Bushwalk Australia

Tramping: A New Zealand history tells the story of the development of tramping in New Zealand, tracing its origins to the way Maori and early Europeans engaged with the sometimes forbidding New Zealand mountains and bush. It describes how state-sponsored tracks and huts were developed for tourism in the late nineteenth century, most notably on the Milford Track, described as ‘the finest walk in the world’.

As a growing number of New Zealanders began to explore the outdoors, the first tramping clubs were formed in the early twentieth century, with a subsequent boom in tramping during the 1930s. The growth of an extensive hut and track network in the 1950s and ’60s saw New Zealand become one of the best-developed countries in the world for hiking. Trampers’ battles to have national parks and wilderness areas established, changes to gear and technology, and the role women have played in tramping are additional themes.

Shaun Barnett and Chris Maclean are experienced trampers and respected back-country historians who have worked together to tell the fascinating story of tramping in New Zealand. While tramping guidebooks and club histories abound, this wider story has never been told before.