Posts

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Queen Charlotte Track, New Zealand

In a brilliant marketing strategy, New Zealand promotes 10 Great Walks.

It’s a bit of a laugh for Kiwis, actually. For one thing, one of the Great Walks is a river paddle.

Many Kiwis avoid the Great Walks because they are crowded with foreigners. They know other hikes that are just as good — but not on the list.

The most unique of the other hikes is the Queen Charlotte Track.

It’s a gorgeous ridge walk. Some viewpoints look down on waterways on both sides!

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71km (44mi), 4-days, 3-nights, ideal for all levels of experience and fitness. You can even have a water taxi shuttle your pack from lodge to lodge.

More details on besthike.com Queen Charlotte Track

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Nike & iPod Running Gear

I often listen to books on tape on my Rio MP3 player while exercising.

When the going gets tough, I switch to my favourite high energy music for a jolt.

The next step?

Lance Armstrong has already endorsed a unique wireless connection between your Nike shoes and an iPod. It has a number of cool features including a Power Song button which jumps to the motivation track the instant you need it.

Newsvine – Nike, Apple Team Up on iPod Running Gear

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website – Backcountry New Zealand

One of the best websites for Kiwi hikers is backcountryNZ.com

It is edited by Jan Robertson from Auckland. He is a conservationist who likes nothing better than to tramp and photograph the astonishing New Zealand outdoors.

BestHike.com links to many of his hiking pages.

New Zealand Backcountry Hikes on backcountryNZ.com

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Abel Tasman Coast Track, New Zealand

I am a big fan of coastal hikes. In fact, I rank the best hike in the World the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, in Canada.

To me coastal hiking is like mountain hiking, with the added treat of the ocean! Since I grew up 12hrs drive from the sea, perhaps it is still a novelty.

Whie sand beaches, aquamarine lagoons, picture perfect bays! One Israeli referred to Abel Tasman as hiking Gilligan’s Island.

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51km (32.6mi), 5-days, 4-nights, this is the most popular multi-day hike in New Zealand. It’s ideal for all levels of experience and fitness.

More details on besthike.com Abel Tasman Coast Track

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barefoot hiking

Fivefingers are “shoes” designed to provide support and protection for your tender feets while still keeping the sensation of traipsing around barefoot.

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Ted McDonald (aka “Barefoot Ted”) recently ran the Boston Marathon in Fivefingers.

2Dolphins.com Blog: Fivefingers For Your Ten Toes

Who wants to try wearing them on a multi-day hike?

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The Milford Track, New Zealand

The Finest Walk in the World.

That’s the tag line inevitably associated with the Milford Track on the South Island of New Zealand. It’s almost always wrongly attributed to Kiwi Poet Blanche Baughan. Her original title — A Notable Walk — was changed by an editor when printed in the London Spectator, 1908.

Serious hikers often make the Milford pilgrimage so they can legitimately rank it below more favourite treks.

In reality, Milford is a wonderful hike. Lakes, crystalline rivers, huge waterfalls, kooky birdlife, rainforest, and, of course, arriving at fantastic Milford Sound.

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Details on besthike.com

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introducing Mark Moxon

mark_moxona.jpgWeb expert and adventure traveller — Mark Moxon is one of best sources of hiking information on the internet. His hiking site is LongDistanceWalks.com

I particularly like his Greatest Walks section.

There you will find his “trippiest tales”, the unusual and bizarre.

besthike.com links to many of Mark’s travelogues.

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The Great South Coast Walk, Australia

You may have heard of this adventure. It’s a long walk down the beautiful coast of New South Wales. A thru-hike for normal people.

David and Pennie Briese dreamed it. And then achieved it. Congratulations!

… time to walk, time to reflect and time to rejuvenate.

… splendid isolated beaches, around magnificent rock platforms, over windswept cliffs and headlands, though superb untouched forest, and past wetlands and lakes filled with birds.

Sounds lovely. But New South Wales is quite developed. They enjoyed a cold beer at the end of most stages!

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Travelogue and photos.

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introducing Ray Jardine

jardine.jpgThere is no hiker more famous than Ray Jardine. He is often credited with igniting the light weight hiking revolution.

Jardine championed hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail using only lightweight gear.

He replaced tent with a tarp & sleeping bag with a quilt. He advises that we make & modify our own gear.

Ray Jardines Guide to Lightweight HikingHis controversial book Beyond Backpacking (1999) is now the Bible for many thru-hikers.

In his spare time, Jardine rowed across the Atlantic, kayaked to the Arctic Ocean, cycled across America twice, and canoed the sub-Arctic wilderness.

Oh, and he invented the “Friend” used by all elite rock climbers.

Check Ray Jardine’s eclectic website.