Adventure Magazine

we ARE tramping

SURVIVAL

ISSUE

#237

Gaz Zeh Yaavor

One of the slips at Muriwai after Cyclone Gabrielle left my son

and his family home red stickered.

Whether it’s a day trip with the family or a multi-day adventure deep into the wilderness, Bivouac has the best

gear, from the top brands, to keep you safe, comfortable, warm and dry. Our friendly staff are happy to provide

expert advice, ensuring you get the right equipment and the right fit. If you need it for tramping, we have it,

because at Bivouac Outdoor we ARE tramping.

Adelaide Tarn

Kahurangi National Park

Photo: Mark Watson

Adventure Magazine has been creating

the ‘survival issue’ for the last ten years;

it’s a lot more than ‘everyone likes a

good train wreck story’ – it’s an issue

about willpower and determination, about

commitment and resolve. It shows the

best of people, sometimes in the worst

situations.

In January, on our way to Alaska, we

stopped over in Fiji. On arrival, our phones

lit up with texted questions, “Were we

safe? Did we leave OK? How was the

airport?” We then discovered that the

airport had flooded as we took off through

some heavy turbulence. The flooding was

widespread throughout New Zealand, and

being away and viewing it unfold was hard

to watch as people lost their homes and

their lives.

Then a week or so later came the second

blow, Cyclone Gabrielle, and with it, the

making of a perfect storm. An already

waterlogged country drowned again and

was battered by the cyclone. The country

was devastated. As we looked on from a

distance, knowing there was nothing we

could do, it made little difference to the

degree of our concern. Then, like so many

others, our family had their own survival

story unfold. Some of our family live at

Muriwai; as the water-sodden cliffs faced

howling winds and more rain poured, the

cliff turned into slips, and the rest was on

the news; loss of life, hundreds of houses

red stickered, evacuation and lives ruined.

A whole community was ravished in one

night simply by the weather.

Time will tell how that story unravels, if

Muriwai will be rebuilt. But that connection

to a survival situation has made this

Adventure issue more poignant.

This issue is dedicated to all those

who have gone through so much over

the last few months, those who have

lost loved ones and houses, income

and communities. Those who feel lost,

isolated, and confused. We want you to

know that you are not forgotten, New

Zealand as a community will help, and

normality will return.

There is an old Jewish fable that says

“Gam Zeh Yaavor” which means ‘this

too shall pass’. That all things, no matter

how difficult, ‘will pass’, which as with all

survival, is the key to success, whether

that is lost on a mountain, faced with

floods or weathering a storm – ‘it will pass’

Steve Dickinson - Editor

your Adventure starts with Us

The story - Gam Zeh Yaavor

King Solomon could not banish his grief

and sadness. No matter what he tried —

the treatments prepared by his doctors, the

guidance offered by his counsellors, he

was just unhappy, depressed, becoming

more despairing every day that passed.

Messengers were sent throughout the

kingdom with a promise of wealth and

power to anyone who could help the king.

The greatest experts, sorcerers, and

doctors came to the palace and tried their

best, but to no avail.

After a while, a wizened-up old man

dressed in ragged clothes arrived at the

palace gate. “I am a farmer,” he said, “I

study nature, every day. I have come to

help the king.”

King Solomon’s courtiers dismissed him.

“I shall wait, then.” Said the old man and he

sat down to wait till the king would see him.

The king’s condition worsened. He felt sad

and helpless, he was lost to his depression

and suffering and saw no end in sight.

Finally, when all hope was lost, the courtier

let the old man in. Without speaking a word,

the man approached the king, handed him

a simple wooden ring, and with that he left.

The king looked down at the ring, read the

etched inscription, and slipped it on his

finger. Then he smiled.

“What does it say, Your Majesty?” asked the

king’s courtiers.

“Just four words,” said the king.

“This, too, shall pass."

Supporting Aotearoa's Backcountry Heritage

STORES NATIONWIDE

www.bivouac.co.nz

23 Locations Nationwide | www.radcarhire.co.nz | 0800 73 68 23 | [email protected]