Another great year of hiking and cycling, with memorable day and multi-day walks and cycles in New Zealand and Europe.

Central Otago Rail Trail, January
The second time I’ve ridden one of the easiest but most enjoyable Great Rides, with superb scenery, lots of heritage, and good facilities.

Lake Dunstan Trail, January
An enjoyably more challenging day ride that followed the Central Otago Rail Trail, helped by perfect (if hot) weather on this incredible new trail that runs alongside the beautiful Lake Dunstan.

Grandview Mountain, January
A day walk aborted due to the heat and lack of shade that still offered good views, and justifies returning to in more suitable weather.

Wellington walks, January to April
One of the main reasons I moved from Auckland to Wellington three years ago was for the much better hiking opportunities, which I took advantage of over summer and autumn.

Keith George Memorial Park / Silverstream Scenic Reserve, February
A little known gem just off SH2. I enjoyed having the reserve to myself at the weekend, the relatively rough track, and a magical encounter with a Ruru / Morepork.

Mt McKerrow Loop, March
A slightly longer than expected loop in the Remutakas, which ended up taking 12 hours rather than the planned 6-7 hours thanks mainly to tracks on the map not existing in reality, leading to some tough bush bashing. Still, the weather was perfect and the views good, though I’ll take more food next time.

Tongariro Northern Circuit & Around the Mountain, April
An incredible circuit of Tongariro National Park was among the best hikes I’ve ever done. Over six days I walked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Northern Circuit, and Around the Mountain Track around Mt Ruaphau. The Easter weather was ideal, the hiking was hard (particularly carrying six days of food for my partner and I), and the scenery absolutely spectacular.

Wadi Rum & Petra, Jordan, May
Day walks in Jordan’s extraordinary desert landscapes in exhausting heat, filled with surreal and spectacular sights, and little shade!

Montenegro day hikes, June
Montenegro Is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, packing a lot of mountains and stunning coastline into a tiny place. I spent a fortnight exploring the country including six memorable day walks in three of their five national parks. The walks were varied and mostly quiet, with some wonderful scenery.

Peaks of the Balkans, June
A ~200km circuit around the Accursed Mountains through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro was an adventure. It was a happy medium between the remoteness of tramping in New Zealand, and the cafe and hotel filled Alps, with decent guesthouses but relatively little civilisation between them, and the scenery was often dramatic.

Mora, Sweden, July
Easy cycling around the flat but scenically water filled landscapes of central Sweden.

Curonian Spit National Park, Lithuania, August
More easy cycling around a 98km long peninsula near evenly split between Lithuania and Russia, which contains the largest sand dunes in Europe.

Waiopehu Hut loop, August
My first hike back in New Zealand after four months travelling was a reminder of how (enjoyably) tough tramping can be, with steep, muddy, rooty climbs carrying a heavy pack, but rewarded with exceptional views and literally no one else around.

Paparoa Track, September
My third, and first successful, attempt at the latest Great Walk (previously cancelled due to severe weather and then Covid). I was a little apprehensive about the dual purpose track (for walkers and hikers) as they’re often not that enjoyable to walk, but the Paparoa Track was an exception, and one of my favourite of the ten Great Walks.