Author(s): Mark Pickering

NZ Outdoors

A Tramper's Journey: Stories from the back country of New Zealand is a book which celebrates the culture and spirit of tramping in New Zealand. Heading into the hills has been a long tradition in this country, and Mark Pickering takes both a serious and humourous look at tramping, covering his early experiences of tramping clubs in the 1970s to the unique rigmarole and rituals of Christmas tramps in the Southern Alps. A Tramper's Journey is not a guide book, but is one of the few books about tramping which attempts to explain the appeal of an activity which can be strenuous, uncomfortable and often dangerous, but brings its own unique rewards as a result of the effort. Mark Pickering has been a hill junkie for 30 years and writes with personal insight about tramping in the mountains, which he hopes will bring back memories for old trampers and inspire young trampers to head out into the hills.