MEDIA RELEASE
Tramping in Aotearoa: New Zealand’s Top 45 Tracks
SHAUN BARNETT
Published by Potton & Burton, September 15, 2023, RRP: $49.99
Tramping has been part of our national psyche for more than a century, predicated on our love of wild places and being outdoors. Modern research also tells us walking is essential for our wellbeing says leading tramping practitioner and guide Shaun Barnett, whose bestselling Tramping in Aotearoa is now back in print and fully revised.
Bigger and bolder, Tramping in Aotearoa features stunning new photography with accompanying text and the latest generation of overview maps from cartographic design and mapping company Geographx. Throughout, former magazine editor, photographer and author of ten books, Barnett provides expert commentary and imparts invaluable intel about the terrain, route information, huts and campsites, essential supplies, wildlife, geology and more. He also touches on hut fees, safety and equipment and hut etiquette. No stone is left unturned.
Barnett’s book showcases our most popular great walks across the motu – from as far north as Cape Reinga to southernmost Stewart Island, including the Milford Track, Routeburn and Tongariro North Circuit. Many are easy day tramps for the moderately fit; others are slightly longer and more challenging. Barnett also includes numerous stand-out walks, including the Kauearanga Kauri Trail in the Coromandel, the Travers-Sabine Circuit in Nelson Lakes, the newer Old Ghost Road in Kahurangi and the Paparoa Track.
‘Tramping may also transport us into New Zealand’s past, over trails forged by Māori explorers and Pākehā surveyors, by pioneering trampers or itinerant tramps . . . Perhaps best of all, tramping provides the opportunity to saturate ourselves with the wonderful diversity and complexity of the natural world. Tramping immerses us in places where the wild rhythms of weather and rocks and trees and animals play out largely shielded from human activities,’ says Barnett.
Tramping in Aotearoa is a striking book which, as the weather gets warmer, inspires us venture out into the wilderness once more.
SHAUN BARNETT has tramped all over New Zealand, including a piecemeal traverse of Kā Tiritiri o te Moana/The Southern Alps. He is a former editor of Wilderness Magazine and the Federated Mountain Club’s Backcountry/FMC Bulletin, and
the author of numerous books, including Classic Tramping in New Zealand; Shelter from the Storm, and Day Walks in New
Zealand. Barnett grew up in the Hawke’s Bay and now lives in Wellington where he works as a writer, editor, photographer, and
guide.
GEOGRAPHX is based in Wellington and has built a reputation for visualising New Zealand’s wild terrain in innovative and meaningful ways. Founded by Roger Smith, his award-winning maps have featured in a wide range of publications over the last two decades.
