Bookings for DOC’s Great Walks, huts and campsites for the 2026/27 season open from 12 May and will be staggered across several days. DOC says the phased approach helps people who are planning multiple trips and reduces pressure on the booking system on opening day.

Also in this week’s outdoor news: Iconic Mueller Hut gets a spruce up, endangered whio return to the Rees Valley after 50 years and more!

Missed yesterday’s feature? Here's how to choose the best sleeping mat for you!

Take a look at this week's most read articles at wildernessmag.co.nz.

They brighten up the alpine environment in summer, were traditionally used to make gaiters and rain cloaks and have many species. Meet the mountain daisy, aka Celmisia.

Celmisia evolved in New Zealand and then made their way to Australia. New Zealand has 60 species, 78 if you account for the varieties and subspecies, whereas Australia has just eight.

Field Hut was one of the first purpose-built tramping huts in the country, and is the oldest surviving recreational hut in the Tararua Ranges.

Field Hut was built in 1924 by New Zealand’s first tramping club, the Tararua Tramping Club, to accommodate the increasing popularity of the Southern Crossing between Ōtaki and Kaitoke. It was named after W. H. Field, who was President of the Tararua Tramping Club and the Member of Parliament for Ōtaki at the time.

The hut foundations & framing were built with pit-sawn timber from trees felled nearby, & the rest of the materials were hauled in by pack-horse. In 2003 it received a major overhaul from DOC, and in 2024 the TTC gave it a fresh coat of paint for its centenary.

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