Header image: Sophie Tucker, Kiwi Flat Mini Hut

We are stoked to have had over 450 entries into our 2025 annual photo competition - though this sure made decisions hard for judges! Winners have now been announced, and you can see the winning images on our website.

Our annual photo competition celebrates our country’s stunning outdoors and gives members the chance to share their photos with our community. Photos entered also support our work, providing us with images of the wild places we work to protect. 

Winners received awesome prizes provided by our sponsors, who make it possible for us to hold this competition each year. Huge thanks to our main sponsor Bivouac Outdoors, and our other sponsors Rab, Wilderness Magazine, Potton and Burton, Naomi Arnold, Fiordland Packs, and Excio.

To see the full array of images and winners, head to our website below.

We’re well into the swing of our Love Our Huts campaign, with 309 registrations across 448 huts, an amazing turnout for our second year. We’re thrilled so many of you want to Love Our Huts. 

This year, FMC Executive Member Louise Hammersley suggested we host a Video Competition, and our partners Dwights Outdoors, Earth Sea and Sky, and Outfitters NZ were excited to get involved.

A huge thank you to our sponsors for helping make this competition possible. Here are the prizes up for grabs:

Outfitters NZ

• First Place: 1x Rab Protium 35 Pack
• Second Place: 1x Expedition Kitbag 50L

Earth Sea Sky

• Third Place: Pico merino beanies, socks, and vouchers.

Dwights Outdoors

• Monthly spot prizes of a $20 voucher 

Details:

• Competition open to FMC members only. 
• Submit a portrait video (45 seconds max) of you and your group out on your Love Our Huts trip and upload it to the Love Our Huts Facebook page as your entry. Be sure to include the hut name!
• Only one video entry per hut
• First, second, and third place will be determined by the number of likes each video gets on Facebook.
• Spot prizes will also be awarded to entries at random - so make sure you’re in to win.
• The fine print - all prize winners will be required to provide a high resolution version of their video, confirm that they and any persons in the video consent for the video to be used in any publication by FMC or its approved 3rd parties for the purpose of promoting FMC.

Thanks again to Dwights Outdoors, Earth Sea and Sky, and Outfitters NZ for supporting FMC and Love Our Huts! 

Image: Chun Fei Chin

We were approached by Kemi and Niko from Mini Huts Studio last month. They had a clear goal in mind: to help FMC advocate against the fast-track Waitaha Hydro Scheme. We jumped straight on the offer and got to work.

They hit the tools in their workshop and, with a bit of craftsmanship, repurposed tin cans, and salvaged timber, they put together dozens of Kiwi Flat mini huts available for purchase. 

Following the launch in October, they flew out the door, and Kemi and Niko were able to donate $1,000 from the purchases. 

We can’t thank Kemi and Niko enough for their generous support and willingness to help fight for what they believe in. All donations help us continue protecting an outdoor life worth living. 

There are still a few Kiwi Flat minis available on their website, so check them out. If you purchased a Kiwi Flat mini, we’d love to see it out in the wild - send your pics on Facebook and Instagram!

Image: Sophie Tucker

Recent Advocacy

November has been a busy month for advocacy and conservation. Here’s what you need to know:

• Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill: We called for the withdrawal of the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill, as it undermines environmental decision-making and the democratic process, risking damage to our natural lands. FMC President Megan Dimozantos spoke to RNZ and to the Environment Select Committee to speak to our submission.
• Fast-track Waitaha Hydro Scheme: We wrote to the Fast-track Panel requesting to be invited to comment on Westpower’s application. FMC holds a significant amount of expert knowledge on recreational matters that have either not been provided in the application or we believe are factually inaccurate. Our input will help ensure the Panel has fair, adequate and accurate information on which to make their decisions. We were very disappointed to find out a few days ago that we have not been invited to comment and are considering our next steps.
• Access to Riversdale Flat: FMC has long advocated for continued public access to Riversdale Flat, and the Court of Appeal has now confirmed it as part of the Hawdon Flats Scenic Reserve. This secures access for the outdoor community to the area and nearby huts. This court decision is a testament to the importance of advocating for our natural lands for access to these special places. You can view the boundaries on WAMS.
• DOC proposed aircraft landing concessions: We submitted feedback on DOC’s proposed process for allocating new aircraft landing concessions in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, emphasising the need to protect the Park’s natural quiet, wilderness character, and ecological integrity. FMC strongly opposes any increase in tourist flight numbers.

Other updates:

• Additions to DOC booking system: DOC is adding 45 more sites to the booking system in December. We remain concerned about expansion into the backcountry; while bookings help new trampers and young families, they aren’t the right solution for all huts. We urge DOC to limit bookings to serviced and Great Walk huts so backcountry huts remain a unique experience. You can see the list of added huts here
  
  
• Stewardship land reclassification: DOC said it had made progress on reclassifying the 2.7 million hectares of stewardship land, but BusinessDesk reported this was incorrect. Final decisions were expected in mid-2025, yet no progress or timeline has been provided to New Zealanders on what the Government plans for this land. BUSINESSDESK ARTICLE.

Upcoming Advocacy

In the coming months, one of our main focus areas will be upping our advocacy efforts around Westpower’s proposed Waitaha Hydro Scheme Project. FMC’s position is simple: we advocate against inappropriate development in inappropriate places, and it is essential that the panel makes a decision on this application with accurate and adequate information available to them.

We intend to continue our advocacy work and push harder for what is right for the outdoor community, Kaitiakitanga, and the future of our lands.

You can view all of our recent advocacy on the FMC website, and stay up-to-date in real time via our Facebook and Instagram pages. 

Image: Glen Howey

Two charitable trusts which generously support FMC, The Federated Mountain Clubs Mountain & Forest Trust and the Maerewhenua Trust, are looking for passionate people to join their Boards in 2026. 

Trustee - The Maerewhenua Trust

The Maerewhenua Trust is a registered Charitable Trust founded in 1986. Its purpose is to encourage young people into the great outdoors so that they become passionate advocates for it.

FMC appoints one of four Trustees to the Maerewhenua Trust on an annual basis. Being a Trustee is a great way to contribute to the work of FMC and support young people into the great outdoors.

We are looking to appoint one Trustee to the Maerewhenua Trust for a one-year term starting in May 2026. This is an unpaid volunteer role, preferably based in Christchurch.

If you are interested in applying to be a trustee on the Maerewhenua Trust Board, you can read more on our website below.

Image: Crystal Brindle

Trustee - The Federated Mountain Clubs Mountain & Forest Trust

The Federated Mountain Clubs Mountain & Forest Trust is a registered Charitable Trust founded in 1985. Its purpose is to support mountain recreation and the conservation and good management of the natural environment. 

FMC appoints all Trustees to this Trust. Being a Trustee is a great way to support the outdoor recreation community and the work of FMC. 

We are looking to appoint two Trustees for four-year terms commencing in March 2026. It is an unpaid volunteer role and can be located anywhere in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

If you are interested in applying to be a trustee on The Federated Mountain Clubs Mountain & Forest Trust, you can read more on our website below.

Our new Backcountry Magazine has landed, and it’s packed with great reading and imagery.

This issue features updates from FMC President Megan Dimozantos, insights on the tenure review from Jan Finlayson, Backcountry Trusts’ hut restoration mahi, the truth about plastics and microplastics, celebrating the 100th year of the Auckland Tramping Club, and more.

Backcountry Magazine is woven into FMC’s history. First published as the FMC Bulletin in 1957, it has evolved over nearly seven decades into the magazine we know today.

What hasn’t changed, though, is that Backcountry remains the place where our community gathers for unique perspectives, spirited debate, and commentary on the issues that matter most to backcountry users.

Want to give the latest edition a read? Sign up via the link below to receive your copy each time it releases.

Forest & Bird is leading a campaign to protect the Denniston Plateau, which is under threat from the proposed fast-track Buller Plateau Continuation coal mining project. Deep Stream on the Denniston Plateau offers a tramping experience unlike any other - a journey across ancient, sculptured sandstone pavements and through "bonsai" dwarf forests that feel like walking on the exposed bones of the land. 

However, this landscape is on borrowed time. A proposed open-cast mine expansion by Bathurst Resources threatens to obliterate this forever, turning a biodiversity hotspot into a wasteland. The destruction would be total and irreversible; you cannot "rehabilitate" complex sandstone geology that took millennia to form.

FMC supports Forest & Bird as it urges the outdoor community to bear witness. We cannot protect what we do not know. Photographer Neil Silverwood has prepared a detailed route guide for those wanting to experience the Plateau’s natural beauty before the diggers arrive. You can access the guide on the Forest & Bird site, or learn about it in Forest & Bird’s short YouTube documentary.

Image: Neil Silverwood

Canterbury University Tramping Club received a $500 FMC grant to fund a first-aid course. Fourteen members completed both theory and practical sessions, guided by instructor Mick through mock injuries, fake blood, and even a bit of real rain.

These essential skills give confidence to handle any first-aid situation, whether on a short walk or a multi-day backcountry adventure.

A huge thanks to the FMC Mountain and Forest Trust for funding FMC training grants and enabling our members to continue developing their skills and confidence in the outdoors.

Learn more about how you can apply for a training grant below.

Congratulations to the Canterbury Mountaineering Club on an incredible 100 years of mountaineering! A valued FMC member for over six years, we’re thrilled to have their continued support.

Looking ahead, CMC is running an Empress Hut Replacement Consultation Survey, as the current hut has seen better days and needs replacing. To help get plans underway that meet the needs of climbers, have your say in the feedback below

Once again, congrats CMC on 100 years! 

Image by: Val Holt

This month, we have been focused on the theme of ensuring the wise management of public lands. We’ve been actively opening discussions (and sparking a bit of debate!) over on our social media and weaving this theme through everything we do, from recent submissions to interviews with the media.

This kaupapa sits at the heart of FMC’s work, and it has been encouraging to see so many people engage with the challenges and opportunities facing our public lands.

Next month, we’ll look at how we engage with the wider community, including tangata whenua and all levels of government, to ensure the best outcomes for our outdoors.

Keep an eye out, and check out our strategic plan on our website below.

As always, our work is only possible with the support of our funders. Thank you for being on this journey with us, powering us to advocate for and protect an outdoor life worth living.

Youth award grants, expedition scholarships, training grants, Love Our Huts, submissions - it’s all possible thanks to you!

We’re all here for a common reason - we love our beautiful outdoors - and we’re hell-bent on keeping them that way.

“We must closely guard the welfare of our National Parks and Reserves. These should not be regarded as the property of our minister or the government. They belong to the people of today and tomorrow. We must fight for their protection if necessary.” Fred Vosseler – Inaugural FMC President (1932)