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