DIY trips get web help to stay safe
A new website is offering outdoor enthusiasts an easy way to find trip companions and could help prevent overseas tourists going astray in the New Zealand wilderness.
WayWiser will officially launch its website on Monday. It already has 400 people signed up for its ‘‘trip matching’’ service and ultimately hopes to expand that to 50,000.
Chief executive Brittany Jordt said the website was for outdoorsy Kiwis looking for others to go rock climbing, trail running and mountain biking with.
It also catered for tourists who could not afford to pay a professional guide and welcomed the chance to do something off the beaten track with Kiwis with local knowledge.
‘‘It’s safer than wandering off and doing it by yourself. If you go into the Waitakeres you lose cell phone reception and that’s 40 minutes out of Auckland. It’s easy to get lost and being with someone who knows their way around the trails is safer than trying to DIY it. But you need to take all the necessary precautions asking all the questions about how often they go out.’’
Website users could rate their level of experience ranging from ‘‘never done it’ through to ‘‘bloody pro.’’
WayWiser has appointed a dozen unpaid but highly experienced ‘‘ambassadors’’ available to lead some trips and Jordt said the website had a peer review function to rate trip leaders.
‘‘We’re putting stop gaps in to report behaviour that’s risky so if someone is doing something quite blatant, we can take action.’’
The basic introduction service was free, but for $8 a month users got priority for places on trips and access to more sophisticated skill matching.
Every year, over 500 search and rescue operations are mounted to find people who have lost their way in the New Zealand bush, with more than 20 deaths.