It all started in the nineties with a group of paddlers keen to meet annually and paddle whitewater. Now an official tradition after twenty years, this tight-knit group continues to gather every Christmas to pass on their knowledge and love of kayaking to the next generation.
After a close call occurs during a club outing, the North Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club (NOTMC) recognises the need to offer winter skills training for its newer members. With support from a FMC Training Grant, they organise a backcountry training weekend with a well-respected mountaineering and ski touring guide.
What does it mean to be a West Coast adventurer? For Rata Lovell Smith, a Wahine Toa who runs the Tai Poutini Polytechnic Outdoor Education Program, the West Coast adventurer is as unique and powerful as the landscape itself. In this river spotlight, she highlights Falls Creek – a West Coast kayaker's dream and 'a sacred chasm of water and rock.'
With packrafting on the rise, PRANZ recognises their responsibility to establish a culture of safety and training around this popular sport. With support from the FMC Training Grant, they have developed and are now road testing a curriculum for packraft instruction.
Four kayakers embark on a first descent of the West Mathias river, completing the pinnacle of whitewater kayaking with a broken thumb and triumphant spirits.
What is Forest & Bird's role in conservation and how can you get involved? Former Acting Manager of National Projects, Gillian Wadams, breaks down F&B's contributions from the local to the national level and how their mission relates to Aotearoa's goal of Predator Free 2050.
With support from a FMC Training Grant, the Canterbury University Tramping Club (CUTC) gains essential, hands-on knowledge in avalanche safety and response.
What's one simple and easy way you can help with conservation? Whether you're lounging in your backyard or out for an overnight mission in the bush, noticing and logging the bird life around you on the eBird app has a profound impact. Dan Burgin, NZ Bird Atlas Team, takes readers step-by-step into how they can begin 'Atlasing' on the eBird app and develop competency in their bird identification skills.
In Part II of their adventure, three mates continue on their three-day winter whitewater mission in Fiordland.
Oddly for these three mates, the depths of the southern winter seem to inspire thoughts of overnight whitewater missions. And this year was no different . . .
Winter tramping and a roughly polled track presents these FMC Youth Award Grant recipients with new challenges, as they complete their Duke of Edinburgh Gold tramp along the Two Thumbs range from Mesopotamia to Tekapo in four days.
As a Youth Award Grant recipient, Harri Pickett embarks on a snowy Kepler Track and faces the tough decision to turn around when conditions become unsafe.
Three mates enjoy a wonderful day out, exploring a beckoning gorge amongst the incomparable Otago Alps. No helicopters needed for these guys, as they commit to a walk-in mission on the lower gorge of the Albert Burn, Lake Wānaka, Aotearoa New Zealand. Paddlers: Ewen Rodway, Michael McDonald, Ruari Macfarlane. Film by Ewen Rodway [...]
When a friend of the early Otago Tramping Club (now OTMC) gifted them a large block of land in 1930, it came with one requirement: protect and preserve the skyline hills as an asset for future trampers and walkers of Dunedin.
After successfully skiing the entire east face of Aoraki/Mt Cook, an accomplished backcountry skier attempts the Caroline Face and tragically passes away after an equipment failure. Matteo Scoz offers tips on gear checks and how to properly transition between modes of travel to avoid disastrous consequences.
‘Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au.’ The Whanganui River was accorded the status of legal personhood in 2017. Kathy Ombler shares the history of struggle that led to this point, as well as the significance, values and framework behind Te Awa Tupua.
After receiving the tragic news that her partner Lochie is missing, Tara pauses their plans to traverse along the Southern Alps from Cape Farewell to Fiordland to help with his search. When the search is called off, she makes the heavy-hearted decision to continue with the trip. Tara recounts the final leg of her journey as a Simon Bell Memorial Scholarship recipient – a solo trek across the Olivine Ice Plateau towards Red Mountain and down to the ocean at Big Bay.
In this historical news article from 1927, an Evening Post journalist examines the recent rise in mountaineering and river-work accidents and the personal stories behind them.
While trapping began as a way for Marcia to bond with her teenager daughter, it evolves into her own personal project. In this honest account of what it takes to be a trapper, Marcia pushes past her comfort zone to overcome challenges and develop backcountry skills.
A crew of Silver Duke of Edinburgh qualifying students comes prepared with a contingency plan for every weather scenario, as they embark on the Tararuas and experience many of the elements that an alpine climate has to offer.
While volunteering in conservation requires a generous sacrifice of time and effort, Tony Walton of the Auckland Tramping Club shifts the perspective from ‘giving back’ to ‘receiving back’ and shares the many rewards he has gained from his time as a volunteer.
A second attempt at conquering the 2885m Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku reunites the Moa Hunters, a group of simple blokes with a simple goal: find a moa.
Despite high river levels cancelling their canoeing trip, this adventurous group of DOE Gold qualifiers bring a whole new meaning to 'carpe diem.' With their extra time, they tackle whitewater rafting, rock climbing and canyoning, even climbing Mount Ruapehu with ice axes.
Need a first aid refresher? Christchurch Tramping Club member, John Kerkhofs, provides a quick, helpful guide to remembering the basics after the FMC Training Grant funds his club's first aid course.
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