We're pretty sure we're not the only ones dreaming of wide open spaces, fresh (healthy) air, and longing for some form of an inspirational reset — things The Great Glenorchy Alpine Base Camp delivers in spades, and we can't wait to visit.
The creators are a lively group of 'outsiders' who all live in Glenorchy, know their back yard well and live for spending as much time adventuring in it as possible. For years they have been trying to keep it quiet and have only lately decided to share its lesser-known secrets. The Glenorchy township itself is tiny and sits on the foreshore of the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu. The setting is truly spectacular and its backyard is the 2.6 million hectare Te Wahipounamu, the Unesco New Zealand South West World Heritage Area.
"The decision to build a business around sharing our backyard did require a small mind shift for most of us. We all believe it is the right decision. It is an almost unimaginably beautiful area with such incredible landscape diversity with so much to enjoy all year round," says The Great Glenorchy Alpine Base Camp team. "We knew that embarking on this venture would require us to create some critical infrastructure, including a base for our wilderness adventures, and so The Great Glenorchy Alpine Base Camp concept was born. It has taken years to get to this point. Our opening day is getting close (March 31, 2022) and we are busy for sure, and more than that, we are all really excited.".
This world heritage area is already well known for its heli skiing, hiking and for great walks like the Routeburn and Greenstone. Scratch the surface a little with The Great Glenorchy Alpine Base Camp team and the packages that are now on offer include: freediving, fishing, rafting, heli-snowshoeing, canoeing, four wheel driving, camping, introductory mountain safety courses, survival courses, heli glacier walks, high-alpine heli-lunching, foraging, catch'n'cook-ing, heliskiing, heli-surfing, summits (and bucket list grade summits) and different combinations of them all. It seems endless. There will be guided and unguided packages, some with helicopters and some without.
The Great Glenorchy Alpine Base Camp itself will be fun, intimate and simple. Guests sleep in colourful bunks in one of a range of different cosy wooden hut configurations, best suited to families or small groups. There will be a tiny woodfired restaurant (with no sign above the door), marshmallow toasting pits here and there, festoon lights, pizza ovens, barbecues, fire pits, a sauna for that hard earned relaxation after a big mission, a drying room, laundry and on — an almost typical campground set up, just with noticeably more energy, personality and all delivered within a regenerative framework.
With all this and more on offer, there will undoubtedly be something for everyone, first timers in wild nature or seasoned adventure lovers and everyone in between. The team has carefully curated a wide range of wild nature adventure experience packages, with something for everyone. In their own words, “whether you're all loved up, a tight bunch of friends or a mum-plus-one, a father and son, a modern family, a bucket lister, or you want to bag a top ten New Zealand summit, we will have an adventure that fits you snugly (hopefully just outside your comfort zone)."
Discover more at Thegreatglenorchyalpinebasecamp.co.nz , or on Instagram and Facebook.
