My guest today is Rob Brown, one of the most influential voices in New Zealand tramping. Rob is the manager of the Backcountry Trust, the organisation that supports volunteers to restore and maintain our huts and tracks. He is also a renowned photographer, writer, and long-time advocate for the outdoors.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Rob shares stories of his early adventures with the Massey University Alpine Club, his long tramping partnership with Shaun Barnett, and the making of the best selling Classic Tramping. We talk about memorable trips into places like Ivory Lake and the Landsborough Wilderness, near-misses in wild country, and the evolving role of New Zealand’s hut network. Rob also reflects on what huts mean for our culture, how the Backcountry Trust works in partnership with DOC and local communities, and where the future of our backcountry huts might be heading.

If you’ve ever wondered about the stories behind New Zealand’s huts — and the people who keep them alive — this episode is for you.

Lou Sanson, former Director-General of the Department of Conservation, has spent a lifetime in New Zealand’s backcountry. From his childhood on the West Coast being taken tramping before he could walk, through teenage missions into wild valleys, to a career cutting tracks, leading DOC, and supporting the Backcountry Trust, Lou has lived and breathed the outdoors.

We talk about:

• His earliest memories of family adventures in the hills.
• The tramps and mentors that shaped his love of the backcountry.
• Turning a passion for the outdoors into a lifelong career.
• Memorable tramping trips — from Ivory Lake to Stewart Island to the Auckland Islands.
• The future of our hut and track network, and the balance between recreation, conservation, and tourism.
• His annual tradition of spending the longest day of the year on a mountain summit.
• It’s a conversation full of stories, reflection, and inspiration from one of the key figures behind New Zealand’s conservation and recreation legacy.