Five Foot Ronna

24/05/2026

🍂🧡 Loved the beautiful autumn colours at Stoneham Walk in Kawerau.

21/05/2026

The Umukarikari Track in the Kaimanawa - bloody challenging, but the views from the tops are so worth it. Training now for the Kaimanawa Middle Range Route for early 2027 - can't wait!

14/05/2026

What did I get up to in the 90s? My family immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1991, when I was eight years old. I spent most of my childhood in Te Araroa, East Coast, until we moved to Whakatāne just before the start of high school. I had friends, but I did spend a lot of time by myself sitting in that Pōhutukawa tree at home. Plenty of good memories.

13/05/2026

"It was a cold night (though I wouldn't say freezing), even colder since I had to go to the toilet three times during the night. The juvenile possum that hissed at me earlier was long gone, thank goodness. I did get some sleep. I was awake before sunrise, but it was too cold to move around during twilight, so I tried to sleep some more. Each step made a loud crunching sound in the thick frost. I realised I had forgotten to cover my wet boots overnight; the frost claimed them too. It took about 15 mins just to get the laces undone, and even longer to feel my toes properly when I started walking."

I stayed the night at Te Tii Chalets in Ruatahuna. The chalet is lovely and I had a great sleep, but in hindsight, I wouldn’t wa...

11/05/2026

Tama Lakes is a great alternative to the Tongario Alpine Crossing - even though the distance is similar (17km vs 20km), the elevation gain is 580m vs 800m. Upper Tama Lake is 1,440 masl, while the Red Crater (the highest point in the Tongariro Alpine Crossing) is 1,886 masl. Did I mention, there’s no Devil’s Staircase on the Tama Lakes track? If you get to Lower Tama Lake and don’t feel you have the legs to keep going, the views are still lovely.

How to get to the start of the track: The track starts and ends at the Taranaki Falls car park on Ngauruhoe Terrace in Whakapapa Village. ...

08/05/2026

I've been volunteering on the group trapping days with Manawahe Eco Trust since last year, and behind the scenes for their socials these last few months.

In the Bay of Plenty, there are currently eight isolated populations of kōkako, with five original genetic lineages. There are two corridor connections in progress.

Team work makes the dream work. 🙌🏽

06/05/2026

Want an easy, family-friendly overnighter in the Bay of Plenty? Check out Dalys Clearing Hut in the Kaimai, less than a couple of hours from the Franklin Road car park. Make it a loop and head home on the Dean's Track. You can totally do it as a day walk too.

Four years ago, I put out a call and took a group of women on their first overnighter in a hut. A few mates came along too. I've just re-uploaded the blog onto my new website, check it out at...

➡️ fivefootronna.nz/2026/05/dalys-clearing-hut.html

04/05/2026

Aaron reckoned it had been over 40 years since his first walk up to The Pinnacles Hut during a school trip with Thames High School. They had bivvied in the surrounding bush on the first night, but as the rain settled in, the group crammed into the hut to escape the wet weather. The original 20-bunk hut became the rangers’ hut when the modern 80-bunk hut was built in 1995. Aaron and Ranger Robert knew each other from high school, and when they reconnected last year, he invited us to stay at the rangers’ hut (as long as there was room) next time we wanted to check out the Pinnacles.

➡️ Read more (link in the comments)

02/05/2026

I've been down the infamous scree section of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing twice in my life. Back in 2018, I had injured my knee, hobbling the last 9km and cleaning out the pain meds in the first aid kit. Come April 2025, battling 70km wind gusts along the Red Crater then meeting up with my old nemesis again, I was determined that history wouldn't repeat itself.

Mission accomplished, but I did lose a rain cover sometime after this photo was taken. Bummer.

29/04/2026

I started out shooting with an Sony A6000 on all my tramps, I bought it especially to bring with me during my travels in Perú back in 2018. These last few years I've switched to a mobile phone for convenience and less weight. I'm currently using an Oppo and looking to upgrade, and keen to hear what others use for photography when they're out on their adventures.

📍 Ruapani Track, Waikareiti

27/04/2026

Suddenly losing the track in the first hour of a 15km day may seem an ominous sign to some, but to be honest, this was the kind of back country tramping I enjoy. The messy windfall fell awkwardly along the already narrow track. Going around was easy enough, and turned out even easier to lose the track.

It took about 45 minutes to get back on track. I wasn't too worried as the GPS showed me walking parallel to the 'track' and heading towards Waipai Swamp. A glimpse of blue sky popped through the trees and I figured I was at my first landmark. Although relieved I didn't have to bush bash anymore, I was a bit deflated at my lack of progress on the NZTopo50.

After a quick snack break, I carried on, rewarded with some clean track to get my confidence back. The terrain itself wasn't hard, just overgrown. Ferns often covered the already narrow path, and the orange markers were few and far between. When you're only 152cm, ferns at half a metre (some over a metre tall) changes how you move through the bush. Sections with steep drop-offs on one side don't usually bother me, but when you can't see if your next step is a solid one, going fast isn't the best option.

By the time I reached Lake Ruapani that afternoon, I already knew that I probably wouldn't make it to Sandy Bay Hut that night. I made the most of the daylight that was left and planned to make it out of the bush, and camp somewhere near water. Puna Hokoi was my camp for the night - welcomed with a hiss by a juvenile possum nearby.

I woke up to mist rising from the water and frost all around me. It had been a chilly night, especially when my 43 year old bladder refused to wait until daylight. I had to get up three times! After packing up camp and defrosting my boots (couldn't even untie the laces for 10 mins), I took one more look at my camp for the night, grateful for the unplanned adventure.

After a full day in the thick bush, it was nice to see the sunlight shimmering on Lake Waikareiti. You can tell this track was well used - it was clean, plenty of markers and so much easier to navigate. After less than three hours, the car park popped out of nowhere. My dusty, faithful chariot, Betty the RAV, patiently waiting to take me home.