The great Great Walk wait, some great alt walks and see you on the YouTubes
Great Walks become a Great Wait, so I suggest some great non-'Great Walks' you could might have a great time on. Plus, videos are a thing.
Kia ora! I’ve run into some difficulty with some boxes of documents I brought home from my last job when I shouldn’t have oughta, so I’ve been a bit distracted recently. Wanna see them? I’m also knee-deep in a piece about a book I want to write and how I hope to bring you, my readers, into that process. And then there’s YouTube too, so the distraction is doubled and tripled and amplified to 11.
Great waits for Great Walks
Whatever verbal knots and editing entanglements I’ve found myself in, let’s spare a thought for our friends at the Department of Conservation. Bookings for Great Walks are on hold, again. That’s right, after previously being forced to postpone the original late-April booking date to mid-June, DOC recently took the unusual step of delaying the confirmation of when booking opening will occur. That’s right: the date for announcing of the day upon which the already-delayed Great Walk bookings will open got delayed, from 31st May to the 14th June. Presumably, this impacts the planned dates for opening the booking too, since that was supposed to be “mid-June”. I guess, all will be revealed this week. Gosh, I need a lie down after writing that. I feel for you reading it, too.
Some great not ‘Great Walk’ walks
Anyway, it doesn’t have to be all about Great Walks. Here are three non-Great Walks that are great in their own right:
Aotea Track. A bit of gravel road trekking, which can be swapped out for the more undulating Kiwiriki Track if preferred, lots of steps, and one of the finest huts in the land - Mount Heale Hut, I’m looking at you. Also, start or finish with natural hot springs. Win!
Hillary Trail. Technically closed due to kauri dieback in the Waitākere Ranges, but you can still complete a multiday hike from Karamatura to Scenic Drive. This improvised route offers camping at Karamatura, Whatipū, Karekare, Piha and Craw Campground. Collect the set or do it in sections. See my Strava activities here: days 1, 2, 3 and 4. (Note: several side quests attached!)
Tableland Circuit. Okay, you got me. I haven’t done this exact 28km loop, but I have hiked all the parts of it. The majority is easy/Great Walk standard, with some clambering required on the poled route between Horseshoe Basin and Gordons Pyramid. Salisbury Lodge is a delightfully delicious place to spend a night, with the views of both maunga square and centre out the kitchen window. You’ll find videos about this area and much of the circuit on my YouTube. Did I mention I have a YouTube?
Salisbury Lodge: better than Salisbury Cathedral
I began this section with the good intention of it just being a “name check” and a few essential details about each walk, but once I got into those, I found it difficult to stop. Pick the one you want to hear more about, let me know in the comments and I’ll do a whole post on it, “everything you need to know”-style.
Dunc Wilson Adventures: now on the YouTubes!
As I mentioned up top, I’ve recently forced my YouTube to perform an Easter Sunday, after some 3.5 years without a single new upload. Creating video again has been quite fun.
If you would like to support me, please give my channel a subscribe. If I reach 1,000 subscribers, Google says it will pay me 0.03 cents per watch.
Current mid/long-form content on there are three parts of my Mission to Karamea Bend Hut, but I have lots more planned for winter.
The current video ideas list looks like:
Wild camping in a city
Wild camping on an island in a bay, near a city
The Waka & Waewae Journey (I have videos. Lots of videos!)
How far can I walk in a day? (Any guesses? I genuinely don’t know)
My United Kingdom: revisiting some of my best British adventure spots
Got any more suggestions? Comment below or send me a message.
Special offer on subscriptions
Finally, as an independent writer and adventurer, I rely on my readers (and viewers!) to help keep these posts free and without the clutter of ads. Full subscriptions have been going for NZ$5 per month, or NZ$50 per year. This gives you early access to videos, plus other bits and pieces as they come along.
Some people have been wanting to support me, but not to the excessive tune of fifty bucks a year. That’s cool. To go along with this, I’ve created a very special offer for existing free subscribers and new subscribers: $1 a month!
That’s right, don’t tell the nice people at Substack, but you can get a full subscription for $1 a month, or $10 a year! Just go here:
duncwilson.substack.com/onedollardeal
All support that comes my way goes towards future adventures. This includes the completion of The Waka & Waewae Journey, plus the inception and implementation of whatever comes next. So, many thanks!
‘Til next time, keep warm and happy adventuring!
Did you use photoshop AI to remove the sand flies from the Nelson Lakes photo? :)
Awesome!