s best to not think<br />
too much about the risk involved. The<br />
more it gets in your head the harder it is<br />
to want to push your limits or take risks.<br />
Of course you do have to weigh it up<br />
properly sometimes but you normally<br />
know if it’s too much for you.<br />
How do you deal with injuries or<br />
setbacks and maintain a positive<br />
mindset? I’ve dealt with some pretty big<br />
injuries myself and managed to came<br />
back from them without any setbacks.<br />
I think it’s all about trusting the process<br />
and just knowing that it’s normal for<br />
injuries to take time and that your not<br />
expected be right back where you were<br />
before it happened.<br />
What role does nutrition play in your<br />
performance as a mountain biker?<br />
It’s all about finding what fuels you for<br />
race week and gives you sufficient<br />
amounts of energy for a race run.<br />
How do you manage the pressure<br />
and expectations that come with<br />
being a top athlete in your sport? I<br />
sometimes don’t manage the pressure<br />
so well haha but having the right people<br />
in your corner definitely helps with that.<br />
Nicolas ('Nico') Piraud watches on as Jess Blewitt<br />
hits a feature dubbed "The Ovary" at Red Bull<br />
Formation in Virgin, Utah, USA<br />
Image by Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull Content Pool
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//25
How do you find a balance between<br />
competing and enjoying the pure love<br />
of mountain biking? I think if your not<br />
loving racing then it’s probably not the<br />
sport for you. For me a race week is<br />
just another week where I get to ride my<br />
bike fast and have a lot of fun. For me I<br />
feel like I already have the right balance<br />
especially with adding in the freeride stuff<br />
I do outside of racing.<br />
Any future goals or ambitions you<br />
have in the world of mountain biking?<br />
Would love that rainbow jersey one<br />
day haha! And to of course win the<br />
overall would be huge. I also just want<br />
to be a well respected rider within the<br />
industry and someone that the younger<br />
generation of girls look up to.<br />
How do you approach the process<br />
of analysing your performance and<br />
identifying areas for improvement?<br />
There’s always room for improvement.<br />
I’m constantly wanting to be better and I<br />
feel like with more experience over time<br />
the more things you see can help you<br />
when it comes to racing.<br />
What does the does the rest of 2023<br />
-2024 hold for Jess Blewitt? The rest<br />
of 2023 sees Jess competing in the full<br />
uci mtb downhill World Cup rounds and<br />
also attending Red Bull Hardline. 2024<br />
will be another big year of worlds cups<br />
and potential other events here and<br />
there.<br />
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Jess Blewitt at the Red Bull Mountain Bike Performance Camp in Machynlleth in Mai 2023, Wales.<br />
Image by Dan Griffiths / Red Bull Content Pool
MOUNTAIN BIKING IS FOR EVERYONE<br />
Some say mountain biking isn’t a great sport for middle<br />
aged women. I totally reject that assumption! Women are<br />
discovering that they can do their own thing in the sport, be<br />
themselves and go as hard or easy as they like.<br />
The sport combines fitness, the outdoors and a fantastic<br />
comradery within the sport. Its relatively low impact (at my<br />
level) and has been a fantastic family sport over the last<br />
15 years. Mountain bikers tend to support each other in an<br />
uncompetitive way. The sport focuses on skills rather than<br />
competition.<br />
I was not always into mountain biking, but when living<br />
in Wellington I got to know this guy who loved mountain<br />
biking (I ended up marrying him).<br />
When we first met, I was like, there is no way I am getting<br />
on a mountain bike and getting muddy and wet!! But I gave<br />
it a go.<br />
Typical boyfriend, for my first ride he takes me up the back<br />
of Eastbourne on this really hard ride. And I sort of liked it.<br />
Then he suggested Rotorua might be more my style for<br />
a newbie. I discovered that Whakarewarewa Forest has<br />
an abundance of lovely flowing green trails progressing<br />
to blue and that's when I really got the bug for mountain<br />
biking. Combine the forest with Rotorua’s hot pools and<br />
awesome café options and you have a real winning<br />
weekend combination.<br />
Mountain biking is a really social sport, you go out riding<br />
with your mates or family. There is something for everyone,<br />
girls and guys can ride together on relatively equal terms<br />
and it's a great excuse to get to outdoors.<br />
For those who are after a bit of female affirmation there<br />
are lots of women groups such as Mud Maidens. There are<br />
also quite a few women coaches in the major MTB parks.<br />
There are several ways you can get into biking, check out<br />
your local mountain bike club, they will have often a ladies<br />
group and lots of ladies are riding with friends and with<br />
their daughters.<br />
If you have a youngster who is keen to give it a go, in<br />
Auckland there is Bella’s on Bikes. This group caters to<br />
8 – 11 year old girls and are passionate about getting girls<br />
into mountain biking. Bellas was started around 5 years<br />
ago by a keen dad Mike Beale as a womens feeder to<br />
Jafakids Youth Academy. The program has proved to be<br />
a huge success with 40 percent of the 140 Jafakids now<br />
women. Also the number of female coaches has increased<br />
exponentially.<br />
In Wellington, Christchurch and Wanaka there is Word, a<br />
rad youth mountain bike club which also encourages girls<br />
and women to ride.<br />
There are still differences between men and women but<br />
E-bikes mean that everyone can be on a level playing field<br />
on the uphills. On the downhills you’re as fast as you want<br />
to be.<br />
The sport has evolved hugely in the last few years<br />
and more women are discovering the amazing sport of<br />
mountain biking.<br />
I would encourage all women to give it a crack!<br />
28//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Experts at adventure travel since 2000<br />
Your mountain bike travel specialists, with over<br />
20 years experience ensures you have a fantastic<br />
trip, crafted by people who really care.<br />
Image by Greg Rosenke<br />
New Zealand owned and operated<br />
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info@madabouttravel.co.nz<br />
madabouttravel.co.nz
Cool Wakuhshima<br />
Image by Miles Holden<br />
/ Red Bull Content Pool<br />
"It’d be cool to see more<br />
girls in general up the<br />
hill and I hope that by<br />
watching me or other girls<br />
hit the jumps, it inspires<br />
them to hit the jumps<br />
and come to the park<br />
because I know it can be<br />
intimidating. I know it<br />
was intimidating for me<br />
when I first started."
athlete<br />
COOL WAKUSHIMA<br />
While late to the scene, Queenstown<br />
based athlete, Cool Wakushima, has<br />
quickly made a name for herself in<br />
snow sports.<br />
MORE THAN<br />
JUST A NAME<br />
Cool represented New Zealand at the<br />
Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games,<br />
competing in Slopestyle. In the month<br />
prior to Beijing she achieved her career<br />
best World Cup result with a 5th place<br />
finish at the LAAX Open Snowboard<br />
Slopestyle World Cup.<br />
Growing up with a mother and older<br />
brother that were obsessed with<br />
snowboarding it was only natural she<br />
took a shine to the sport as well.<br />
"As a family we have always<br />
snowboarded together and on<br />
weekend’s growing up in Queenstown.<br />
When I was little, it came natural for me<br />
to pick up (my brothers) old boards and<br />
strap it on to me.<br />
"I didn’t quite grasp the competitive side<br />
of snowboarding till I was a bit older,<br />
which may sound little weird since it is<br />
a sport where you start young, but for<br />
me, I take it as a win."<br />
Cool's love and passion were evident<br />
when we caught up with her recently<br />
and the first question?<br />
Is that really your name?<br />
Possibly the best name ever for a snowboarder, is this<br />
your given name? Yes, it is my given name! I wish I had<br />
an incredible story to tell about how my name was made-up<br />
but there’s no story to share. My mum just liked it name and<br />
thought, ‘’this is it’’.<br />
You were born in Japan. When did you come to New<br />
Zealand? I spent my early childhood in Tokyo, Japan<br />
and moved to New Zealand in 2012. It was very different<br />
to what I had expected. For some reason, I thought we<br />
were moving to New York not New Zealand, because I<br />
didn’t really know about New Zealand. I arrived at the<br />
Queenstown Airport expecting a big city and was very<br />
surprised. I settled in nicely though – I liked it a lot more<br />
than the city life. Nature was good for me too.
How did you first get into snowboarding, and what<br />
attracted you to the sport? My family. My mum<br />
snowboarded she since was young and then I also have<br />
an older and a younger brother who snowboard. So it<br />
was pretty natural for me to pick up. We always went<br />
snowboarding together as a family on Saturday and Sunday.<br />
Until around 16 years old, I was snowboarding as a<br />
weekend rider with my family. But then it hit me that I<br />
wanted to do it as a career. I wanted to learn new tricks and<br />
travel the world.<br />
In the beginning, I loved snowboarding but I wasn’t very<br />
interested in hitting big jumps. But now I just want big<br />
jumps! It’s weird how the mindset changes when you see or<br />
get inspired by something. I’m really enjoying it now and I<br />
like that I got to choose to do it at my own pace.<br />
What challenges have you faced as a professional<br />
snowboarder, and how did you overcome them? As a<br />
professional, you are constantly wanting to learn new tricks<br />
and land, but injuries always come with action sports. I think<br />
the hardest thing I’ve faced was the injuries I’ve had in the<br />
past year. It was a challenge but it was good that I was able<br />
to go through that process and learn from it.<br />
Are there any specific tricks or manoeuvres that you're<br />
known for, or that you particularly enjoy performing? I<br />
love front-side spins and front 7's with mute to tail grabs. It’s<br />
something that I just do and whether it’s a small or big jump<br />
it gives me a ‘’that was sick’’. It’s a trick that no matter where<br />
I do it, I’m like ‘’I think that would’ve looked cool’’.<br />
What does a typical training regimen look like for you<br />
during the snowboarding season? I snowboard heaps<br />
during the snow season but there’s a lot of behind-thescenes<br />
training that I do as well. It’s essential to have a<br />
strong body so strength and conditioning is a vital part of my<br />
training because it’s a way to reduce the risk of injuries as<br />
well as help to perform at your best. I snowboard five times<br />
a week and have two days off and then I usually have two<br />
or three gym sessions throughout the week. I also get to<br />
learn about nutrition and psychology along the way.<br />
You were at the Beijing Winter Olympics. How was<br />
that experience? It was a pretty crazy experience! I got<br />
injured there, which sucked. I actually didn’t know that I<br />
was going to make it to Beijing until the last competition<br />
that I did, which was around 2-3 weeks before. It was pretty<br />
hectic. The level of riding was insane and although I didn’t<br />
really get to compete the way that I wanted to because<br />
of my injury, it was great to witness how much women's<br />
snowboarding has grown in the past years and to see<br />
everyone come together.<br />
Have you ever had any significant injuries while<br />
snowboarding, and how did you recover from them?<br />
2022 - 2023 Northern and Southern season was pretty<br />
rough. I had back-to-back injuries – around four. They were<br />
pretty big which put me out of snowboarding for quite some<br />
time. It was a big learning stage because I hadn’t really had<br />
injuries from when I was 16 until now.<br />
Since the Olympics, I had back-to-back injuries. I was pretty<br />
bummed. Physically I was fine and the pain would pass. It<br />
was mentally that I struggled to get myself back. It was hard<br />
but there was a lot of time spent reflecting, time to learn<br />
about myself and I had a lot of support from Snow Sports<br />
and Red Bull.<br />
I’m so excited now to be back on the snow, back to where I<br />
was and able to snowboard with all my friends.<br />
Cool Wakuhshima performs during a helicopter<br />
snowboarding mission near Wanaka, New Zealand<br />
Image by Miles Holden / Red Bull Content Pool<br />
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ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//33
Cool Wakushima performs at the Swatch Nines in Mürren, Switzerland on April 22, 2023.<br />
Image byt Lorenz Richard / Red Bull Content Pool<br />
Are there any other athletes or snowboarders who inspire<br />
you or whom you look up to? I love Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.<br />
She’s someone I look up to. She’s my teammate and it’s cool<br />
and crazy that I get to snowboard with her. Watching her at the<br />
2018 Olympics was one of the reasons I was inspired to go in<br />
the direction of snowboarding as a career.<br />
I also love Hailey Langland. I’ve always looked up to her. I love<br />
how she rides – it just looks fun.<br />
I also look up to my friends. They’re not anyone famous.<br />
They’re the people that I first snowboarded with that weren’t my<br />
family and are the first crew I’ve had. They’re called ‘Platinum<br />
Crew’. They were all boys and I was the only girl but they never<br />
made me feel that way. They were all better than me – I could<br />
see them being better and I was always trying to chase it.<br />
They’re good friends and some of my favourite snowboarders<br />
of all time.<br />
What advice would you give aspiring female snowboarders<br />
who want to pursue a career in the sport? They can do it;<br />
just start. I feel like the snowboarding community, especially<br />
for women, is so small. Just get amongst it. They don’t have to<br />
go down the professional route. It’d be cool to see more girls<br />
in general up the hill and I hope that by watching me or other<br />
girls hit the jumps, it inspires them to hit the jumps and come<br />
to the park because I know it can be intimidating. I know it was<br />
intimidating for me when I first started.<br />
I want everyone to know that anyone’s welcome in the park.<br />
It’s never too late to start. I know we can get scared – for me,<br />
it was scary until I was 16 and realised what I wanted. But<br />
snowboarding is fun! It’s nothing to be scared of. And one day<br />
the ‘’scary’’ part becomes funny – you laugh and think it’s funny<br />
and fun to fall over.<br />
What is your favourite snowboarding-related travel<br />
destination outside of New Zealand? I love Switzerland. It’s<br />
really nice. I actually love the whole of Europe. It’s beautiful. I<br />
did two months there on my own and it was so much fun.<br />
Do you have any specific rituals or superstitions that you<br />
follow before or during a competition? I clear my mind<br />
completely. I try not to think about snowboarding or anything<br />
at all. I do think about the imagery of what my run is going to<br />
look like before I drop in. But when I’m about to drop in, I look<br />
around and try not to think about any snowboarding at all. This<br />
works really well for me. For example, I’ll look around and try<br />
to spot something like a parachuter up the hill and I’ll be like<br />
‘’ohhh’’ and just drop in.<br />
How important is teamwork and collaboration in<br />
snowboarding, especially when working with your<br />
sponsors, coaches or fellow riders?<br />
It’s really important. Snowboarding is an individual sport –<br />
when you’re on the course, you’re by yourself and it’s not like<br />
someone is there to help. But teamwork is important, so is<br />
communicating with all your support crew. They’re there to help<br />
you and they want to help you. To me, it’s essential to have a<br />
good crew on the hill and I really like to treasure the moments I<br />
have up there with others and I love learning with them.<br />
It also makes it easier to try new things. When someone else's<br />
trying or pushing you, it becomes a big motivation. Although it's<br />
an individual sport, there is a lot of teamwork that comes with it.<br />
What are your goals and aspirations for your<br />
snowboarding 2023 -2024? My vision is to make a name<br />
for myself within the snowboard community and get an<br />
international stage. To do that I need this domestic season, and<br />
I’ve got to put my head down and work hard to be ready for the<br />
2024 northern season!<br />
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locals<br />
WĀHINE TOA<br />
PROUD TO CALL RUAPEHU HOME<br />
From majestic mountains to sacred rivers, the living landscape of Ruapehu is<br />
home to many wāhine toa proud to call this place home - where the natural<br />
environment is a life force to respect, care for and preserve for generations to<br />
come. Meet some of Ruapehu’s local champions and tourism operators inviting<br />
visitors to connect deeper and discover authentic adventures here like no other.<br />
Operator Profile: Rebecca Mead, Ngati Raukawa<br />
Whanganui River Canoes, Raetihi Holiday Park,<br />
Mountain Bike Station, Raetihi<br />
Who I Am:<br />
Kia ora, I am Rebecca. My partner Ben and I own and<br />
operate our family businesses in Ruapehu. Operating<br />
Raetihi Holiday Park, Whanganui River Canoes, and<br />
Mountain Bike Station we meet manuhiri from all over<br />
New Zealand and around the world.<br />
We love raising our 3 kids in such a small, remote,<br />
close-knit community, with plenty of opportunity for<br />
adventure around the corner.<br />
Top Recommendations for <strong>Adventure</strong> Seekers In Ruapehu:<br />
When holidaying in Ruapehu there really is something<br />
for everyone. Our small holiday park is a lovely spot for<br />
adventurers to use as a base.<br />
• Take a stroll along the beautiful Mākōtuku River Walkway<br />
alongside our Holiday Park. Join our team for a 3-day<br />
canoe trip down the Whanganui River, or our Mountains to<br />
Sea Cycle Trail ride.<br />
What I Love About My Community:<br />
The last few years have been especially difficult, but all the<br />
hospitality and tourism operators in Ruapehu want each other<br />
to succeed, so it is always good to catch up with each other<br />
and see how we can help each other out. Our community has<br />
so many vibrant young rangatahi, with so many stories to tell, I<br />
can't wait to see our industry grow even stronger.<br />
My Favourite Childhood Memory:<br />
I grew up in Aramoho Whanganui, overlooking the everchanging<br />
Whanganui River. Most of my treasured childhood<br />
memories are with my three brothers on the banks of the<br />
Whanganui River. My oldest brother passed away when he<br />
was 17 and I was 14, and although we spent our early years<br />
paddling, swimming, and exploring the lower reaches of the<br />
river, he never got to see the beauty of the upper reaches we<br />
live on today. Each time I paddle, jet boat, or stay on the awa<br />
with my children, I imagine my brother is with us.<br />
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Operator Profile: Sheryl Simpson, Ngati Tuwharetoa<br />
Rua Awa Lodge, Kakahi<br />
Who I Am:<br />
I’m a former ultra-distance, multi day adventurer,<br />
triathlete, and yoga teacher. I live in Kakahi my<br />
tūrangawaewae.<br />
What I Love About My Community:<br />
The connectivity, support, friendly chats and<br />
waves, pace of life and everyday beauty in the<br />
Ruapehu District.<br />
What We Do And Services We Offer Our<br />
Guests:<br />
My husband Warren and I own and run Rua<br />
Awa Lodge, relax, and reconnect is our mantra!<br />
You can do as much or as little as you like, we<br />
provide homegrown and homemade breakfast<br />
provisions, you can order delicious food from<br />
our farm kitchen for a true garden to plate<br />
experience. If you are interested in food-based<br />
workshops, we offer many and can also lead<br />
Yoga & stretch sessions for guests, the lodge<br />
has a spacious Yoga studio. With direct access<br />
to the Whanganui and Whakapapa Rivers,<br />
fishing, swimming, and walking are all available<br />
from our doorstep. We are part of Tourism<br />
Industry Aotearoa’s sustainability commitment,<br />
and imbue the Tiaki Promise to care for people,<br />
place, and culture.<br />
Top Recommendations for <strong>Adventure</strong> Seekers In Ruapehu:<br />
• Spend some time on the Whanganui River for the journey<br />
of a lifetime - a completely immersive and must-do<br />
experience. Owhango <strong>Adventure</strong>s offer a cultural guided<br />
journey down the Whanganui River with local Māori guides<br />
who offer a unique perspective, cultural insight, and history.<br />
• Cycle or hike the Timber Trail, the options are endless,<br />
immerse yourself for a few days for a truly outstanding<br />
experience.<br />
• Adrift Tongariro offer a guided hike on the Tongariro Alpine<br />
Crossing in winter amidst a magnificent snow-covered<br />
landscape. Everything is supplied if you need it, so go for<br />
it! You'll be talking about it forever.<br />
• Ohinetonga Reserve is my absolute favourite. The diversity<br />
of the track is what keeps me coming back weekly, it's<br />
very well maintained by a dedicated group of locals<br />
(Owhango Alive) with swimming and picnic spots along<br />
the way. Excellent views of the Whakapapa River and a<br />
boardwalk crosses Ohinetonga Lagoon. Easily accessed<br />
with amenities.<br />
My Vision For Our Place:<br />
To offer our guests an opportunity to<br />
experience a slice of New Zealand rural life,<br />
in a small village environment. With beautiful<br />
accommodation and surroundings that<br />
encourage deep breaths, slow travel, and a<br />
sense of wonder.<br />
To read more stories and find your next adventure visit www.visitruapehu.com<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//37
explore<br />
TANGLES AND<br />
TRIUMPHS<br />
WOMEN FLYFISHING IN NZ<br />
Flyfishing is a male-dominated sport.<br />
Go to any river, any lake and if there<br />
are people flyfishing, they will in the<br />
main be men. But there is a growing<br />
number of female anglers, who not only<br />
enjoy the sport but are actively involved<br />
in competitions. This number is growing<br />
fast, and to find out we caught up with<br />
Sarah Delany, one afternoon when she<br />
was not on the river.<br />
The location is half of the passion of trout fishing -<br />
Sarah on the Whanganui River. ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//39<br />
- Image by Cory Scott
40//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Sarah tell us a little about your background. I’m originally from<br />
Wellington and moved to Taupo about 19 years ago for a change of<br />
lifestyle to get away from the corporate job. I chose Taupo so I could fish<br />
and ski. But life has other plans for me and a combination of two spinal<br />
operations and a baby kept me away from both for many years. However<br />
now with a titanium l4/l5/s1 in my back in 2020 it’s given me the strength<br />
to pursue my passion for fly fishing. I have fallen in love with all aspects<br />
of fly fishing. I love the mental and physical challenges. I like being in the<br />
outdoors, and love catching fish as well as the planning and fly-tying it’s an<br />
all-consuming culture not just fishing.<br />
Growing up in Wellington we lived near Evans Bay and always seemed to<br />
have access to a boat where we fished Cook Straight and the Marlborough<br />
sounds (this was the 70s there were fish in the sounds them!). I loved<br />
fishing, but my older sister hated it. I believe you are born an angler or<br />
not. Some people just don’t get it. From an early age, I simply loved it. Not<br />
sure whether it was spending time with my dad, or actually catching fish,<br />
I’m not sure, but I always loved it as a little girl. When I was at university in<br />
Christchurch, I found out about fly fishing and realised you could go fishing<br />
without a boat, and Malcolm Bell ran a fly-fishing course for beginners, and<br />
I had a few outings before partying and travel took over for a decade or so!<br />
I’ve always loved the outdoors. As a teenager through school, I got to go<br />
to the outdoor pursuits centre in Turangi for a few days, which had a huge<br />
impact on me. A few years later, I ended up graduating with a degree in<br />
parks, recreation and tourism management from Lincoln University.<br />
I then always dabbled with sea kayaking trips, tramps, rafting, and<br />
triathlons. Just for recreation, nothing serious. I loved the adventure and<br />
outdoors.<br />
Your back injury issues sounds serious. How does it affect your<br />
fishing? Before my fusion surgery I was too fatigued to go out for the<br />
whole day and at one stage I couldn’t walk 100m without having to sit<br />
down. It was a risky operation, and they aren’t always successful but<br />
at that stage I was 50 years old with a 9 year old and I didn’t want to sit<br />
around and do nothing for the next 40 years so I took the risk and the<br />
operation was a success for me.<br />
How do you get around the back issue? I’m not allowed to run ever<br />
again (there goes my marathon career!) Nor use a rowing machine, or<br />
anything jarring- so fly fishing is just great for me. I do kettlebell swings<br />
and exercises and a lot of stretching otherwise I seize up. I am motivated<br />
to exercise as there are places, I want to walk to and fish. This year I<br />
walked into a doc hut 8km and fished and walked out again with a pack<br />
and fishing gear. This was such an achievement for me. Planning the next<br />
trip for 2 nights in November when we get back from the World Champs.<br />
What is it that draws you to fly fishing? It is a pastime which ticks all<br />
the boxes - physical fitness, and mental challenge trying to catch trout in<br />
all types of water, be it a lake (shallow or deep), different rivers large and<br />
small, deep pools, shallow runs tests your physically and mentally all the<br />
time. So many types of water mean different techniques are needed to<br />
catch trout, using different rods and flies. Knowing what to use in each<br />
situation is a challenge and a skill; and it’s a lifetime of learning.<br />
And the fish takes the hook, Koranga River - Image by Cory Scott<br />
Tell us about competitive fly fishing? Competitive sports fly fishing is<br />
run on both lakes and rivers. For lakes you have a 3x3 hr session in a<br />
small fly-fishing boat. You catch, measure and release for points. On a<br />
river, it’s 3x2 hr sessions where you are given a stretch of water to try to<br />
catch, measure and release as many within that 2-hr period. There is a<br />
minimum size, and you get points for the fish and length. It’s been going<br />
on for many years.<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//41
Koranga River<br />
There are not a lot of women fly fishing – is there a bias?<br />
Depends on where you are in New Zealand, Taupo has a lot of<br />
women fishing. I think Taupo fishing club is 40% women which is<br />
the largest proportion in NZ we think. I don’t know why more women<br />
aren’t into it - it’s accessible, and a lot of women like fishing in general.<br />
We have definitely seen an interest growing. I run a fly-fishing<br />
tournament in Turangi each year it’s exploded to 40 anglers this year<br />
when we started with about 9 friends.<br />
Fly tying: surely it is cheaper to go buy a fly than make one, why<br />
make the effort? In sports fly fishing barbless hooks are used, and<br />
you can’t buy flies with barbless hooks, so I was kind of forced into<br />
fly tying! But it does improve your angling- if you go somewhere and<br />
you think you need a heavier nymph for a certain situation, you can<br />
go home, tie them up and have them in your fly box for next time. I<br />
think tying your own, you are more aware of the flies you need, their<br />
weights, and even different hooks for certain situations.<br />
What advice would you give anyone who is keen to learn to fly<br />
fish? Join a club and meet people and learn how to fish the water you<br />
want e.g., fishing small streams in the Waikato is going to be different<br />
than fishing the Tongariro. Where are you going to fish you meet<br />
people and often go with them.<br />
Is there anyone on YouTube you follow and suggest that other do<br />
too? I’m pretty focused on learning competition-style fishing so watch<br />
a few competition anglers e.g., Tactical Fly Fisher, and smart angling.<br />
For fly tying you can’t go past Davie McPhail and his lovely accent!<br />
On the Tongariro with the kids<br />
In terms of fly fishing what do you wish<br />
you knew when you started that you know<br />
now? I think I would say to someone sit back<br />
and watch and ask questions. Watch someone<br />
catching fish and ask them what technique they<br />
are using, what gear they are using, and what<br />
kind of water suits their gear. There are different<br />
techniques to suit different types of water, which<br />
can be confusing at first, but once you get it, it<br />
opens up a lot of fishing space for you!<br />
If there is one piece of equipment under<br />
$100 that you would not be without when<br />
fly fishing? A cord which attaches to my fly<br />
box and to my vest, so all of the flies I have so<br />
carefully tied, will never be lost down the river.<br />
42//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
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TOUGHEN UP IN<br />
WHIRINAKI<br />
FOREST PARK<br />
Eric finding out that most of the track was in the river - Image by Antz<br />
By Eric Skilling<br />
The promise was for gentle climbs<br />
through one of the most ancient forests<br />
in New Zealand, encounters with the<br />
native whio from the many rivers and<br />
streams, followed by long evenings<br />
in front of warm fires in the company<br />
of like-minded friends. Weather<br />
forecasters also promised at least one<br />
cloudless day and we were due a full<br />
moon. The perfect time and place for a<br />
mid-winter long weekend getaway-fromit-all<br />
and refresh. The sentence in the<br />
guide stating “sixty-plus river crossings<br />
in the first day” couldn’t possibly be<br />
correct - could it?<br />
The Reality was all of that plus many<br />
more raucous bird encounters than we<br />
could ever have imagined - including<br />
kiwi. Add in plenty of treefall to clamber<br />
over, some unwelcome encounters with<br />
ongaonga, and full-flowing rivers of icecold<br />
water after weeks of record rainfall.<br />
Altogether an adventurous three days<br />
full of great water-cooler stories.<br />
Sharing Whirinaki Hut with Jacob,<br />
a DOC contractor working from the<br />
shelter, was another highpoint. Apart<br />
from his entertaining company, his firelighting<br />
skills are now legendary.<br />
River Road carpark to Mangamate Hut:<br />
5 Hours<br />
Within the first hour of leaving the car<br />
park we came across the DOC track sign<br />
boldly alleging 6.5km or 3.5 hours to the<br />
hut. Anything averaging less than two<br />
kilometres an hour suggested challenging<br />
terrain ahead. A little surprising<br />
considering the topo map showed an<br />
elevation gain of less than 350 metres to<br />
the night’s accommodation.<br />
It wasn’t long before we understood<br />
why the going was so slow – we spent<br />
as much time in the river as alongside<br />
it. “Sixty river crossings” is just code for<br />
“most of the track is in the river”. Not really<br />
a problem in summer with warmer water<br />
and lots of exposed rocks. But In winter,<br />
with most of the rocks well submerged,<br />
our boots were saturated in numbingly<br />
cold water within minutes of starting the<br />
trail to Mangamate Hut.<br />
Treefall was not that common, but what<br />
there was took us well off the marked<br />
route as we clambered up steep banks<br />
and around mangled roots of once mighty<br />
podocarps. A steep sided river valley and<br />
high canopy kept the sky hidden for most<br />
of the journey, and the much-vaunted<br />
sun was limited to a few patches of open<br />
ground alongside the river.<br />
Somehow this never seemed to bother<br />
our little group of five. It felt good to be<br />
immersed in these evergreen forests.<br />
Matai, totara and kahikatea - trunks larger<br />
than the reach of outstretched arms - lined<br />
the trail. Masses of multicoloured mosses,<br />
lichens and fungus coated the fallen<br />
branches and trunks of trees.<br />
Shrill warning calls of whio/blue duck<br />
were quite common, as were the cries of<br />
robin, piwakaka, yellowhead and what I<br />
optimistically believed to be the chirrup of<br />
the diminutive riflemen.<br />
Reaching Mangamate Hut early afternoon,<br />
with saturated boots but thawing feet<br />
after exiting the river for the last couple of<br />
kilometres, was very welcome. Our elation<br />
was a little tempered when a couple that<br />
had arrived earlier informed us they were<br />
pitching a tent after discovering rats in the<br />
hut. Fortunately, they had kindly swept<br />
the hut of droppings, and sanitiser in<br />
hand, we decided to brave the possibility<br />
of uninvited guests. Luckily there was no<br />
sign of the local vermin during our short<br />
stay although we did discourage them by<br />
hanging our food in bags from a hook,<br />
strategically screwed into the pitched<br />
ceiling.<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//45
Left: Scrambling over treefall on<br />
the last day.<br />
Top: Making our way slowly up<br />
Mangamate Stream<br />
Above: Unwelcome welcome to<br />
River Road Car Park<br />
Right: Enjoying a good read over<br />
coffee at Mangamate Hut<br />
Saying it was quite cold is like describing<br />
bungie-jumping as quite exciting. I can<br />
assure you there are no brass monkeys<br />
living around Mangamate hut – they all<br />
became impotent and extinct a long time<br />
ago. An hour after sunrise the next day<br />
- and in full sun, the thin red line on the<br />
thermometer nailed to a post on the deck<br />
failed to reach zero. Hardly surprising but<br />
still a shock after an autumn of warm, wet<br />
weather.<br />
It wasn’t long before we had unpacked<br />
and joined our fellow hikers on the deck.<br />
We gazed out at the undulating carpet of<br />
green canopy draping the steep valley<br />
walls around us while sipping hot coffee<br />
and dunking gingernuts.<br />
Managing to get a fire going made the<br />
small hut very cosy, inviting a game of<br />
cards in dim candlelight. Following a<br />
few games of rummy, which ended up<br />
with more rules than a Health and Safety<br />
Manual on a Nuclear Submarine, bad light<br />
forced us onto bunks. It’s been a while<br />
since I have worn a thermal top all day, but<br />
even longer since I have donned a full set<br />
before climbing into a sleeping bag.<br />
An hour or so later I was woken by the<br />
moon as it appeared over the ridge.<br />
Being miles away from the interference<br />
of human-made light pollution, it shone<br />
brightly enough to make it difficult to see<br />
all but the brightest stars. One of those<br />
incidents when you find yourself standing<br />
and staring – despite the ice-cold air. Yet<br />
another memorable moment.<br />
Mangamate Hut to Central Whirinaki<br />
Hut: 5 hours Unsurprisingly, within an<br />
hour of leaving Mangamate hut we found<br />
ourselves stepping off the end of a well<br />
worm track into the crystal clear but cold<br />
waters of the Whirinaki River.<br />
Once again, we were cheered on our<br />
way by several whio, robin, and other<br />
native birds, clearly enjoying life in this<br />
remarkable forest. Unfortunately, we<br />
were also witness to some track damage<br />
caused by rooting pigs. These trotting<br />
swine clearly relish consuming the protein<br />
rich native earthworm – competing<br />
with our national bird for this source of<br />
nourishment.<br />
More personally three of us incurred<br />
the wrath of ongaonga or nettle. Leaves<br />
ranging in size from a few to almost<br />
thirty centimetres, with “hairs” up to<br />
10 millimetres high, ready to imbed<br />
themselves in any exposed flesh.<br />
Symptoms ranged from a painful rash<br />
on the back of the hands to a curiously<br />
irritating numbness. Potentially fatal<br />
for dogs, the stings were more of a<br />
nuisance to us and responded well to<br />
antihistamines.<br />
Even colder than the previous day it was<br />
blissful to round a bend and see the river<br />
flat and Whirinaki Hut ahead.<br />
Typically slow learners, a short time after<br />
arriving the two males in the party decided<br />
to have a wash. They disappeared into<br />
the mists in the direction of the river,<br />
battered pots from the hut kitchen in<br />
hand. The girls were far more sensible<br />
– pulling collapsible buckets out of their<br />
packs, boiling some water, adding some<br />
tank water, and disappearing in the other<br />
direction, leaving a trail of warm vapour in<br />
their wake.<br />
Minutes later the shrieks and yells from<br />
the “tough” males resounded across the<br />
previously tranquil valley. Half an hour<br />
later there are no prizes for guessing who<br />
46//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
equip<br />
yourself!<br />
was on their knees in front of the wood<br />
stove - desperately blowing at a pile of<br />
wet kindling, and who was sitting at the<br />
table calmly drinking coffee and doing the<br />
puzzles. Eventually the girls mustered<br />
some sympathy and joined us as we<br />
attempted to start a warming fire with wet<br />
firewood and kindling. Two hours later we<br />
were resigned to a freezing night in the hut.<br />
Fortunately for all of us, Jacob, the DOC<br />
contractor arrived at the door, poked<br />
his head in to say a quick “hi” and then<br />
disappeared. He returned a little later<br />
loaded with a wheelbarrow of dry wood,<br />
firelighters, and paper. He proceeded to<br />
create a roaring fire within a few minutes<br />
under the adoring eyes of five shivering<br />
hikers.<br />
Jacob’s knowledge of the bush kept us<br />
entertained for much of the evening. Big<br />
thanks to him for making this forest a safe<br />
place for our native birds.<br />
That night we were treated to a nice warm<br />
hut, and the inimitable calls of our native<br />
north island brown kiwi. Another treasured<br />
experience.<br />
Whirinaki Hut to River Road Carpark:<br />
5 Hours Next day we were up before<br />
dawn to meet a midday deadline with our<br />
transport home. Setting off in the dark<br />
was not that appealing, so we set off in<br />
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km an hour. It helped that it was superb<br />
hiking conditions – cool, plenty of small<br />
streams to refill water bottles, and a mostly<br />
wide bench track. We covered the 16km in<br />
less than 5 hours including stops at Vern<br />
Camp, and to view robin and whio, and to<br />
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appreciate the distinctive cries of a local<br />
kaka as it escorted us out of its territory.<br />
There was some change to the vegetation<br />
with more stands of ponga and pikopiko,<br />
and more mature podocarps. Closer to the<br />
waterfall the forest trees included some<br />
impressive red and silver beech.<br />
We all arrived back physically feeling the<br />
effects of a challenging three days, but<br />
mentally revitalised after enjoying this<br />
magnificent forest.<br />
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ESPORTS<br />
THE IMPACT OF THE OLYMPICS<br />
Duane Motu directing the future<br />
The inclusion of esports in the<br />
Olympics has generated a significant<br />
impact and sparked both excitement<br />
and controversy. Esports, which<br />
involves competitive video gaming,<br />
has garnered a massive global<br />
following in recent years, especially<br />
among younger generations. By<br />
bringing esports to the Olympic stage,<br />
the Games have seen increased<br />
engagement from new audiences and<br />
a massive surge in digital viewership.<br />
The question now begs, does this<br />
allow the Olympics to stay relevant<br />
and adapt to modern entertainment<br />
preferences or does it water-down the<br />
fundamentals of Olympic competitive<br />
sport?<br />
Despite the positive impacts, including<br />
esports under the Olympic rings has<br />
faced criticism from various quarters.<br />
Traditionalists argue that esports<br />
lack the physicality and athleticism of<br />
conventional Olympic sports (which<br />
does show a lack of understanding of<br />
how esports are sometimes played).<br />
The journey of esports towards<br />
Olympic recognition has been gradual.<br />
The International Olympic Committee<br />
(IOC) first acknowledged esports'<br />
potential cultural impact and began<br />
engaging with stakeholders in the<br />
gaming industry during the early<br />
2010s. In 2017, esports made its<br />
first appearance in the Asian Indoor<br />
and Martial Arts Games, marking<br />
a significant step towards broader<br />
recognition was included as a<br />
demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian<br />
Games in Jakarta.<br />
Earlier this year Singapore, hosted the<br />
first in-person Olympic Esports Week<br />
including 10 finals in the Olympic<br />
Esports Series 2023.<br />
It began with the Olympic Esports<br />
Week Forum, which heard from<br />
industry leaders in technology,<br />
gaming, and real-world sports as well<br />
as top players such as Ewok and<br />
Jaime "Karma" Bickford.<br />
Once competition began form the very<br />
first event, the Zwift cycling final, to<br />
the very last, the eFIBA on NBA2k23<br />
exhibition, sports and gaming came<br />
together to produce an impressive<br />
show watched by huge numbers .<br />
Tic Tac Bow (archery), Virtual Regatta<br />
(sailing), Just Dance (dance), WBSC<br />
eBASEBALL: POWER PROS<br />
(baseball), Chess.com (chess),<br />
Tennis Clash (tennis), ISSF Challenge<br />
featuring Fortnite (shooting), and Gran<br />
Turismo 7 (motorsport) all also got<br />
their time in the limelight under the<br />
traditional Olympic Rings.<br />
The shooting and motorsport<br />
competitions, played with large<br />
followings worldwide, understandably<br />
popular – but it was the Virtual<br />
Taekwondo event, the last final of the<br />
Olympic Esports Series 2023, which<br />
drew one of the biggest crowds of the<br />
entire Olympic Esports Week.<br />
At the forefront of esports, worldwide<br />
is the Kiwi, Duane Mutu, we caught up<br />
with Duane found out more about who<br />
he was and got a positive glimpse into<br />
what some see as a controversial<br />
future.<br />
Who is Duane Mutu? I am an NZ<br />
Maori with ties to the far north Te<br />
Rarawa, Ngati Kahu but reside in<br />
Orewa on the sunny Hibiscus Coast.<br />
I have a wife, two kids, a dog, a cat,<br />
two mice and a fish. I went to Uni<br />
and left to travel the world and spent<br />
time in Asia, Australia, and Europe<br />
before coming home. Throughout<br />
that journey I primarily worked in two<br />
sectors which I think are very similar -<br />
gaming and action sports.<br />
I worked in UK launching Mambo<br />
surfwear and spent time at other surf<br />
brands too. I launched the NZ TV<br />
channel Garage TV which was a 24-<br />
hour action sport network. In gaming,<br />
I was lucky enough to launch the<br />
Nintendo Game Cube and worked<br />
with the biggest gaming brands like<br />
Ubisoft, Disney, EA. I have always<br />
been fascinated with both sectors and<br />
seen similarities. I grew up skating,<br />
surfing and snowboarding before it<br />
was mainstream and a lot people<br />
frowned upon the sector and its<br />
participants and that now is similar<br />
to esports. Nobody saw surfing and<br />
skating making the Olympics back<br />
when I started surfing, but that is<br />
true for Gaming now, and I have just<br />
returned from the first-ever Olympic<br />
esports week… history repeating.<br />
Who or what is Letsplay.live?<br />
Letsplay.live is a company I created<br />
to grow the best video game players<br />
in NZ and we were very early to the<br />
48//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
sector - like globally early, it was<br />
created to promote NZ to the world<br />
but then we became a world leader<br />
in the space. Now LPL is seen as the<br />
leading esports media and tournament<br />
operator in the region and we deliver<br />
tournaments and content to all parts<br />
of the world with the best players,<br />
biggest game publishers and brands.<br />
For those that live completely<br />
under a rock or never spoken<br />
with a teen. Describe esport –<br />
what is it, what it is not and brief<br />
development/ history and projected<br />
growth? Esports is the term used to<br />
describe competitive video gaming.<br />
This can be 1v1, 3v3, 5 v5 or even<br />
a game like Fortnite where it is 100<br />
people. It is very similar to sport but<br />
with a digital playing field. The games<br />
vary as do the players so it looks more<br />
like actions sports - surfing being<br />
different to moto cross for example.<br />
For people who think esports is a<br />
passing phase, the video game sector<br />
is already bigger than movies and<br />
music combined so it is the largest<br />
entertainment sector in the world.<br />
People may feel that it is weird<br />
watching other people play games<br />
but isn’t that just sport? There are<br />
more people watching esport content<br />
globally than those that watch rugby!<br />
Esports is already one of the most<br />
watched sports on the planet. League<br />
of Legends (A video game) finals<br />
equalled the Superbowl in viewership.<br />
How can Esports be part of the<br />
Olympics when there is so little<br />
activity – the same questions were<br />
asked of chess and the IOC attitude<br />
was, "Mind sports, by their nature,<br />
cannot be part of the program."<br />
Has this changed ? The Olympics<br />
have gone a slightly different direction<br />
to start the journey into esports and<br />
have focussed primarily on “virtual<br />
sports” where the competitor is<br />
physically doing the activity in a<br />
digital environment. It is interesting<br />
you mention chess as that was one<br />
of the events at the OEW and the<br />
players played virtual chess. The<br />
likes of Zwift is a great example also<br />
where the athletes (of which some<br />
were former elite global cyclists) ride<br />
physical bikes and that propels them<br />
in a digital bike race. Just dance was<br />
another where the players danced<br />
on stage, and they were scored with<br />
the video game. This aligns to the<br />
Olympic Values and helps translate<br />
traditional athletes across the gaming<br />
space. The push back has really come<br />
from the gaming community who<br />
would prefer traditional esport titles<br />
like DOTA, LOL , CSGO but I am sure<br />
this is only a start, and in time more<br />
of the traditional esports will appear<br />
at the Olympics. What I know is that<br />
the Olympics will not leave esports<br />
now as they have announced another<br />
Olympic esport week in 2025 so it will<br />
just be whether gaming does show up<br />
as a medalled sport in either summer<br />
or winter Olympics in time or it stays<br />
as its own Olympic event.<br />
Who needs who more? Does<br />
Esports need the Olympics or<br />
does the Olympics need Esport?<br />
The Olympics needs esports more<br />
than esports needs the Olympics<br />
but this true for all traditional sports.<br />
There is a decline in viewership on<br />
traditional sport globally, be that All<br />
Blacks, NRL, NFL etc hence why<br />
sports are trying to engage in video<br />
gaming. Gaming content is the most<br />
watched content globally but certainly<br />
in the youth demographic so it makes<br />
sense for sports to try and embrace<br />
this. It comes as no surprise that the<br />
Olympics is trying to bring gaming<br />
into the Olympic tent. If you speak<br />
with a 17-year-old anywhere in the<br />
world and asked them if they want<br />
to watch synchronised swimming or<br />
archery, or Fortnite, NBA2K or GT7<br />
the answer will almost always be the<br />
gaming content. This is a way for the<br />
Olympics to modernise no different<br />
than offering breakdancing, surfing<br />
and skateboarding; it is to engage a<br />
younger demographic. Esports is no<br />
different.<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//49
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Home to a tiny island<br />
community of 212 people<br />
jurawhisky.com
THE ILLUME<br />
In June 2023 the public has a say in the semifinal of the Instagram<br />
category of the Red Bull Illume 2023 contest. Normally, a panel of<br />
judges consisting of photographers, industry experts, and others<br />
decides the winners of the most prestigious action photography<br />
competition in the world. However, these categories are an exception.<br />
Out of the 25 semi-finalists selected for photos and reels, the public<br />
decided which five will advance to the grand final and be invited<br />
to the award ceremony in Sölden, Austria, from November 28th<br />
to November 30th, 2023. Moreover, their work will be part of the<br />
contest's travelling exhibition, and they will be in contention for victory<br />
in this category.<br />
The submissions include photos and videos of various action sports<br />
like surfing, kiteboarding, wakeboarding, snowboarding, diving,<br />
skateboarding, freeskiing, BMX, mountain biking (MTB), wingsuit<br />
flying, kayaking, parkour, motocross, climbing, and adventure.<br />
Photographer: Jeremy Blatti,<br />
Athlete: Hamada Kamel,<br />
Location: Soma Bay, Egypt
Photographer: Keenan Meyer,<br />
Athlete: Murray Loubser,<br />
Location: Maidens Cove, Cape Town, South Africa<br />
54//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
56//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Photographer: Yhabril,<br />
Athlete: Alejandro Arellano,<br />
Location: Malacara Peak, Spain.
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zerofit//Heatrub Neckwarmer<br />
RRP:$49.95 (AUD)<br />
The Neck Warmer uses the<br />
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zerofit//Heatrub move<br />
RRP:$109.95 (AUD)<br />
The Move features a 45%<br />
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zerofit//Heatrub Ultimate<br />
RRP:$129.95 (AUD)<br />
The award-winning Heatrub<br />
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layers<br />
rab Nexus Hoody $179.95<br />
A lightweight hooded slim fit<br />
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outdoor research Cirque Lite Pants $249.99<br />
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rab Xenair Alpine Light Jacket $379.95<br />
Adaptable, lightweight, and versatile,<br />
the Xenair Alpine Light Hoody is a<br />
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Patagonia Granite Crest Jacket $459.99<br />
The 3-layer jacket is ideal for all-day movement<br />
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Patagonia Tropic Comfort Natural Hoody $179.99<br />
Delivering dependable 40+ UPF sun protection and<br />
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ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//59
puffers<br />
outdoor research Women’s SuperStrand LT Jacket $319.99<br />
4-season ultralight, packable, featuring VerticalX<br />
SuperStrand insulation that is as soft, light and lofty<br />
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cotopaxi Fuego Down Jacket $479.99<br />
Cotopaxi’s Fuego Down Jackets are versatile, waterresistant,<br />
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RAb Cubit Stretch Down Vest $379.95<br />
For a quick boost of warmth, the<br />
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perfect everyday gilet on a cold<br />
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rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket $399.95<br />
Combining proven mountain utility<br />
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WWW.OUTFITTERSSTORE.NZ<br />
Outdoor Research Women’s Super Alpine Down Parka $699.99<br />
Outdoor Research's warmest technical down jacket and<br />
is designed for belaying or early starts in cold conditions<br />
and high-altitude adventures. Made with durable<br />
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60//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
feet<br />
Crocs Classic Clog $89.99<br />
It’s the iconic clog that started a comfort<br />
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Crocs Classic All-Terrain Clog $109.99<br />
Comfort For The <strong>Adventure</strong>s near<br />
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GLERUPS The Boot Honey Rubber $199.00<br />
Made from 100% high-quality wool that provides<br />
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Go with natural this season, go with glerups.<br />
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SALEWA PEDROC PRO MID POWERTEX $449.90<br />
Our SALEWA® 3F system and Ankle<br />
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Fit: STANDARD / Weight: (M) 390 g<br />
(W) 290 g (pictured)<br />
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SALEWA ALP TRAINER 2 $349.90<br />
The Alp Trainer 2 is a low-cut alpine<br />
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Fit: STANDARD / Weight (M) 450 g<br />
(W) 350 g (pictured)<br />
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SALEWA RAPACE GTX $599.90<br />
The Rapace GTX is a lightweight<br />
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Fit: WIDE / Weight: (M) 740 g (W) 615 g<br />
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SALEWA MOUNTAIN TRAINER LITE MID GORE-TEX® $449.90<br />
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Fit: WIDE / Weight: (M) 565 g (W) 465 g<br />
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SALEWA MOUNTAIN TRAINER MID GORE-TEX® $539.90<br />
Our MTN Trainer Mid GTX is a lightweight<br />
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Fit: WIDE / Weight: (M) 700 g (W) 570 g<br />
(pictured)<br />
WWW.BOBO.CO.NZ/SALEWA<br />
62//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Unmatched<br />
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glerups.co.nz<br />
Find us online and at a stockist near you
packs<br />
CamelBak Women's Hydrobak Light 50oz $109.99<br />
The sleek and ultra-light Women's<br />
Hydrobak Light is perfect for any<br />
adventure. Low-profile and designed<br />
in a women's fit, this pack features an<br />
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ventilated harness for effective cooling<br />
and ultimate breathability.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/<br />
CAMELBAK/<br />
CamelBak Rogue Light Women’s $149.99<br />
Lightweight and ready for everything,<br />
the all new Rogue Light is soon to<br />
be your everyday trail companion. The<br />
sleek, lightweight design features an<br />
Air Support Light Back Panel and a<br />
ventilated harness for effective cooling<br />
and ultimate breathability.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/<br />
CAMELBAK/<br />
CamelBak Women’s Chase Bike Vest $179.99<br />
Tailored for a women's fit and enhanced<br />
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access to what you need most, Chase has<br />
been redesigned with lightweight, breathable<br />
materials and a comfortable all-day-fit.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/CAMELBAK<br />
CamelBak Women's Trail Run Vest with Two 17oz Quick<br />
Stow Flasks $199.99<br />
Explore every corner, every peak, and<br />
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WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/CAMELBAK<br />
CamelBak Women's Zephyr Pro Vest with Two 17oz<br />
Quick Stow Flasks $279.99<br />
Taking running to new heights is what we live<br />
for, so we built the Women's Zephyr Pro<br />
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body and made to keep you fueled and<br />
hydrated on those long distance runs.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/CAMELBAK<br />
CamelBak Women's Rim Runner X20 Hydration Pack<br />
$199.99<br />
Capacity and comfort combine in the new<br />
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CamelBak Women’s M.U.L.E 100 oz Hydration Pack<br />
$219.99<br />
Redesigned to go the distance with you. Our<br />
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WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/CAMELBAK<br />
CamelBak Women's Fourteener 30 Hydration Hiking<br />
Pack with Crux® 3L Reservoir $349.99<br />
The ultimate pack for long-haul adventures,<br />
the Women's Fourteener 30 was built with<br />
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64//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack - Del Día $419.99<br />
Cotopaxi’s Allpa 35L Del Día Travel Packs<br />
are made with repurposed material scraps,<br />
making each pack have a completely unique<br />
colour combination!<br />
WWW.COTOPAXI.CO.NZ<br />
osprey Sportlite 25 EF $199.99<br />
Confidently step out on the trail<br />
with the Sportlite 25 EF, one of<br />
our most minimalist technical day<br />
packs. Carry all of your essentials<br />
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design and simple, clean<br />
internal organization. While this<br />
pack may look minimal, it's not so<br />
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you dynamically with a broadened<br />
fit range that stays stable and<br />
ventilated.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/<br />
OSPREY/<br />
osprey Kresta 30 $349.99<br />
Balance freedom of movement with carrying<br />
capacity, the women's-specific Kresta 30 is ideal for<br />
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buckles and zipper pulls, and both ski and<br />
snowboard carry options. Sustainably made from<br />
bluesign® approved recycled materials with a PFCfree<br />
DWR coating that sheds moisture<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/OSPREY/<br />
osprey Sopris 40 $399.99<br />
The women-specific Sopris is a technical<br />
backcountry snow pack offering a best-inclass<br />
fit and function in a durable, lightweight<br />
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descents, a proper and stable fit enables<br />
dynamic body movement that saves energy<br />
for when you need it most.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/OSPREY/<br />
osprey Ariel 65 EF $499.99<br />
Ideal for a week+ on the trail or a gear-intensive weekend<br />
with 65 liters of storage, the Ariel 65 Extended Fit offers<br />
refined design elements and suspension for optimal<br />
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torso, and Custom Fit-on-the-Fly Shoulder Straps and<br />
Hipbelt.<br />
Included raincover made with bluesign® approved fabrics<br />
and DWR treatments made without PFAS.<br />
• Extended Hipbelt Fits Up To 70-inch hips:<br />
Substantially longer padding provides comfort,<br />
support and stability.<br />
• Repositioned Pockets: Hipbelt pockets have been<br />
shifted forward for practical, easy-to-reach access.<br />
• Extended Shoulder Straps: Longer shoulder straps<br />
distribute the load evenly and comfortably.<br />
• Longer Sternum Strap: A longer sternum strap<br />
enhances stability without being restrictive.<br />
• Conventional Torso Range: Extended Fit uses our<br />
standard torso range to fit a wide variety of heights.<br />
WWW.SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ/OSPREY/<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//65
hydro flask coffee collection $69.99- $64.99<br />
Hydro Flask’s Insulated Coffee Flasks<br />
are leak-proof and will keep your<br />
favourite hot bev steamy for up to 6<br />
hours! Available in a 12oz (354mL) &<br />
16oz (473mL) size.<br />
WWW.HYDROFLASK.CO.NZ<br />
Exped Black Ice 45 Pack $339.99<br />
Minimalist, lightweight roll-top pack<br />
that is ideal for the mountains,<br />
whether on rock, snow or ice.Features<br />
high-quality ripstop nylon construction,<br />
a white inner for more easily seeing<br />
your gear inside, a slim, removable<br />
padded back for a close-to-body fit<br />
and stability, a removable hipbelt and<br />
a weatherproof front pocket for smaller<br />
items. 820g (660g stripped)<br />
WWW.BIVOUAC.CO.NZ<br />
Kiwi Camping Boost LED Light with<br />
Power Bank $89.99<br />
Bright LED light with power<br />
bank to illuminate your tent<br />
and charge devices on the<br />
go. Features 11 light modes<br />
including SOS signal, built-in<br />
magnets and hanging hook.<br />
WWW.KIWICAMPING.CO.NZ<br />
Gasmate Turbo Butane Stove &<br />
Pot Set $149.00<br />
Gasmate Turbo Stove boils<br />
water in just 130 seconds*.<br />
It's lightweight (600g) with<br />
800ml capacity, piezo<br />
ignition, making outdoor<br />
cooking easy.<br />
WWW.GASMATE.CO.NZ<br />
kiwi camping Mamaku Pro -5 °C<br />
Sleeping Bag t $129.00<br />
Experience ultimate<br />
warmth in cold temps with<br />
the Mamaku Pro -5°C.<br />
Lightweight, compact<br />
design with silvertherm<br />
lining for enhanced heat<br />
retention. Perfect for outdoor<br />
adventures.<br />
WWW.KIWICAMPING.CO.NZ<br />
Exped Women’s Comfort -10 Down<br />
Sleeping Bag (Medium) $599.99<br />
Extra roomy while still maintaining<br />
the thermal efficiency of a mummy<br />
bag and has a separate foot zip<br />
so you can open it out and use it<br />
like a blanket. Features include<br />
a side arm zip opposite the main<br />
zip lets you use both arms without<br />
leaving the warmth of the bag<br />
and a custom-filled 3D footbox to<br />
keep your feet warm. 675g RDScertified<br />
700-loft European duckdown<br />
fill for warmth and comfort.<br />
1190g (Medium)<br />
WWW.BIVOUAC.CO.NZ<br />
Kiwi Camping Weka 2 Hiker Tent $339.00<br />
Kiwi Camping's most popular hiker<br />
tent with double-sided entry, sturdy<br />
vestibules, and a user-friendly design.<br />
With a fly that handles rain and<br />
snow, the Weka 2 is perfect for hiking<br />
adventures.<br />
WWW.KIWICAMPING.CO.NZ<br />
Kiwi camping Pukeko Hiker Tent $249.00<br />
A spacious hiker tent that’s easy to pitch<br />
and keeps you warm and dry even in the<br />
worst conditions. Featuring dual pitch<br />
design, 4000mm aqua rating and tri pegs.<br />
WWW.KIWICAMPING.CO.NZ<br />
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hydro flask trail series collection $79.99- $109.99<br />
25% Lighter Hydration. Hydro Flask’s Trail<br />
Series collection keeps your drinks cold<br />
for up to 24 hours while keeping your pack<br />
as light as possible.<br />
WWW.HYDROFLASK.CO.NZ<br />
BACK COUNTRY CUISINE:<br />
The first thing you’ll notice is that the front<br />
label on their pouches have changed for the<br />
better by adding Health Star Ratings and<br />
energy, protein, fat and carbs per pouch. They<br />
have also improved the readability of our back<br />
labels.Back Country Cuisine is available at<br />
leading retailers. For more information or to<br />
find your nearest stockist visit:<br />
www.backcountrycuisine.co.nz<br />
KEA STASH $60.00 (GO) - $80.00 (XL)<br />
KEA STASH is the Leak free,<br />
smell free, trash compacting bag.<br />
Available in 2 sizes “GO” & “XL”<br />
so you can say goodbye to messy,<br />
bulky trash wherever you are.<br />
WWW.KEAOUTDOORS.CO.NZ<br />
tasty chicken mash $10.99 - $16.99<br />
With smoky flavoured freeze dried<br />
chicken, cheese and vegetables.<br />
3.5 Health Stars - Gluten Free<br />
Available small serve (90g) or<br />
regular (175g)<br />
WWW.BACKCOUNTRYCUISINE.CO.NZ<br />
KEA lumen $100.00<br />
KEA LUMEN is the powerful,<br />
durable & versatile flashlight<br />
to ensure that you’re never<br />
left in the dark.<br />
WWW.KEAOUTDOORS.CO.NZ<br />
local dehy hummus $8.00<br />
Sundried Tomato and Red<br />
Pepper, also available in<br />
Beetroot and Zesty Lemon.<br />
Perfect for lunches on the trail.<br />
Freeze dried. Vegan. Home<br />
compostable packaging.<br />
WWW.LOCALDEHY.CO.NZ<br />
LOCAL DEHY CAJUN JAMBALAYA $17.50<br />
A punchy peppery vegan<br />
twist on a Southern American<br />
classic! Refuel after a day's<br />
adventuring. Vegan, totally<br />
delicious, in home compostable<br />
packaging.<br />
WWW.LOCALDEHY.CO.NZ<br />
Apple & Berry Crumble $14.99<br />
A sweet mix of freeze dried apples and<br />
berries topped with a delicious gluten<br />
free cookie crumb.<br />
3 Health Stars - Gluten Free<br />
WWW.BACKCOUNTRYCUISINE.CO.NZ<br />
JÄGERMEISTER COLD BREW COFFEE<br />
Inspired by the innovative,<br />
everchanging drinks scene,<br />
we instinctively knew how a<br />
drop of Jägermeister and a<br />
backbeat of cold brew coffee<br />
could transform any night. The<br />
enviable result? A brand-new<br />
mix. JÄGERMEISTER COLD<br />
BREW COFFEE. A unique<br />
fusion of JÄGERMEISTER’s 56<br />
botanicals and intense cold brew<br />
coffee.<br />
WWW.LIQUORLAND.CO.NZ<br />
Shackleton Blended Malt Scotch<br />
Born from <strong>Adventure</strong>: Shackleton<br />
Blended Malt Scotch is based on<br />
the spirit supplied to the 1907 British<br />
Antarctic Expedition, expertly crafted<br />
using a selection of the finest Highland<br />
Single Malt Scotch Whiskies. Available<br />
at various Liquor Retailers .<br />
WWW.GLENGARRYWINES.CO.NZ<br />
INSTANT PASTA $5.99<br />
Just add boiling water for perfectly<br />
cooked pasta.<br />
3.5 Health Stars<br />
Sizes – Family 120g<br />
WWW.BACKCOUNTRYCUISINE.CO.NZ<br />
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ackcountrycuisine.co.nz<br />
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF KEEPING YOU FED IN THE OUTDOORS<br />
MADE FOR THOSE MOMENTS WHERE YOU WANT TO KICK BACK AND RELAX<br />
HORIZON DRINKWARE<br />
C O L L E C T I O N<br />
FIND A STOCKIST: SOUTHERNAPPROACH.CO.NZ
FEED YOUR ADDICTION<br />
Like a ‘perfect storm’, we have seen a dramatic growth and<br />
development in online stores over the past 5 years.<br />
We are dedicating these pages to our client’s online stores; some<br />
you will be able to buy from, some you will be able drool over. Buy,<br />
compare, research and prepare, these online stores are a great way to<br />
feed your adventure addiction.<br />
Never have a dead phone<br />
again! Because now you can<br />
charge straight from the Sun<br />
with SunSaver. Perfect for<br />
that week-long hike, day at<br />
the beach, or back-up for any<br />
emergency. Check us out at:<br />
www.sunsaver.co.nz<br />
Building versatile and reliable gear so you<br />
can adventure with purpose.<br />
www.keaoutdoors.com<br />
Temerature. Taste. Transport.<br />
Hydroflask, more than just a water bottle.<br />
www.hydroflask.co.nz<br />
The place to go for all the gear you need whether you're skiing,<br />
snowboarding, hiking, biking or just exploring.<br />
www.thealpinecentre.co.nz<br />
Gear up in a wide selection of durable, multifunctional<br />
outdoor clothing & gear. Free Returns. Free Shipping.<br />
www.patagonia.co.nz<br />
Stocking an extensive range<br />
of global outdoor adventure<br />
brands for your next big<br />
adventure. See them for travel,<br />
tramping, trekking, alpine and<br />
lifestyle clothing and gear.<br />
www.outfittersstore.nz<br />
Specialists in the sale of Outdoor Camping Equipment, RV,<br />
Tramping & Travel Gear. Camping Tents, <strong>Adventure</strong> Tents,<br />
Packs, Sleeping Bags and more.<br />
www.equipoutdoors.co.nz<br />
Marine and industrial supply story<br />
www.lusty-blundell.co.nz<br />
Our very own online store where<br />
you will find hard goods to keep you<br />
equipped for any adventure.<br />
www.pacificmedia-shop.co.nz
Waterfront accommodation on Nydia Track, Marlborough, NZ<br />
www.onthetracklodge.nz<br />
Meals bursting with flavour, combined with home compostable<br />
packaging, means you really can have it all in the mountains.<br />
Designed by ‘foodies’ for maximum plant-based deliciousness<br />
and wrapped in earth positive, lightweight, packable pouches.<br />
www.localdehy.co.nz<br />
Bivouac Outdoor stock the latest in quality outdoor<br />
clothing, footwear and equipment from the best<br />
brands across New Zealand & the globe.<br />
www.bivouac.co.nz<br />
Shop for the widest range of Merrell footwear, apparel<br />
& accessories across hiking, trail running, sandals &<br />
casual styles. Free shipping for a limited time.<br />
www.merrell.co.nz<br />
Top NZ made health supplements delivered straight<br />
to your door, with same day dispatch.<br />
www.supps.nz<br />
This small, friendly family-run company is based in Lake<br />
Tekapo, New Zealand, specializing in guided outdoor<br />
adventures throughout New Zealand's Southern Alps.<br />
www.alpinerecreation.com<br />
www.glerups.co.nz<br />
glerups shoes, slippers<br />
and boots are known for<br />
their exceptional comfort<br />
and unique design.<br />
Over the years we have<br />
perfected the wool mix<br />
by blending Gotland<br />
wool with quality wool<br />
from New Zealand<br />
farmers.<br />
Fast nourishing freeze dried food for adventurers.<br />
www.backcountrycuisine.co.nz<br />
Your adventure travel specialists, with over 20 years<br />
experience! They live what they sell.<br />
www.madabouttravel.co.nz<br />
Supplying tents and<br />
camping gear to Kiwis<br />
for over 30 years, Kiwi<br />
Camping are proud to<br />
be recognised as one of<br />
the most trusted outdoor<br />
brands in New Zealand.<br />
www.kiwicamping.co.nz<br />
NZ world class climbing centre.<br />
Your climbing experience is at<br />
the heart of what they do. They<br />
provide trained and competent<br />
professionals that are psyched<br />
on climbing and passionate<br />
about supporting others.<br />
www.northenrocks.co.nz<br />
Purveying the finest singleorigin<br />
roasted Espresso<br />
and Filter coffee in NZ since<br />
2013 for you to enjoy at<br />
home or work.<br />
www.redrabbitcoffee.co.nz<br />
10% discount on coffee use<br />
ADV10%
f i j i j i<br />
SPARTAN IS COMING TO FIJI<br />
Get ready to take on the ultimate adventure race in the stunning<br />
islands of Fiji- Spartan, the world’s largest obstacle race and<br />
endurance brand. With a variety of races set to happen from<br />
9-12 November 2023, there is no better place to experience the<br />
fun of a challenge than in Fiji.<br />
You can take on the best of both worlds by conquering the<br />
Spartan race before making the most of your stay in Fiji, where<br />
the activities, adventure and relaxation on offer are more than<br />
enough to make the trip one to remember. Surf surreal waves,<br />
dive colourful coral reefs, trek to remote villages and waterfalls,<br />
or indulge in local massages. With great food, a unique culture<br />
and Fiji’s famously friendly locals, there’s more than enough<br />
to keep you on your toes before and after your Spartan<br />
experience.<br />
Fiji also offers a range of accommodation options from costconscious<br />
to luxury-living, giving you a variety of comfort<br />
choices for your Spartan holiday. With the event taking place<br />
at the Aviva Race Course in Nadi, near the base of the iconic<br />
Sleeping Giant landscape, accommodation options in Denarau<br />
will be hard to beat. These properties are only a short walk from<br />
Port Denarau, where you’ll have no issues finding your pre and<br />
race day fuel amongst the variety of food spots. What’s more,<br />
Fiji offers an archipelago of 333 islands, giving you the chance<br />
to escape post-race to some of the best remote islands in the<br />
world.<br />
Book your spot for Spartan Fiji now and start planning an<br />
unforgettable Fiji getaway. See you there!<br />
www.fiji.travel/region/fiji/bula-spartan<br />
Fijian Warriors representing the Spartan Fiji Race at the recent<br />
event that took place in the Gold Coast, Australia
NYINGGULU<br />
WHERE THE DESERT<br />
MEETS THE SEA<br />
Words © Gabi Steindl 2023,<br />
Images by Gabi, Andre Rerekura and Bluemedia<br />
“Holy s***, what’s that?”, I shrieked pointing at the big shadow gliding just below<br />
the water's surface towards our 14ft tinny. “That’s a tiger!”, Vee, the skipper and<br />
a renowned underwater photographer, exclaimed in delight “jump in Gabi, jump<br />
in!” I dived head first into the crystal clear water, with the most magical shades<br />
of turquoise. After checking out the second largest predatory shark right behind<br />
the great white through my dive mask close up, I realised I had underestimated<br />
its size from the boat. Two dark eyes stared at me from a wedge-shaped head<br />
with a conspicuously blunt snout. Nearly as long as my Landcruiser and at least<br />
as round as a horse, several remora fish were hanging off the tiger shark's grey<br />
body that had distinctive vertical mottled stripes running down its sides. “I’m not<br />
sure this is a good idea” briefly crossed my mind, but my fascination with Mother<br />
Nature’s marvels was stronger than any lingering doubts. So I spent a good five<br />
unforgettable minutes snorkelling side-by-side with this apex predator in the<br />
shallows of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.<br />
With a massive area of 2.6 million km2 (ten times larger than the UK) and home<br />
to some of Australia's most iconic landscapes, Western Australia (aka “WA”), is<br />
the perfect place for an iconic road trip. Remote and vast get completely new<br />
meanings here in Australia’s largest state. Some 1,200km north of the WA’s capital<br />
Perth (the most isolated city in the world), the fringing Ningaloo Reef is a sparkling<br />
gem in Western Australia’s crown. With a length of 260km and home to around 300<br />
species of coral and 500 species of fish, it is one the largest fringing coral reefs in<br />
the world. Interestingly it is also only one of two coral reefs in the world that have<br />
formed on the western edge of any continent.<br />
My Landcruiser was bursting at the seams when I hit the road in Margaret River,<br />
where I live, a good 1600km south of my destination: three surfboards, four<br />
kiteboards, six kites, a foil, a couple of kite bars, a tent, a gas cooker, lots of shade<br />
cloth, a gazebo, a Dometic car fridge, cameras, computer, supplies and more<br />
camping gear.<br />
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Where desert meets the sea - Image by Andre Rerekura<br />
w e s t e r n a u s t r a l i a
Driving this far on your own on the West Coast is already a rather<br />
unique experience in itself. There are several stretches of many<br />
hundred kilometres without any phone coverage, no fuel station or<br />
town. If you have any car problems, it might be a while before you<br />
even encounter someone who might be able to help. Being stuck<br />
literally in the middle of nowhere without the ability to call for help,<br />
can be eerie and rather unsettling. I’ve been in this situation before<br />
and don’t really want to live through it again. But this risk is part of<br />
any road trip in Western Australia and the rewards usually make it<br />
all worthwhile.<br />
Once you pass the 26th parallel, i.e. 26 degrees south of the<br />
Equator, you’re entering the wild North West. One of the last true<br />
wilderness areas on Earth, where only a tiny fraction of the already<br />
sparse WA population lives.<br />
My destination was the small coastal town of Exmouth, the<br />
gateway to the World-Heritage-listed Ningaloo Marine Park. The<br />
waters off the coast here are one of the only places in the world<br />
where the mysterious whale shark, the largest fish in the ocean,<br />
reliably congregate each year. Drawn by the annual spawning<br />
of more than 200 species of coral, these gentle giants of the sea<br />
grow to 16 metres long and weigh around 30 tonnes, but they<br />
remain effortlessly elegant as they cruise along the reef, feasting<br />
on fattened krill.<br />
The many views<br />
of Australia's<br />
North West<br />
Coast<br />
Situated on the west side of Exmouth is the Cape Range National<br />
Park, a spectacular place of rugged limestone ranges and<br />
breathtaking deep canyons. Here the arid coastal plain of Cape<br />
Range adjoins the pristine waters of Ningaloo Marine Park with<br />
striking contrasting scenery, this is raw nature at its best. And that’s<br />
precisely where I set up my first camp. Still “only” 35 kilometres<br />
from town and with shower facilities and drinking water from the<br />
taps provided in the campground, it was a good compromise for<br />
my first week to get my head around the area before moving my<br />
base deeper into the National Park.<br />
Image by Bluemedia<br />
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Image by Bluemedia<br />
The word ‘Ningaloo’ comes from the Aboriginal name<br />
Nyinggulu (pronounced Neen-ga-loo) which means a<br />
‘promontory’ or a headland of elevated land. It refers in<br />
modern-day terms to the Cape Range National Park and<br />
the surrounding areas which are very culturally significant<br />
to the local Aboriginal people. The Yinikutira people, also<br />
recorded as the Jinigudira, are the traditional Aboriginal<br />
owners of the country along the Nyinggulu (Ningaloo)<br />
Coast and have lived here for over 30,000 years.<br />
Driving out the gate of the campground the first morning,<br />
I spotted two emus, nearly as tall as my car, majestically<br />
strolling through the scrub next to the road. The second<br />
largest living bird on earth and the largest bird found in<br />
Australia is a strange creature. Born to run rather than fly<br />
with tiny useless wings, and long and powerful legs, they<br />
can sprint at 30 miles (48 kilometres) per hour for quite a<br />
distance.<br />
Image by Bluemedia<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//77
Wreck on the Ningalooroo Reef - Image by Bluemedia<br />
After hanging out with the emus for a good half hour, I drove to<br />
the coast, where Mother Nature immediately had another gift<br />
for me. Walking along an incredible beach of the finest white<br />
sand, I stumbled onto some rather strange-looking impressions<br />
in the sand which resembled the tracks of a monster truck tyre.<br />
There were many of them, some ended in large holes dug in<br />
the sand, and others made huge loops or led into the water. It<br />
wasn’t long before I spotted two mating turtles drifting on top of<br />
each other just a metre from shore. Further up the beach, a few<br />
more dark blobs caught my eyes — more turtles. The Ningaloo<br />
Coast is one of the most important turtle-nesting rookeries<br />
in the Indian Ocean for three of the world’s seven species of<br />
marine turtles: the endangered Loggerhead turtle, as well as the<br />
Green turtle and the Hawksbill turtle, both listed as vulnerable.<br />
From November to March, many thousand turtles return to<br />
their nesting sanctuary here each year. Sadly, due to natural<br />
predators and human-related factors, only one hatchling out of<br />
every 1000 eggs will survive to adulthood.<br />
I love seeing native wildlife in their natural habitat and over<br />
the weeks along this coast I truly got spoilt. Another encounter<br />
that I’ll never forget happened super early one morning, driving<br />
through the National Park. Suddenly a dingo appeared out of<br />
the spinifex next to the road. Living in WA for over 15 years,<br />
this was my very first dingo sighting. I stopped right next to<br />
the ginger-coloured wild dog and said “G’day”. Two intense<br />
almond-shaped eyes in a mixture of brown and yellow stared at<br />
me questioningly from a broad handsome head with a pointed<br />
muzzle. With a big yawn, he showed off his large teeth. The<br />
dingo as an apex predator contributes to the control of many<br />
feral species that threaten Australia’s wildlife. While dingoes<br />
have the potential to be dangerous to humans, in reality, the<br />
incidence of attacks is relatively rare. The risk of dangerous<br />
behaviour is greatly increased in dingoes that have become<br />
familiar and habituated to humans through feeding or other<br />
encouragement. That’s why you should never feed a dingo.<br />
When I drove off, my dingo friend calmly trotted right beside my<br />
car for a few 100 metres before vanishing in the bush again.<br />
A picture-perfect bay with spectacular turquoise butter flat<br />
crystal clear water became my daily foiling playground. The<br />
wind in the mid-afternoons can get pretty strong (6m2/7m2)<br />
along this coast, however, saying that I also enjoyed a number<br />
of magical light wind sessions on my 9m2 and 10m2 Neo<br />
SLS cruising in perfect see-through water with the most mindboggling<br />
reef and coral formations below. It was better than<br />
any glass-bottomed boat. With regard to waves, things get<br />
tricky in this area. The most popular stretch of surf breaks is<br />
78//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
completely protected from the Seabreeze, and other breaks are<br />
so far out to sea on the barrier reef you need a boat to get there.<br />
If you somehow do manage to score, it’s an unspoken rule in the<br />
Northwest to celebrate it quietly amongst your mates instead of<br />
shouting it from the rooftops and plastering it all over the socials. I<br />
would highly recommend not ignoring this advice.<br />
Eventually, I moved my camp deeper into the National Park which<br />
meant no more facilities and having to bring everything: sufficient<br />
water for drinking and washing, fuel, all my supplies etc. I even<br />
had to rent a portable camping toilet from the camp store in<br />
Exmouth as bringing one is a requirement for all visitors by Parks<br />
& Wildlife WA (the government body in charge of all National<br />
Parks). Renting a portable toilet — interesting! I’ve been to over<br />
80 countries, but that was a first for me.<br />
Camping literally on the water’s edge on an amazingly long,<br />
stunning windswept beach, was my highlight camp set-up of the<br />
trip. There’s nothing better than falling asleep to the sound of<br />
the ocean. At night the lack of light pollution in this remote area<br />
creates an experience, I would call a “bucket lister” that most<br />
people don’t even know exists: getting blanketed by the Milky<br />
Way in the middle of the desert. Watching the night sky lighting<br />
up as our galaxy slowly materialises after sunset is a soul-filling<br />
experience. The sheer beauty of a million stars twinkling in all<br />
their glory kept me awake and wide-eyed even after the longest<br />
day on the water regardless of my sunburnt little red eyes. Who<br />
needs a 5-star room, when you can sleep in a 5-billion-star tent?<br />
One kite session that cemented itself in my personal history books<br />
of epic sessions, was kiting at the SS Mildura shipwreck on the tip<br />
of North West Cape. The SS Mildura sank in June 1907 when it<br />
hit a shallow reef during a cyclone. Luckily, no human life was lost.<br />
The wreck sits in 4 metres of water prone to strong surges and<br />
currents. With two big boilers and the engine mount in the centre of<br />
the still upright and relatively intact hull, it is an intriguing site, even<br />
more so from up close, on my 12m2 Neo SLS.<br />
For my last sunset, Mother Nature gifted me with a live “David<br />
Attenborough moment”. It was a windless day with bright blue<br />
skies and I had parked my car on a snow-white, sheer endless<br />
beach. Like so often along this coastline out of peak tourist<br />
season, there was not a single soul in sight. The Indian Ocean<br />
sparkled as if millions of stars had sunk into it. I let my gaze slide<br />
through the expanse of pristine and untouched nature when I<br />
suddenly spotted a tiny black dot way up the beach that I hadn’t<br />
noticed just minutes earlier. I grabbed my camera and some<br />
water and set off on foot. After a good long walk on the snow-<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//79
white sand, my presumption was confirmed and my heart<br />
started pounding. Getting down on my hands and knees<br />
super conscious of not getting too close, I watched a<br />
pregnant turtle mama haul herself up the wide, fine beach.<br />
Evidently, an arduous journey for her, it took her a fair while<br />
until she was finally high enough up the beach at the base<br />
of the dune where she started to dig her nest. I almost<br />
didn’t dare to breathe. Through my 400mm lens, I could<br />
focus on every little detail of this beautiful Green turtle:<br />
the mottled olive green, brown and black pattern on her<br />
smooth, high-domed shell was like a painting, her thick,<br />
crusty, scaly skin, the webbed feet, her cute head and her<br />
horny beak. She worked hard and massive sprays of sand<br />
shot into the air around her.<br />
Observing this fascinating creature that shares a common<br />
ancestry with dinosaurs, push out her eggs, each one<br />
obviously requiring a great effort, was a mesmerising<br />
spectacle. After laying all her eggs, the turtle mama flung<br />
sand behind her in a methodical manner for at least half<br />
an hour to cover her nest, before dragging herself back<br />
down towards the ocean again. Witnessing the motherly<br />
commitment and incredible effort of this beautiful creature<br />
to dig, lay and protect her eggs was a mind-boggling<br />
experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The<br />
mama turtle made it to the waterline just at sunset. Watching<br />
her glide off into the golden water, I bowed my head in deep<br />
and humble gratitude to the universe — what a trip!<br />
80//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//81<br />
Ningalooroo Reef - Image by Bluemedia
v a n u a t u<br />
Image from Facebook / Vanuatu Surfing Association<br />
SURFING IN VANUATU<br />
Vanuatu's not typically associated with surfing but there's<br />
a growing reputation among the global community that<br />
surfing in Vanuatu is on par, if not better, than some of<br />
the best spots in the South Pacific (such as Fiji, Tonga<br />
and Sa'moa). Surfing, as an activity, is still in its infancy<br />
but offers excellent and accessible surf spots which aren’t<br />
crowded and at a much cheaper rate.<br />
Surfers willing to travel to the outer islands will be rewarded<br />
with breaks that offer perfect hollow waves and temperate<br />
waters (thanks to the stunning Vanuatu weather) for those<br />
ideal surfing conditions. With excellent conditions all year<br />
round and the perfectly shaped group of islands, there is<br />
plenty of potential for surfing in Vanuatu.<br />
Surfing Conditions in Vanuatu<br />
Vanuatu offers perfect surfing conditions all year round,<br />
but the best time to surf here would be between March and<br />
December when the Antarctic lows send over consistent<br />
southern swells.<br />
Moderate rainfall during the hot and wet season between<br />
December and April bring in huge swells, but cyclones are<br />
also likely to occur during this time. The Northern coastline<br />
receives swells during this time due to the low-pressure<br />
system brewing there.<br />
With 40 to 50-metre ride lengths and waves ranging from 5<br />
to 6 feet, Vanuatu offers some incredible surfing locations.<br />
Best Spots for Surfing.<br />
Vanuatu offers some of the best and untouched surf spots<br />
in the world. With surf spots scattered around Vanuatu<br />
that provides the perfect opportunity for newbies and<br />
experienced surfers alike. Black Sand Beach, British<br />
Beach, Epao, Forari Bay, Mangea Reefs, Pango Point,<br />
Soumabal Point, Port Resolution, Dany island are just<br />
some of the beaches which offer a great surfing experience<br />
for everyone.<br />
For someone looking for more of a challenge, spots like<br />
Breakas, Devils Point, Erakor Reef, Pounders and Tapi<br />
Point are just perfect. The adventurous surfers might want<br />
to travel to islands such as Tanna to enjoy some of the<br />
genuinely untouched surfing locations.<br />
The best way to enjoy surfing in Vanuatu is to explore it<br />
island-by-island, exploring the full gamut of surf breaks<br />
available. Efate (where Port Vila is located) holds most of<br />
the best surfing spots here and plenty of accommodation<br />
options are available here. Some of the more remote<br />
locations can be accessed by boats. Dany Island in Santo<br />
is known as an amazing surf spot for keen surfers. The<br />
wind is often blowing the opposite direction to the swell - so<br />
waves are nice and perfectly clean. The waves pump in<br />
from the Northeast and break on the north of Dany Island,<br />
also the south. So both rights and lefts, generally around<br />
2-5ft. Dany Island is nicely protected and is a private venue<br />
so it's perfect for a day tour visit and for a surf away from<br />
large crowds.<br />
Vanuatu Surfing Association can offer further assistance<br />
to surfers who are new to the place. Comprising of locals<br />
and expats from Australia and New Zealand, they organise<br />
local surfing events along with domestic and international<br />
competitions. So, if you are looking for new and exciting<br />
surfing challenges, Vanuatu should undoubtedly be your<br />
next destination. Check out our accommodation pages to<br />
book your surfing holiday today.<br />
For more information visit www.vanuatu.travel/nz<br />
82//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
1.30pm Siri Falls, Gaua<br />
Hiking Diving Culture<br />
Volcanos<br />
Go explore at vanuatu.travel
84//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
frenchpolynesia<br />
polynesia<br />
EMBARK ON A<br />
MESMERIZING<br />
YACHT CHARTER<br />
UNCOVER THE ISLANDS OF TAHITI<br />
Picture yourself sailing through crystal-clear turquoise waters,<br />
with warm sun rays gently caressing your skin and a gentle<br />
breeze guiding your journey. The Islands of Tahiti beckon you<br />
to embark on an extraordinary adventure, and there's no better<br />
way to explore this paradise than through a yacht charter.<br />
Tahiti offers a wealth of natural wonders and vibrant cultures,<br />
all waiting to be discovered as you sail from one breathtaking<br />
destination to another. Let's dive into the enchanting world<br />
of yacht charters and discover why it's the ultimate way to<br />
experience the wonders of the Islands of Tahiti.<br />
A World of Exclusivity and Freedom:<br />
A yacht charter in the Islands of Tahiti offers a unique blend<br />
of luxury, privacy, and freedom. As you set sail, you'll be<br />
welcomed into a world of exclusivity, where every moment is<br />
tailored to your desires. Whether you're seeking a romantic<br />
getaway, a family adventure, or a rejuvenating escape, a<br />
private yacht charter allows you to craft your own itinerary,<br />
choosing the destinations, activities, and pace that suit your<br />
preferences. With no fixed schedules or crowds to contend<br />
with, you have the freedom to immerse yourself fully in the<br />
beauty of Tahiti.<br />
Unparalleled Natural Beauty:<br />
The Islands of Tahiti are renowned for their unrivaled natural<br />
beauty, and a yacht charter provides an unparalleled vantage<br />
point to appreciate this tropical paradise. From the moment<br />
you set sail, you'll be greeted by majestic volcanic peaks, lush<br />
green valleys, and pristine white-sand beaches. Marvel at the<br />
vibrant coral reefs teeming with marine life as you snorkel in<br />
warm, turquoise lagoons. Explore hidden coves and secluded<br />
bays accessible only by boat, where you can relax in solitude,<br />
surrounded by nature's wonders. The beauty of Tahiti will leave<br />
you breathless at every turn.<br />
Exquisite Island Hopping:<br />
One of the greatest joys of a yacht charter is the opportunity<br />
to explore the diverse islands of Tahiti. Each island possesses<br />
its own unique charm, from the bustling markets and vibrant<br />
nightlife of Tahiti's capital, Papeete, to the untouched natural<br />
splendor of Bora Bora's iconic lagoon. Sail to Moorea, known<br />
as the "Magical Island," where lush mountains cascade into<br />
the azure sea, or discover Huahine's ancient Polynesian<br />
temples and unspoiled landscapes. With a yacht charter, you<br />
can hop from island to island, experiencing the distinct flavours<br />
and cultures of each destination.<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//85
Nuku Hiva baie Akatea_© Bertrand<br />
Raiatea © Audrey Svoboda<br />
Luxury and Comfort at Sea:<br />
A yacht charter promises an exceptional level of luxury and<br />
comfort throughout your journey. Indulge in the finest amenities<br />
and personalised services, ensuring that your every need is met<br />
with the utmost care. Expert crews are dedicated to providing a<br />
seamless experience, from gourmet meals prepared by private<br />
chefs to watersports activities. The yacht becomes your floating<br />
sanctuary, where you can relax on spacious decks, soak in<br />
sunsets, and dine under the stars, all while being pampered by an<br />
attentive crew.<br />
Immersive Cultural Encounters:<br />
Tahitian culture is rich and captivating, and a yacht charter<br />
offers opportunities for immersive cultural encounters. Interact<br />
with friendly locals as you visit remote villages and witness<br />
traditional dance performances, showcasing the vibrant heritage<br />
of Polynesia. Learn about the ancient art of tattooing or participate<br />
in traditional outrigger canoe races. The warm hospitality of the<br />
Tahitian people will leave a lasting impression, allowing you to<br />
connect with the soul of the islands in a profound way.<br />
Preserving the Natural Paradise:<br />
By choosing a yacht charter, you contribute to the preservation of<br />
the Islands of Tahiti's delicate ecosystem. Eco-friendly practices,<br />
such as using sustainable energy sources and respecting marine<br />
conservation<br />
Top 10 Reasons to Choose a Yacht Charter:<br />
1. Island Hopping Extravaganza: With a yacht charter, you can<br />
explore multiple islands during a single holiday. Experience the<br />
diverse landscapes, cultures, and activities of Tahiti, Bora Bora,<br />
Moorea, Huahine, and more, all in one unforgettable journey.<br />
2. Affordable Luxury: Contrary to popular belief, a yacht charter<br />
can be surprisingly affordable, especially when traveling with a<br />
group of friends or family. By sharing the cost, you can indulge in<br />
a lavish holiday without breaking the bank.<br />
3. Availability Advantage: The Islands of Tahiti are a soughtafter<br />
destination, and hotels often have limited availability. With<br />
a yacht charter, you bypass this issue entirely, ensuring that your<br />
accommodation is always with you, offering complete flexibility<br />
and peace of mind.<br />
4. Privacy and Exclusivity: Escape the crowds and enjoy the<br />
utmost privacy and exclusivity onboard your chartered yacht. The<br />
entire vessel is yours to enjoy, creating a serene and intimate<br />
environment for you and your loved ones.<br />
5. Tailored Itineraries: Customise your itinerary according to<br />
your preferences and interests. Whether you desire adventurous<br />
water sports, relaxing beachside escapes, cultural immersion, or a<br />
blend of everything, a yacht charter allows you to craft the perfect<br />
journey.<br />
6. Unmatched Freedom: Say goodbye to fixed schedules and<br />
hello to the freedom of sailing. Enjoy the flexibility to anchor in<br />
secluded bays, explore hidden gems, and set your own pace as<br />
you embark on a truly liberating adventure.<br />
7. Uninterrupted Tranquility: Unlike traditional holidays, where<br />
you move from one crowded tourist spot to another, a yacht<br />
charter offers uninterrupted tranquility. Find solace in the serenity<br />
of secluded anchorages and untouched natural beauty, away from<br />
the hustle and bustle of popular tourist areas.<br />
8. Seamless Luxury Onboard: Indulge in the epitome of luxury<br />
as you sail the pristine waters of Tahiti. Immerse yourself in the<br />
opulence of spacious cabins, gourmet cuisine prepared by private<br />
chefs, and personalised services delivered by a dedicated crew<br />
committed to creating a memorable experience.<br />
9. Unbeatable Scenic Views: Revel in the awe-inspiring beauty<br />
of the Islands of Tahiti from the deck of your chartered yacht.<br />
Enjoy panoramic views of majestic mountains, vibrant coral reefs,<br />
and turquoise lagoons that stretch as far as the eye can see.<br />
10. Unforgettable Memories: A yacht charter in the Islands<br />
of Tahiti guarantees memories that will last a lifetime. From<br />
swimming with manta rays and exploring hidden waterfalls to<br />
savouring Polynesian delicacies and witnessing breathtaking<br />
sunsets, every moment is a treasured experience that will stay<br />
with you forever.<br />
86//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
Call of the Sea and<br />
Polynesian Lagoons<br />
Treat yourself to a luxury Archipels Croisières Polynesia Dream<br />
cruise with this exquisite sailing adventure visiting Tahiti, Moorea,<br />
Huahine, Raiatea, Taha’a and Bora Bora.<br />
12-night Cruising Holiday<br />
$12021 *<br />
return per person twin share<br />
From<br />
* Price includes Economy airfares ex Auckland, 10-night Archipels Croisières cruise, 2 nights hotel<br />
accommodation and transfers. Travel date and other conditions apply. Seasonal surcharges apply.<br />
Subject to availability. Price shown in New Zealand Dollars. Visit airtahitinui.com for details.
Beautiful Samoa awaits you, and we are welcoming our international aiga<br />
with open arms! Experience Samoa’s untouched beauty, unique cultural<br />
experiences and rich heritage. Self drive, bike or stroll through the wonders<br />
that make this island life one to cherish just like the locals do.<br />
88//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
n e w c a l e d o n i a<br />
c a l e d o n i a<br />
SOLO ADVENTURE THROUGH<br />
NEW<br />
CALEDONIA<br />
New Caledonia is a haven for solo travellers seeking<br />
immersive experiences as it is teeming with incredible<br />
landscapes, culinary delights, captivating attractions,<br />
and warm-hearted locals. We guarantee you’ll never get<br />
bored! Whether you want to experience fine dining or<br />
swimming with turtles, try a new sport or immerse yourself<br />
in local culture, there is something for every type of solo<br />
traveller in New Caledonia. One of the archipelago’s<br />
biggest drawcards is its adventure experiences. For<br />
female travellers looking for a solo adventure, New<br />
Caledonia is the perfect destination with extensive hiking<br />
trails through rainforests, mountainous cycling routes and<br />
underwater experiences that will allow you to explore the<br />
immense beauty of this Pacific Gem.<br />
New Caledonia is one of New Zealand's closest<br />
neighbours, accessible with a short flight in just under<br />
3 hours from Auckland. Hidden in the middle of the<br />
Pacific to the east of Australia, New Caledonia is a vast,<br />
unique and diverse French overseas territory offering an<br />
exceptional variety of landscapes, cultures and activities.<br />
New Caledonia invites solo travellers to embrace its<br />
warmth, beauty, and endless adventures - perfect for you<br />
to embark on a voyage of self-discovery. Here are the top<br />
reasons why your next solo adventure should be in New<br />
Caledonia!<br />
Lifou caves- © Dean Cropp<br />
Ile des Pins-© mi1_moonstagram<br />
Learning from the locals © Oneye Production<br />
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//89
Clockwise from top left: Exploring New Caledonia via horseback, La Foa Randonnee-© Masaaki Hojo<br />
Hiking in the Great South-© NCT<br />
Sailing in New Caledonia -© Toko NCT<br />
Mountainbiking in Blue River Park-Yaté-© Oneye Production<br />
Affordability:<br />
One of the reasons why New<br />
Caledonia is a solo traveller's<br />
ideal escape is because<br />
the destination is just so<br />
affordable. Consider staying<br />
in a guesthouse that is much<br />
cheaper than a traditional<br />
hotel. Guest houses offer a<br />
social atmosphere where you<br />
can meet other travellers and<br />
you can learn more about the<br />
culture and customs of New<br />
Caledonia's residents from<br />
your friendly host. If you want<br />
to save a little on your dining<br />
budget and practice your<br />
French, the local markets in<br />
Port Moselle have fresh, local<br />
produce such as pineapples,<br />
spices and yams at low prices.<br />
Make friends with the local<br />
vendors and test your culinary<br />
skills as you try to emulate<br />
traditional Kanak dishes.<br />
Accessibility:<br />
New Caledonia's main<br />
attractions such as its world<br />
heritage-listed lagoon and<br />
natural parks are just a short<br />
walk or bike ride away, with<br />
public transport options readily<br />
available throughout the<br />
islands. One of the simplest<br />
ways to get around New<br />
Caledonia is by car, with a<br />
well-maintained road system<br />
making for a great self-drive<br />
adventure around the main<br />
island. But there are countless<br />
other services available for<br />
solo travellers to choose from<br />
including buses and coaches<br />
to flights, water taxis and<br />
airport shuttles that’ll take you<br />
to the Loyalty Islands. The<br />
RAI coach network is an easy<br />
and affordable way to see<br />
the sights, but the fastest and<br />
most stunning way is definitely<br />
by air, gliding over the azure<br />
waters of the lagoon.<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong> Galore:<br />
At the heart of New<br />
Caledonia's allure for solo<br />
travellers is its exhilarating<br />
adventure experiences. Go<br />
below the surface in New<br />
Caledonia to discover the<br />
beauty of New Caledonia’s<br />
extensive reef system.<br />
Home to the second-largest<br />
coral reef in the world and<br />
a UNESCO Heritage-listed<br />
lagoon New Caledonia is<br />
a sanctuary for whales,<br />
dugongs and turtles. To meet<br />
these creatures face-to-face,<br />
take a guided diving and<br />
snorkelling tour, that allows<br />
you to join a group and<br />
make new friends. In-land<br />
solo hiking and biking crosscountry<br />
adventures may seem<br />
daunting to consider doing<br />
solo, but New Caledonia’s<br />
trails are well-marked and<br />
worth the challenge. The Sud<br />
route through the Blue River<br />
Provincial Park is a stunning<br />
track to explore with the redearth<br />
desert, rich blue lakes<br />
and rivers, and iconic drowned<br />
forests. Many tour operators<br />
also offer hiking support<br />
services that are great for<br />
solo travellers assisting with<br />
transfers to give you one less<br />
thing to worry about on your<br />
adventure!<br />
Culinary Delights:<br />
Perfect for a solo traveller,<br />
New Caledonia has an<br />
abundance of restaurants<br />
boasting unique fusion cuisine.<br />
If you’re after a fine dining<br />
experience, reserve a table at<br />
Le Roof offering unbeatable<br />
views of the lagoon and some<br />
spectacular seafood too. With<br />
a refined menu of French<br />
and Caledonian specialities,<br />
Nouméa’s unique over water<br />
bungalow restaurant presents<br />
an unforgettable dining<br />
experience. For something<br />
more lowkey, but just as tasty,<br />
Les 3 Brasseurs brew their<br />
own beers and regularly hold<br />
trivia, karaoke and live music<br />
entertainment!<br />
Rich Cultural Tapestry:<br />
Beyond its natural wonders,<br />
New Caledonia boasts a<br />
captivating tapestry of cultures<br />
that beg to be explored. The<br />
island's intriguing blend of<br />
French colonial heritage and<br />
indigenous Kanak traditions<br />
beckons solo travellers to<br />
delve into vibrant customs,<br />
arts, and traditions. On<br />
quieter days, solo travellers<br />
should check out The Tjibaou<br />
Cultural Center. Housed within<br />
beautifully designed buildings<br />
and landscaped grounds, the<br />
centre is the perfect place<br />
to discover the local Kanak<br />
culture and Melanesian<br />
customs that will enrich your<br />
solo travel experience.<br />
New Zealand passport holders<br />
do not require a short-stay<br />
visa to visit for up to 3 months,<br />
making New Caledonia the<br />
perfect destination for a solo<br />
traveller wanting a short<br />
overseas adventure.<br />
90//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#239
RACE THE LARGEST MTB EVENT IN NEW CALEDONIA<br />
Exclusive package includes flights from Auckland, 5 nights, race entry<br />
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www.newcaledonia.travel<br />
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The world’s only Dark Sky Nation welcomes you<br />
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Contact: info@wildsidetravel.nz | 027 436 9025
A l p i n e R e s o r t<br />
Plateau Lodge<br />
Family Sled & Explore<br />
Take time to explore our backyard<br />
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On-Site Ski & Snowboard gear hire<br />
Skotel Alpine Resort | SkotelAlpineResort<br />
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Whakapapa Ski Field just 20mins away!<br />
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www.plateaulodge.co.nz | Tongariro National Park<br />
17 Carroll Street, National Park Village<br />
Ruapehu<br />
Ph: 07 892 2993<br />
Located in the heart of the Ruapehu District<br />
...the outdoors capital of the North Island!<br />
Gorgeous unique bespoke historic Vacation Home:<br />
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Whirlpool Suites | Double Spa Rooms | Queen & King Size Beds |<br />
2 x Conference Rooms | Breakfast Restaurant | Free Wireless<br />
Broadband | Air-Con/Heat Pumps in all Units | Gym<br />
Centrally located to: Tongariro Alpine Crossing<br />
Pureora Timber Trail<br />
The mighty Whanganui River<br />
The Forgotten Highway (& Bridge to Nowhere)<br />
30Mins to Whakapapa & 60mins to Turoa<br />
Plus central to numerous other treks and trails<br />
(& Waitomo GlowWorm Caves en route from Auckland)<br />
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www.makahika.co.nz<br />
Rebalance, Relish & Revitalize<br />
Experience the luxury of Skye Candle and Body Care’s range of<br />
eco-friendly home fragrance and self-care creations. Lovingly<br />
crafted in Wellington, discover our selection of scented soy<br />
candles, tea lights and wax melts,bath,body, skin care and<br />
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E-Bike Rentals<br />
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NEXT-GENERATION<br />
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S.A Shuttles are a specialists when it comes to Auckland Airport shuttle<br />
services. We pick-up passengers from the Airport and deliver to; hotels,<br />
motels, CBD and the suburbs (door to door). This service is available to<br />
meet every flight arriving into Auckland Airport.<br />
• BOOKED shuttle services to meet flight<br />
• On demand shuttle services for group bookings<br />
• Direct shuttle for individual needs<br />
• Corporate Transfers for Business Client<br />
We also do tours around the North Island | www.southaucklandshuttles.com | bookings@sashuttles.com | 0800 300 033 (Toll free)
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