A wrap of the biggest stories and best writing about the outdoors from New Zealand and around the world.
Elise Wortley has summited some of the tallest peaks in the Scottish highlands wearing full Edwardian gowns. She’s retraced mid-century explorations in vintage tweed coats. She’s traversed Iran’s Valley of Assassins wearing a 1930s Burberry Mac trench coat and hobnail boots.
When Wortley heard about Henriette d’Angeville’s historic ascent up Mont Blanc in 1836, she knew it was her next project. D’Angeville hiked to the mountain’s summit, climbing it with nothing more than a walking staff, 18 bottles of wine, 26 roast chickens, 3 pounds of chocolate, a feather boa, and a lot of other gear that might make modern mountaineers scratch their heads.
“It’s crazy,” Wortley told GearJunkie. “There weren’t outdoor clothes for women back then, so [d’Angeville] actually made it herself. That’s why it’s quite ridiculous.”
When Wortley departs Chamonix on foot on 1 September, she’ll be wearing a nearly identical version of the 12kg wool and cotton outfit. If everything goes according to plan, she’ll summit the mountain on the same day d’Angeville did 188 years ago.
Her goal is to draw attention to history’s female adventurers and to inspire the next generation.
Dozens of hikers airlifted after mysterious illness
An outbreak of a severe gastrointestinal illness swept through the hundreds of hikers who visited Arizona’s Havasu Falls this week. Some had to be airlifted out because they were too sick to walk unassisted.
One parent, whose son took ill while camping at Havasu, said her child experienced a high fever, nausea, and vomiting. The next day, when he couldn’t make the 16km hike back to the trailhead, she helped him walk 4km to the nearest helicopter pad. On the way, they passed several other hikers vomiting along the trail.
According to Fox 10 Phoenix, hundreds of people were packed into the Havasu Canyon campgrounds, and up to 300 people reported symptoms in the following days. Witnesses claimed that up to 100 sick people made their way to the emergency helicopter pad to wait in line to be airlifted out.
While some suspect norovirus, a fast-spreading illness common in crowded hiking areas, an official diagnosis has yet to be made. Read the full story from Backpacker.
New Hillary Outdoors marine and conservation centre set for Coromandel
Founded in 1972, the not-for-profit offers outdoor education for schools and community groups, including programmes for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award. It had been searching for a new marine and conservation centre since 2017, chairman David Tommas said.
“The acquisition of the Tangiaro Kiwi Retreat, encompassing 340 hectares of land, with 242 hectares protected by the QEII National Trust and home to one of the highest populations of kiwi birds on privately owned land in the Coromandel, fulfils this vision,” he said. “This unique location offers exceptional opportunities for experiential learning in the bush, coastal, and marine environments of the Northern Coromandel.”
It will open in time for Term 1 of the 2025 school year, chief executive Hillary Campbell said. Read the full story from RNZ.
NZ tramps dominate Instagram’s most popular trails
Newshub is reporting that New Zealand has four of the most popular tramping trails in the world – more than any other country – according to a social media study conducted by Explore Worldwide, a UK-based travel company.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Routeburn Track, Milford Track and Kepler Track all feature in their list of ‘The World’s Most In-Demand Hikes’.
The study calculated how many Instagram posts were uploaded per kilometre of trail. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing was 4th place with 2585 Instagram posts per km of trail, the Routeburn was 8th with 1085, the Milford 18th with 524 and the Kepler 20th with 476.
The top 20 are:
- Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia – 22,048
- Inca Trail, Peru – 6723
- Kalalau Trail, USA – 3684
- Tongariro Alpine Crossing, New Zealand – 2585
- Salkantay Trek, Peru – 1265
- Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal – 1214
- Table Mountain Hike, South Africa – 1189
- Routeburn Track, New Zealand – 1085
- West Highland Way, Scotland – 998
- The Yorkshire Three Peaks, England – 991
- GR20, France – 733
- Overland Track, Australia – 638
- Berg Lake Trail, Canada – 634
- Tour du Mont Blanc, France/Italy/Switzerland – 566
- South Downs Way, England – 560
- West Coast Trail, Canada – 548
- Camino de Santiago – Camino Francés, Spain – 537
- Milford Track, New Zealand – 524
- The Three Capes Track, Australia – 513
- Kepler Track, New Zealand – 476.
West Coast’s ‘walking’ rātā wins Tree of the Year
A northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta), located near a cemetery in Karamea on the West Coast, has won the Tree of the Year award in a landslide victory.
The tree, known affectionately as The Walking Tree, as it looks like it is walking across the paddock in high heels as well as a resemblance to one of J R R Tolkien’s sentient, tree-like Ents from Lord of the Rings, won 42 percent of the votes in the annual competition.
Brad Cadwallader from the Arboricultural Association said the tree captured the imagination of the New Zealand public. “It just strode out into the lead right from the very start.”
The Walking Tree had some strong competition, including from the famous tree in Lake Wānaka. NZ Arb runs the Tree of the Year campaign. President Richie Hill said the tree highlighted the uniqueness and diversity that exists within Aotearoa’s notable tree population. Read the full story from the ODT.
