Sophie Burling

The small township of Makarora West is the kickoff point for this 3-5 day circuit that guides you through a strikingly beautiful and wild corner of the Southern Alps in New Zealand. My tramping companion and I decided to hike the route anticlockwise, although the trail can be traveled in both directions.DAY 1 After a night spent in a cosy A-frame cabin, a 2.5km walk along the road, northbound f...

As I drove into the Northern Rockies in early spring it struck me what a remote part of the world this was. I'd been driving for hours on the Alaska Highway without decent radio or phone service, and not many signs of other human visitors or inhabitants Since passing through Fort Nelson. I'd read about hiking Stone Mountain and was keen to give it a crack. I'd never summited a mountain before, ...

You will rarely see another person if you hike early in the season like me, and even in season the Yukon is a remote destination. Covering 480,000 square kilometers, only 34,000 people call the Yukon home. Compare that to the territory's 70,000 moose and you get an idea of it's untouched wilderness. The Kluane Ranges is home to Mt Logan, the second highest peak in North America after Denali at ...

The Tama Lakes trail can be walked easily as a day hike but we chose to overnight to escape the crowds (very popular hike) and fully enjoy the landscape, as well as the beautiful stars, sunrise and sunset. We walked the track in early winter (June) which I think is the prettiest time to explore the area.The trail begins as part of the Tongariro Northern Circuit, leaving from the end of Ngauruho...