Jim Eagles: Take this year in your stride

Don't just sit there worrying about the flab you put on over Christmas and feeling guilty about watching DVDs on a glorious sunny day. Put on your walking shoes, get outside and see this beautiful country.

And don't try the old excuse that you don't know where to go or what to do. An amazing array of publications advises on tracks to walk, sights to see, activities to enjoy, places to camp, and easy food to cook while you're on holiday.


Hidden Trails: Private walking tracks in New Zealand
By Wally Hirsch
New Holland, $24.95

One of the great developments in recent years is the boom in private walking tracks.

These are tracks, mostly on private land, where you pay to walk the route and use the accommodation, and usually have the option of extra services such as meals and having your pack transported.

No doubt some may dislike the idea of private tracks but notable conservationists like Fergus Sutherland, who has developed a range of walking options in the Catlins, see it as a way of giving landowners a financial incentive to preserve bush and landscapes, as well as opening up special places to outsiders.

I have walked a couple of these tracks and thought they were well worth the money, plus it was great to see the effort farmers were putting into preserving the landscape, fencing off bush, planting trees and maintaining the tracks.

Hirsch has enjoyed 21 of these wonderful walks and his book provides mouthwatering descriptions of the places they take you, as well as practical information on cost, location and how to get in touch.


Walking Auckland
By Helen Vause
New Holland, $24.99

There's no need to head for the mountains to enjoy a good walk. There's plenty of great walking opportunities can be had in the cities as well as beautiful seascapes, lovely gardens, majestic volcanic cones and historic sites.

This book, part of a series which also includes walks around Wellington and Christchurch, outlines 25 interesting walks around some of the most interesting parts of the Queen City.

Vause suggests a good range of routes - from yuppie-watching at the Viaduct Harbour to bird watching at Glendowie Spit - plus useful hints on how to get there and what to take.

If anything, it would be nice to see a bit more information, for instance, her walk around Devonport would be even more interesting if it identified the houses where notable authors and poets have lived, but you can get that from North Shore City's leaflet on literary walks.


Walking the Hauraki Gulf
By Sue Hall
Walking the Waitakere Ranges
By Alison Dench and Lee-Anne Parore
New Holland, $24.99

One of the great joys of living in Auckland is the easy access to the forested hills of the Waitakere Ranges on the west coast, and the marvellous coastline of the Hauraki Gulf on the east.

If you haven't yet discovered the joys of the Waitakeres, with their wonderful mix of bush and beaches, creeks and waterfalls, lakes and dams, then Dench and Parore's book is a great starting point.

Similarly, if you know all about the waters of the gulf, but haven't experienced the equal beauty of the land around its shores - the spectacular climb up Rangitoto, for instance, or the fascinating mix of nature, history and views in Tapapakanga Regional Park - then Hall's background information will make them even more pleasurable.


Day Walks of Taranaki; Day Walks of Wanganui, Manawatu & Horowhenua; Day Walks of Gisborne, Eastland & Waikaremoana; Day Walks of Hawkes Bay
All by Marios Gavalas
Day Walks of Central Otago & the Queenstown Lakes District
By Peter Dymock
Reed Outdoors, $19.99

These are great books for people who enjoy a good walk but aren't into serious hiking or overnight camping.

These are a part of a series that covers the country, so next time you are on holiday in Napier, or Gisborne or Hawera, if you take one of these along you'll be sure to find some interesting places to stretch the legs.

I was a bit disappointed with the maps which show where the walks start but not the route followed. But they do all have good information about where to find them, how long they'll take, degree of difficulty, what you'll see and lots of great background material about history, wildlife and forest type.


A Visitor's Guide to New Zealand National Parks
By Kathy Ombler
New Holland, $29.99

Our network of 14 national parks are among the country's greatest treasures, yet they're more likely to be appreciated by tourists than locals.

How many Kiwis, for instance, have done the Tongariro Crossing, surely one of the world's most spectacular one-day walks, or the glorious Abel Tasman Track, with its mix of peaceful bush and golden beaches?

Ombler has provided a useful introduction to the parks but I was a little disappointed at the lack of detailed information and the small scale of the maps.

Flicking through the pages is bound to give you an appetite to see these treasures for yourself but I suspect you will need something more detailed if you want to complete one of the walks.


Blue Sky Kitchen: Creative cookery for kiwi campers
By Nicola Saker
New Holland, $19.99

Many years ago I did a week-long hike where pretty well every night dinner consisted of tinned corned beef, freeze-dried peas and mashed potato powder. Thank goodness we have moved beyond that.

This little book offers some delicious recipes that can be produced with relatively little equipment, the sort of ingredients you'll either find - fish, tuatua, mussels, sea lettuce (yes, really!) - or that are easy to take with you - corn, cheese, salami, zucchini, flour - and which don't need a lot of work.

Some are fairly basic but there's several that look very interesting which I'll try out myself this summer ... especially the sea lettuce fritters.


Sights, Sites and Sunday Drives: Images of West Franklin
By Helen Danes and Jim Reardon
Waiuku Information Office, $19.95

Most Aucklanders, at least, will have seen the southern head of the Manukau Harbour but how many have been there? How many, for that matter, will have taken the opportunity to explore the rich history, landscape and industry of the area.

Helen Danes and Jim Reardon, who live in Waiuku, have produced a delightful guide to some of the highlights, including windswept Manukau Heads, beautiful Awhitu Regional Park, surf-lashed Karioitahi Beach, the marvellous Glenbrook Vintage Railway and the venerable settlement of Waiuku itself.

The book would have benefited from a better map, and I wouldn't have minded a few itineraries for a Sunday drive, but it's still a fine guide to an area which is worthy of greater attention than it gets.


New Zealand Encounter: Outdoor activities directory; Exploring New Zealand: Routeplanners for Auckland & Northland, Central & Eastern North Island, Lower North Island, Top & Central South Island, Southern South Island; Holiday Parks and Campgrounds
All published by Jasons, free.

Jasons' free maps, guides and directories are getting increasingly sophisticated and useful.

The outdoor activities directory provides a remarkably full list of things to do - ranging from horseriding and diving to kayaking and bungy jumping - and the contact details of hundreds of operators.

The little pocket route planner maps are a good resource for finding your way around when visiting an unfamiliar part of the country.

And the directory of holiday parks and campgrounds is probably the most complete list available of places to pitch your tent, hook up your caravan or unroll your sleeping bag.


The Best of Tauranga
By Grant Dyson
Sarah Bennett Publishing, $24.99.

Veteran journalist Grant Dyson returned home after touring Europe with the aid of guidebooks and decided someone should do something similar for his home patch.

The result is a pocket-sized book jam-packed with information about Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Katikati and Te Puke.

I lived in Tauranga for a few years, and I still visit regularly, but I wasn't able to find anything missing, though I do think it could usefully go a little further into the countryside. And the maps are quite useful.