Development West Coast
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Here be tigers
A ski traverse of the Hooker Range. This is the tale of a bucket that went on a long journey to the wild places west of the village. It’s a yarn about three mountain guides (sometimes four), spanning three decades in age (sometimes four) on a much-needed week off. And it’s the story of a…
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Stuffed animals
The 1964 guide to the everywhere-taxidermy of the South Island. Rural Aotearoa and taxidermy go together like an all-you-can eat sausage sizzle and tomato sauce. There’s a lot of it, and both involve getting stuffed. However you feel about taxidermy, it’s an impressive craft, one which involves fitting the clean and treated skin of an…
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Getting across the river
How Anthea Fisher learned to stay composed in a crisis. When the helicopter smashed into Antarctica’s Amery Ice Shelf, the force was enough to eject Anthea Fisher out of the four-point harness strapping her to the seat. It was so violent it ripped her boots off. In a few seconds, the sleek machine had become…
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War and peace: The 1964 guide to the memorial halls of the South Island
Commemoration meets community. There might be a playgroup one day, indoor bowls the next, or a tangi, a Euchre night, a wedding, a roller derby, a cabaret, a community board meeting, a life drawing class, a gig. Almost every small town in Aotearoa has one: a town hall. They are often called the heart of…
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The Great Jandal
Those shoes weren’t meant for walking. They say before you judge a person, you must walk a mile in their shoes. If that’s the case, I won’t be judging Gus Cope, because his shoes are a beaten pair of sweat-soaked jandals. Once upon a time, Gus was camping with friends at the Routeburn Flats for…
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Heading North
It doesn’t matter where you go. In October of 2022, Penzy Dinsdale set off on an 85-day traverse of the Southern Alps. The trip would involve walking, climbing, skiing, biking and extensive planning, including coordinating food and gear drops, and a whole lot of dehydrating meals. Her route would take her through some of Te…
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Book review: End Times
By Rebecca Priestley Te Herenga Waka University Press (2023) For those of us who came of age during the 1980s, watching young people grapple with the existential threat of climate change is a dose of déjà vu. Like global heating, back then the threat of nuclear war begged the question: how do you go about…
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Night at the asylum
A stay at the West Coast’s spookiest backpackers. If you’ve ever been to Hokitika, you’ve probably stopped at the glowworm dell: a little crevasse alongside State Highway 6, usually packed with tourists marvelling at what daylight reveals to be the slimy larvae of the fungal gnat. But if you take a wrong turn on the…
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Chasing the New Zealand Mountain Dolphin
It started as a light-hearted investigation. It became a fervour of curiosity and madness in the South Island bush. I first heard of the beasts in 2021. In a DOC hut near Murchison, I caught a passing comment about a creature known as the Ruahine Mountain Dolphin. “The what?” I asked. My question was met…