A Walk A Day - Revised 2023 Guide product reviews

I pride myself on having done many of the walks featured in Peter Janssen's A Walk A Day, so it was interesting to revisit them. Hopefully one day I will explore those I have not already done; this is a country designed for trampers, with so many beautiful spots mostly accessible at no cost to the public. For a visitor trying to decide which routes to fit in when time is pressing, it is useful to have a guide like this to help with choosing one that is appropriate to the fitness level of the walkers and reasonably accessible in relation to where you are staying.

I like the way that the author has selected 365 walks, one for each day of the year. In theory you could complete them all within the year, although it might be pushing it in terms of travel between walks! I did laugh at the "Leap Year" challenge to the Hakarimata summit however. We live close to the Hakarimata range, and although it is a challenging climb, it is worth it for the views. We have climbed those steps many times as part of a fitness regime and have lived to tell the tale. Luckily, for those who are not super fit, there are seats placed along the route so you can sit down to catch your breath.

Some of my favourites are featured; I was delighted to see the Okarito Trig Walk and Gabriel's Gully listed. These are both areas that are off the beaten track, but fascinating to visit. To get to Okarito, you have to make the deliberate choice to leave the main highway and turn off towards the coast south of Hokitika. Gabriel's Gully is just outside the small town of Lawrence; for anyone who is fascinated by the goldmining history of Aotearoa New Zealand, this walk is a must. Other goldmining sites include the Martha Mine Pit Rim Walk and Bendigo Goldfields Walk as well as Tobins Track and the Chinese Settlement Walk, both in Arrowtown. Janssen has added snippets of information to many of the entries, some of which I already knew, and others that were quite new to me. For example, he identifies one part of Tobins Track as the setting for one of the scenes in the Lord of the Rings film series, and Gabriel's Gully is described as the site of the first major gold strike in the country.

If I have a criticism of this book, it is that I would like to have seen more details about each place. The walks listed are all in areas of historical importance for various reasons. It would have been nice to see a full page devoted to each walk. The photos too are stunning but it would have been wonderful to have 365 of them as well, one for each entry. At the same time, it might have made the book unwieldy - especially if it is meant to be carried around in a backpack or car glove compartment. Its size makes it reasonably portable, and of course when you are travelling packing space is at a premium. I did enjoy the entries and look forward to exploring those I have not yet had the opportunity to visit. (The two areas I have not visited to date are East Cape and Rakiura Stewart Island.)

Finally, I appreciated the helpful comments in the introduction. It is important to know in advance which areas are outside cellphone range, time needed for an average person to complete a walk (especially if you start late in the day), and instructions on how to be prepared for a sandfly attack! We were assailed by sandflies once on an unforgettable occasion on the Rotoroa Nature Walk in the Nelson Lakes National Park. We had no insect repellent so were forced to shelter in our car. What appeared to be several thousand angry insects chased us and many joined us inside before we could shut the car doors. The next hour was spent swatting them and scratching! We drove away. returning next day with a suitably large bottle of repellent, Had we read Janssen's book we might have averted this situation. Being forewarned is powerful!