The Tramping Life

Craig Potton is a photographer, publisher, conservationist, and one of New Zealand’s most thoughtful voices on wild places.   Craig’s stories take us from crawling out the back door as a kid in Nelson, to surfing wild west coast breaks, finding happiness in the Himalaya, and carrying camera gear heavy enough to need a chiropractor decades later. We talk about burning down a hut (almost), sleeping...

Celia Wade-Brown is a Green Party MP, former mayor of Wellington, founder of the Wairarapa Walking Festival, and a lifelong tramper. From childhood walks in London’s parks and the Lake District, to rafting adventures, multi-day tramps in the Tararuas, and eventually walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, Celia’s journey reflects her passion for the outdoors and sustainable living. In this...

Gerry McSweeney is a lifelong tramper, former president of Forest & Bird, and founder of Wilderness Lodges at Lake Moeraki and Arthur’s Pass. Jerry reflects on his early days with the Christchurch Tramping Club, hard river crossings and tramping with trains, and how tramping shaped his lifelong commitment to conservation. We hear stories of endurance epics in the Southern Alps, the importance...

My guests today are Kemi and Niko , the creative duo behind Kemi Niko & Co. Known for their handcrafted miniature huts, public art projects, and love for New Zealand’s backcountry, they blend art, design, and outdoor culture in a way that’s utterly unique. We talk about how they began as broke artists in Wellington, their passion for real materials and hut heritage, the challenge of raising ki...

Alistair Hall has been the editor and publisher of Wilderness Magazine for nearly two decades — and part of its story since the early 1990s. In this episode, he talks about his earliest outdoor memories, the “type two fun” that sparked his passion for tramping, and the muddy, magical challenge of the Southern Circuit on Rakiura. He shares what it takes to produce a monthly magazine that’s chronicl...

Victoria and Emilie Bruce have shared thousands of kilometres of trail — and hundreds of backcountry huts — between them. When Emilie was just seven years old, the pair set off to walk the length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa Trail, raising funds for conservation and mental health, and inspiring trampers young and old along the way.   In this episode, Victoria and Emilie talk about the adventure...

Andrew Buglass is the founder of Permolat and the central figure in The Hut Keepers , a new film celebrating the grassroots effort to preserve New Zealand’s hut network. In this episode, Andrew shares his deep connection with the mountains, the challenges of solitude, and the pivotal experiences that shaped his lifelong commitment to protecting backcountry huts. From youthful nights in the hills w...

Jerry Van Lier is the creator and host of the Tararua Fever podcast, which dives deep into the rugged, rewarding, and sometimes notorious Tararua Ranges. From his very first tramp at the age of six to weathering gnarly conditions on southern crossings, Jerry’s stories capture both the challenges and the joys of these hills. We talk about tramping clubs and changing generations, hairy sections like...

Megan Dimozantos is president of the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC), and a passionate advocate for our huts, tracks, and wild places. We talk about her late introduction to the outdoors through rock climbing, her years of 24-hour solo mountain bike racing, and how volunteering with LandSAR drew her deep into New Zealand’s backcountry. Megan shares stories of epic 10 to 15 day trips, the lessons of...

Rob Brown is one of the most influential voices in New Zealand tramping. Rob is the National Operations Manager of the Backcountry Trust, the organisation that supports volunteers to restore and maintain our huts and tracks. He is also a renowned photographer, writer, and long-time advocate for the outdoors. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rob shares stories of his early adventures with the Mas...

Lou Sanson , former Director-General of the Department of Conservation, has spent a lifetime in New Zealand’s backcountry. From his childhood on the West Coast being taken tramping before he could walk, through teenage missions into wild valleys, to a career cutting tracks, leading DOC, and supporting the Backcountry Trust, Lou has lived and breathed the outdoors. We talk about: His earliest memor...