New Zealanders have produced a rich body of literature about tramping, with writing spanning nearly two centuries and ranging from poetry and songs, journals and newspaper pieces to magazine articles and books.
The pieces in Across the Pass, as selected by Shaun Barnett, range from epic tales to stories of strolls. Some writers celebrate the intricacies of nature and the strong bond forged when facing challenges together, while others talk of treading the trails first pioneered by their ancestors.
All say something about the many textures and colours of the experience we call tramping.
Across the Pass includes writing from New Zealanders such as trampers Mark Pickering and Geoff Spearpoint, writers John Mulgan, David Hill and Elsie Locke, mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, adventurer Graeme Dingle, journalist Elsie K Morton, and poets Blanche Baughan, Sam Hunt and Brian Turner.