Tough Alps traverse will also be fun for all-women team
An all-women adventuring team is preparing to tackle a Southern Alps traverse to inspire others to explore the country’s great outdoors.
Dulkara Martig, from Nelson, and three other South Island friends are in the last stages of preparation before they begin their traverse in just under two weeks.
Martig, Ingrid Booiman, Tara Mulvany and Anna Loomes have wanted to take on the rugged route between Arthur’s Pass and Aoraki/Mt Cook since they were teenagers – before any of them had met each other.
For the foursome, now all aged between 27 and 29, the time has come. They leave from Arthur’s Pass in just under two weeks.
They have packed enough food to last them 32 days, and sent many boxes ahead already. They have packed their bags with enough clothes to last them, with a little time for any last-minute organising.
All the women have different goals, but the shared inspiration for the trip, other than because they want to explore more of their own backyard, is to share the journey and to inspire other girls and women.
Having the team be all women ‘‘made it a bit special for us,’’ said Martig. Groups like theirs aren’t unheard of, but ‘‘it is unusual’’. ‘‘Usually it’s teams of all men. ‘‘People often seem to think this sort of stuff is really hardcore, so for me a big part of the inspiration is sharing stories,’’ she said.
‘‘It isn’t hardcore, if you have a lot of persistence and enthusiasm, anyone can do it.
‘‘But if you look in magazines, it’s often presented as ‘hardcore, men-only’,’’ Martig said.
‘‘It’ll be fun to present the more fun side of an all-female trip. There will probably be a lot more giggling.’’
This isn’t to say the journey won’t use all their outdoor skills. The team have all been involved in outdoor adventure sports for years, and will be travelling off the beaten path – in fact, there is no track for the trip they will be taking.
The journey will take them through a lot of terrain: ‘‘a mixture of rugged tramping, alpine passes, and some glacier travel’’.
Martig, who has been travelling for the last 31⁄ years, said this trip would be special for her because it will be the first time she has done a multi-week trip in New Zealand.
‘‘I’ve done multi-week trips before, but mostly in Alaska and Canada,’’ she said.
‘‘I’m definitely bringing a lot of experience of longer trips, but it’s still pretty special to do [this one].’’
She decided it was time to come back to New Zealand and ‘‘reconnect with the outdoor community in Nelson’’, among other reasons.
‘‘This is the first time [coming back to New Zealand] in many years that I haven’t had a ticket out of the country,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m excited to settle and put my roots back here.
‘‘You’re connected to the places near home,’’ she said. ‘‘I think it’s pretty special.’’
Martig starts work as an outdoor educator at Nelson College in the new year, and is excited to come back 10 years after her outdoor education experiences at Nelson College for Girls, to give back to the community by ‘‘supporting and empowering people to develop these skill-sets’’.
Though she might be starting to settle down, Martig won’t be stopping her outdoor exploring, but ‘‘it will be kind of like Hobbiton: you can have a nice base, where you can go off on an adventure and then return.’’
Outdoor adventuring has ‘‘become [her] normal’’, Martig said.
‘‘It’s funny: in a way this alps traverse is like going to work on a Monday morning for me, it’s exciting but it’s normal.
‘‘And coming back to teach, and to pay rent for the first time in 31⁄ years, that’s like a crazy adventure.’’