Secrets Worth Sharing — Private Walking Tracks in New Zealand

Forest and Bird, Issue 295, 1 February 2000, Page 46

Secrets Worth Sharing — Private Walking Tracks in New Zealand

by

Walter Hirsh

56pp limp,

Walter Hirsh and Asociates, 9 MacPherson Street, Meadowbank, Auckland 1005. RRP$14.95.

The myth that you can wander wherever you like in New Zealand simply by seeking the permission of a friendly farmer has long been dispelled, like farming subsidies, with changing times. Whole areas of New Zealand have become places too risky to leave an unguarded car, while the prospect of running into marijuana plantings discourages journeys too far from the beaten track in several regions. Small wonder then, that farmers in several spectacular parts of New Zealand have been successful in forming ‘pay for’ walks; what author-pub-lisher Walter Hirsch calls ‘designer tramping’ and ‘boutique tramping’. His guide describes the opportunities for walking tours on private land in New Zealand — nine in all — several offering the option of catering, and some even ‘bag-carrying’ from hut to hut. Charges seem reasonable, and the author finds the managers full of interesting information, with good interpretive material available for each walk. This book offers an alternative to overcrowded public huts, while reflecting a new development in our use of, and access to, the countryside.