Contributors
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And yet it moves
A Foucauldian moment in the mountains. Bivvy /(‘bıvı)/ Verb 1. Informal for bivouac. 2. To stay outside in a small tent or temporary shelter. 1. Arriving in Wellington off the ferry late one drizzly night with no money to spare for accommodation, I wandered the city looking for somewhere to sleep. It was the 1980s,…
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Have you seen this head?
One family’s search for a missing stag (as in deer, not party). ROBERT WALSH AND DAVID HOPE WERE NOT TROPHY HUNTERS. BOTH WERE GOOD SHOTS OUT OF NECESSITY. IT WAS 1949, AND THEY HAD YET TO RECOVER FROM THE DEPRESSION, EVEN TEN YEARS ON. ROBERT HAD THREE CHILDREN AND DAVID, WHO WAS 16 AT THE…
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The blacksmith and his bicycle
The story of maybe the first made-in-New Zealand actually rideable bike. AS THE LATE WINTER SUN BRINGS ITS WARMTH TO THE DAYS AGAIN, THE DUSTY TRAILS OF OTAGO COME ALIVE WITH THE HISS OF RUBBER TYRES AND THE RATCHETING CLICK OF BICYCLE GEARS. The region’s riders settle onto their seats, travelling singly, with friends, or…
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Time to bide
Monty Bevins settles down. THESE STREETS ALL DISAPPEAR INTO A PORCUPINE HORIZON ‘TIL / SOMETHING NEW AND SHINING ARRIVES TO FEAST YOUR EYES ON / SEVEN YEARS OF RUNNING AWAY, FESTER IN THE DISARRAY – ‘BE HERE NOW’ When Monty Bevins took to touring, he really took to touring. It was 2012. He was working…
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The tortoise and the bare
Sprinting starkers for charity in the shadow of the Darran Mountains. WILLIAM BLAKE ONCE WROTE THAT ART CAN NEVER EXIST WITHOUT NAKED BEAUTY DISPLAYED. IN FIORDLAND, THEY’RE ON THE SAME PAGE, AND THERE’S PERHAPS NO GREATER EVIDENCE OF THIS THAN THE SIGHT OF A CROWD OF LOCALS DASHING NAKED THROUGH A DARK, COLD TUNNEL EVERY…
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The Great Kiwi Can Cooker
How to upcycle a New Zealand staple in the name of sustainable backcountry dining. MY DAD IS NEITHER A HIGH-COUNTRY FARMER NOR YOUR ARCHETYPAL DO-IT-YOURSELF BLOKE, BUT HE IS AN OLD-SCHOOL MOUNTAINEER. MOSTLY THIS INVOLVES SLEEPING IN CANVAS TENTS, TRANSPORTING CABBAGES BY SKEWERING THEM TO THE CRAMPONS DANGLING FROM HIS PACK, AND BEING A CURMUDGEON…
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On the road
Mixing it up on the roads of Wānaka prepared cyclist Mikayla Harvey to mix it up with the world’s best. IN THE WINTER OF 2020, NORTHERN ITALY ENTERED ZONE RED, ‘LA ZONA ROSSA’, A SUITABLY DRAMATIC TERM FOR THE SEVERE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED TO CURB THE SPREAD OF COVID-19. For local cyclists, both amateur and professional,…
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The truth is up there
A brief history of space junk in, and above, Aotearoa. IN JANUARY 2019, CRICKET FANS AT A NEW ZEALAND-SRI LANKA MATCH AT THE BAY OVAL IN MOUNT MAUNGANUI WERE STARTLED BY A CLUSTER OF LIGHTS TRAVERSING THE NIGHT SKY. TURNS OUT THEY WERE BITS OF KOSMOS 2430, A RUSSIAN MILITARY SATELLITE, HEADED FOR THE SPACECRAFT…
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Book Reviews: A Biker’s Tale and A Life of Extremes
A Biker’s Tale by John Hellemans IT’S PROBABLY MY BAGGAGE, BUT I’M SUSPICIOUS OF THE PLETHORA OF “HEY-LOOK-WHAT-I-DID” BOOKS WEIGHING DOWN ‘OUTDOOR ADVENTURE’ SHELVES IN BOOKSTORES AROUND THE WORLD. (REALLY? I WAS IN LABOUR FOR TWO DAYS, GAVE BIRTH TO A NINE-POUND BABY, THEN DIDN’T GET A FULL NIGHT’S SLEEP FOR THREE YEARS. BUT THAT’S…