HikingNewZealand.com Tip #1 – emergency rations

If you are heading off on an overnight hike or exploring a remote area on a challenging day trip you should always take spare food for emergencies. You never know what might happen. Accidents occur at any time and rivers can rise without warning. Some people get lost too, remarkable as it sounds…

A good spare rations kit for an extra night can be as simple as 150 grams of rice per person per day and some flavouring, such as soup sachets and dry chillies. Include a bit of milk powder and sugar and hey presto you’ve got rice pudding for breakfast – you’d never get that at the Hilton ay? For a day trip a half dozen snack bars works as you probably don’t have a pot or cooker with you.

Surprisingly, it’s your ability to make good decisions that seems to suffer as much as your pace when you run out of kai (food). Physically most folk have got a few days of walking in ‘em, as long as they stay warm and hydrated. One of our mates got lost in Russia at 6000 metres once and went for 10 days on a couple of Mars Bars and a few cuddles at night time with his mates! He seems no less normal now than when he left. So with a little planning, you won’t go hungry, and you can eat with true style when you spend another night in the bush (known in kiwi lingo as being ‘benighted’ – nothing to do with the Queen of course).

No worries now mate.

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Hiking New Zealand and Active Earth New Zealand are all about taking small groups hiking and trekking around New Zealand. We get off the beaten track to many places in National Parks that no other companies (and few individuals) ever get to. Sometimes we stay in simple lodges with good facilities, but more often we sleep in mountain huts or bush-camp far away from civilisation.

We hope you enjoyed our hiking tips.

Safe tramping,
Malcolm O’Neill
 

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