women, adventure, and mt. taranaki
by danny (danielle) bernstein

Two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward...I am lucky. On some sections, I may be taking one step forward and two steps back. The scree ridge “is not the most popular part of the journey”, a typical New Zealand understatement from the small mountain guide I am carrying. “No kidding”, I think, “this loose rock is bloody awful”. My altimeter reads 2,000 meters (6,600 ft.) and I have another 1,650 ft. to climb.

I have been coveting Mt. Taranaki for eleven years—since I first went to New Zealand on sabbatical leave in 1992. One of the few advantages of being a college professor is having a sabbatical, a chance to do something different in one’s field once every seven years. I worked the academic system hard to land a six-month teaching position at Massey University, a large university in the small city of Palmerston North. My colleagues and friends were aghast at my going half-way around the world and tried to instill doubt. Was I not concerned about safety, boredom, comfort, missing friends and most important, what would my husband do? Did anyone ask Mrs. Scott what she thought about her husband Robert going to the South Pole for several years? The only sensible reaction was from our then-nineteen year old son who was always quick to grab an opportunity when he saw one. “Six months in New Zealand? Mom, can I take your car to college while you’re away?”

In Palmerston North, I had a job, a small apartment and three hiking clubs. What else did I need? Kiwis had no problem understanding why I came for six months; I came for an adventure. My dictionary defines adventure as an exciting or very unusual experience, a bold, uncertain or usually risky undertaking. Adventure travel is a growing segment of the travel business, partly because adults are healthier and more active and partly because the definition of adventure travel has been softened. To me, adventure connotes uncertainty rather than danger or thrill-seeking. Bungee jumping may pump up your adrenaline but it is not an adventure since you know exactly what is going to happen.

Finally, I get to the end of the scree and I am grateful to find solid rock. Two young men are walking behind me. I can see that they are tourists, strong but inexperienced and not well-prepared. One has his fleece jacket tied around his waist and the other just has a fanny pack with water. The first guy passes me but the second wants to go back. Back and forth, the conversation goes in a foreign language while I am in the middle like the net in a ping-pong game. I am clambering over rocks, using my hands, knees and butt as needed and I have uncharitable thoughts. “You guys thought this was easy because you could see the top. You probably have no idea what it means to climb 5,200 feet!” The man ahead of me turns around and starts climbing down, visibly disgusted with his partner.

On this trip, I am leading several American women on a hiking vacation in New Zealand. Women make up the majority of adventure travelers. The average adventure traveler is not a 20 year old man but a 47 year old woman. The field of woman-only adventure travel has also increased. Many group trips like mine, though not planned as women-only, end up being top-heavy with women at every level of difficulty. Trip leaders and organizers continually discuss the reasons. Women enjoy the camaraderie of other women, are in better shape than men at every age group and are more comfortable turning strangers into friends. In addition, women plan ahead better.

Can you plan to have an adventure? Absolutely! If an adventure is a journey into the unknown with unpredictable outcome, the best way to affect that outcome is to be prepared and to use the confidence from the last successful adventure to fuel the next adventure. How prepared? How much do you need to know before you go on an adventure? How much uncertainty can you deal with in unfamiliar surroundings? Life is always uncertain. Do we use this to our advantage or do we refrain from it?

We are now in the icy crater of the dormant volcano. Arthur, my hiking partner, has carried an ice axe with which he cuts steps in the ice as we climb. I keep gliding back; if I lose my footing, I am going to fall a long way down. My mind wanders to the rest of my group who opted to do an easier forest walk with Lis, Arthur’s wife. Lis was my host at the University in 1992, and we have kept in touch, slipping very comfortably into our friendship each time I come back to New Zealand. She is very hospitable and gregarious while Arthur’s soft speech deals mostly with his vast knowledge of the New Zealand landscape. My foot slips again. Just like in yoga, I must quiet my “monkey-mind” and focus my attention on each step.

There is little peace and serenity on an adventure trip. But the physical effort and discomfort turn into a great feeling of achievement. My aches and pains go away quickly, but the high of accomplishing the goal lasts until I plan my next trip.
Arthur and I reach the rocky top at 8,310 ft, past the snow. It is noon and we have been walking for five hours. The sky is almost perfectly clear and we have a 360 degree panorama below of hills, pasture land and towns. However, a few clouds warn us that we should not be lingering too long over our feat. A long drink, a quick sandwich and a few pictures and we start on our long way down.

If you are curious about the location of Mt. Taranaki, open your atlas to a map of New Zealand and find the big bulge in the middle of the west coast of the North Island. That bulge contains Mt. Taranaki National Park with the mountain in the center. When I was there this past February, Tom Cruise was filming The Last Samurai, with Mt. Taranaki standing in for Japan’s Mt. Fuji. Cruise’s public relations machine said that he might climb the mountain “if he has time”. Is he in training? What else has he climbed? Does he realize that in March or April, as autumn approaches, Taranaki will be covered in snow? At that point, the Kiwis joke, he will probably be taken up by a helicopter.

Danny (Danielle) Bernstein is the director of Hiker to Hiker, a non-profit hiking organization. She retired from college teaching and organizes and leads day hikes and vacation trips in the Southern Appalachians. For more details, see hikertohiker.org or email at danny@hikertohiker.org.