In defense of the bold and fearless weka: New Zealand’s most unruly bird
I can still remember the first time I saw a weka here in New Zealand. Traveling around the South Island, I was staying in a cute cabin in the forest on the West Coast. On a humid, warm day, I left the doors open, hoping for a breeze. First rookie mistake, guys: never leave anything open when visiting the West Coast in the bush. You will be annihilated by sandflies. Looking up from my book, I saw that a big, fat brown bird had wandered inside, poking around fearlessly. What is...
How the Heaphy Track become my new favorite Great Walk
There are so many walks and tramps in New Zealand on my list that I haven’t had a chance to check out. And no matter how much I get out and tackle them, the list only grows longer. Funny how that happens. But there is one track I’ve been wanting to do forever, the Heaphy Track. New Zealand has ten Great Walks, including the Heaphy, and I’ve basically done them all, some even a few times. Great Walks have better infrastructure than our normal backcountry tramps – they also come with...