The Tramping Life

In this episode of The Tramping Life, I explore one of New Zealand’s most iconic coastal walks: the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds. This 71 km route is typically walked from Ship Cove in the north to Anakiwa in the south, following ridgelines and shorelines with terrain that undulates between sea level and hills up to around 450 m. The track passes through native forest, across he...

Duncan Webb is the Labour MP for Christchurch Central and lifelong tramper. From his early days exploring the forests of England to challenging multi-day treks across New Zealand’s high country, Duncan shares his most memorable adventures, close encounters with wildlife, and the lessons he’s learned navigating both the outdoors and the halls of Parliament. We chat about his first icy river mishap...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, I explore one of the South Island’s best-known private tramps: the Kaikōura Coast Track. This 26 km two-day route is run by a pair of local farming families and offers a rare combination of epic coastline, regenerating native bush, farmland, and peaceful accommodation for a maximum of a dozen walkers each day. Day one follows the coast and inland gullies to Th...

Former Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage joins The Tramping Life to talk about her lifelong love of the outdoors, from building huts as a child to tramping the St James and the Old Ghost Road.   We hear about her earliest memories of wild Auckland gullies, mishaps with camp burners, and close encounters with karearea (NZ falcons). She reflects on her years in politics — the wins, frustrations,...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, I head to North Canterbury to tackle one of New Zealand’s classic multi-day tramps: the St James Walkway. This 66 km route winds through the high country, taking in the Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve, the historic St James Station pastoral lease, and Lake Sumner Forest Park. Typically walked over 4–5 days, it’s a tramp of wide open valleys, beech forest, river flat...

This is a special episode of The Tramping Life, dedicated to Shaun Barnett — one of New Zealand’s most respected tramping writers, photographers, editors, and advocates for the backcountry. For many listeners, Shaun will be a familiar name from book spines, magazine covers, and hut shelves across the country. For others, he was a tramping companion, a mentor, a correspondent, or a quiet source of...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, I take on the lesser-known Abel Tasman Inland Track, a 41km route through the forested spine of Abel Tasman National Park. While most walkers stick to the iconic Coast Track, this route heads inland—climbing to nearly 900 metres near Gibbs Hill and offering a much tougher, quieter alternative. It’s steeper, rougher, and far less scenic, but delivers something...

Robbie Burton has spent a lifetime straddling two worlds — the wild backcountry and the world of books. The long-time co-leader of Potton & Burton, one of New Zealand’s most influential independent publishers, Robbie has also tramped and climbed across the country, including a three-month traverse of the Southern Alps from Milford to Nelson Lakes.   In this episode, Robbie reflects on growing...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, we head somewhere few people associate with overnight tramping — Auckland. Just 25 minutes by ferry from the city lies Rangitoto and neighbouring Motutapu Island — two contrasting islands that combine volcanic geology, conservation success, military history and classic Kiwi bach culture. Rangitoto, Auckland’s youngest and largest volcano, erupted around 600 ye...

Adam Currie is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading young voices in the climate movement. We explore his love of wild, remote trips — from hauling surfboards through native bush to packrafting the Gillespie Pass circuit — and how time outdoors has shaped his activism.   Adam shares his thoughts on mentorship in the mountains, why accessibility matters more than fancy gear, and how tramping can he...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, we return to Nelson Lakes National Park for one of New Zealand’s classic backcountry circuits — the 80km Travers–Sabine Circuit — with a demanding side trip to Rotomairewhenua / Blue Lake, regarded as one of the clearest natural freshwater lakes in the world. Starting from St Arnaud on the shores of Lake Rotoiti, the Travers–Sabine Circuit typically takes 4–7...

Lydia Brady is a mountaineer, guide, and author, best known as the first woman to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen. In this episode, Lydia shares her remarkable journey from teenage tramping trips in the Lewis Pass to record-setting Himalayan ascents. She talks about the “James Bond day” that nearly ended in disaster, how she found confidence in the mountains, and what she’s learne...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, we head to Northland for a rugged coastal overnighter along the Cape Brett Peninsula in the Bay of Islands — finishing at one of DOC’s most unusual and historic huts. The 16km one-way Cape Brett Track follows an old Māori trail through regenerating bush and along exposed ridgelines, with constant climbs and descents along the spine of the peninsula. On paper i...

From school tramping clubs to epic trans-alpine expeditions, Rob Frost has spent a lifetime exploring the wild backcountry of Aotearoa New Zealand. An engineer turned mountain-guide, photographer, and author of the award-winning Aoraki Tai Poutini – A Guide for Mountaineers , Rob shares how early experiences above the tree line sparked a fascination with remote routes and self-sufficiency.   In th...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, we head to Tongariro National Park for an extended circuit of one of New Zealand’s most iconic landscapes — combining the Tongariro Northern Circuit Great Walk with the Around the Mountain Track into a six-day, 82km loop from Whakapapa Village. Established in 1887, Tongariro is New Zealand’s oldest national park and a dual UNESCO World Heritage site, recognise...

Peter Hillary is a mountaineer, author, and adventurer. The son of Sir Edmund Hillary, Peter has forged his own remarkable path — from summiting Everest and crossing Antarctica to dedicating his life to exploration, storytelling, and conservation.   In this episode of The Tramping Life, Peter reflects on a lifetime spent outdoors — from his first climb at age ten with his father and Mingma Tsering...

In this episode of The Tramping Life, we head into the north-west of Kahurangi National Park to explore the Thousand Acre Plateau — a vast upland landscape of limestone formations, open tussock and sweeping horizons. Rising to around 1000 metres above sea level, this elevated former seabed feels unlike almost anywhere else in New Zealand. Accessed via the Matiri Valley Road near Murchison, the tra...

Jan Finlayson has spent a lifetime exploring and advocating for New Zealand’s wild places. In this conversation she reflects on childhood memories of camping and school tramps, early adventures on the Routeburn, and the lessons learned from near misses in the mountains and rivers. We talk about her strong views on hut booking systems and access rights, and why legal roads and stewardship land matt...

Today we head into Nelson Lakes National Park to one of the country’s most iconic alpine destinations — Angelus Hut . Perched at 1,650 metres beside Lake Angelus and surrounded by the rugged Travers Range, Angelus is a true alpine hut — spectacular in fine weather, serious and unforgiving when conditions turn. In this episode I walk through the five main routes to the hut: the exposed Robert Ridge...

Marios Gavalas has spent decades exploring Aotearoa’s mountains, forests and coastlines — and helping others do the same through his books, guiding, and photography.   In this episode of The Tramping Life, Marius shares stories from his early days tramping the Coromandel with little more than a tent and a pair of skis, to writing 18 guidebooks that introduced countless people to New Zealand’s trac...

Today we’re heading to Banks Peninsula and one of New Zealand’s most varied multi-day walks — a privately run track that combines coastal scenery, wildlife, and unusually comfortable accommodation. This episode explores Banks Track . Opened in 1989, Banks Track was New Zealand’s first private walking track. The 31km route is walked over two or three days, crossing farmland, regenerating native bus...

Neil Silverwood is a leading photographer, conservationist, and lifelong caver. Neil takes us not only deep underground but also high into the hills, sharing stories of tramping, caving, and flying.   We talk about the challenges of caving – from hauling 35kg of gear, to eight hours stuck in a squeeze, to emerging from the dark into alpine light. Neil reflects on caves as “a black-and-white world,...

Today we’re heading to the West Coast and one of its most popular tramps — an historic track best known for its natural hot pools. This episode explores the Copland Track and Welcome Flat Hut . Developed in the early 20th century as a route across the Southern Alps, the Copland Track is now usually walked as a return trip from the West Coast road end to Welcome Flat Hut. The 18km track follows riv...

Corina Jordan is Chief Executive of the Game Animal Council and Fish & Game New Zealand. We talk about her lifelong love of the outdoors, from childhood adventures in Northland and Taranaki to her current role shaping New Zealand’s hunting and conservation policies.   Corina explains how modern game management can benefit both hunters and conservation, what “herds of special interest” mean for...

Geoff Spearpoint is one of New Zealand’s most experienced trampers, writers, and backcountry advocates. For decades he has explored some of the country’s most remote corners, helped preserve our huts and tracks, and inspired countless trampers through books, photography, and articles. In this episode we talk about his beginnings in the Tararuas, youthful adventures that nearly went wrong, and the...