THE WINDING PATH
When publisher David Hall decided to start a new outdoor magazine in 1991, he had little idea that he was embarking on the longest-running title of his career, or that the magazine would still be flourishing 30 years later, now under the editorship of his son Alistair Hall.
During those three decades, the popularity of tramping has grown, and the magazine has acted as both a barometer of change in the backcountry, as well as an archive of the evolution of outdoor recreation in Aotearoa.
I contributed my first article to Wilderness in 1996, edited it for three-and-a-half years, and have remained closely associated ever since. When I was asked what I thought were some of the biggest changes since the magazine was founded, I came up with these reflections.
NEW PARKS
In 1991, New Zealand had 10 national parks, encompassing volcanoes, mountains, glaciers, fiords and large tracts of native forest. While some parks protected wild coastlines (Abel Tasman, Paparoa and Fiordland) there was nevertheless a deficiency.
The formation
